March

There is a march planned for next Saturday. The opposition is uniting to protest fraud and intimidation as practiced by the current government. Since demonstrations have been pretty violent lately with people being bused in to create trouble, I’m concerned about the chance for a peaceful demonstration. Even though the head of the police has promised that the demonstrators will be protected, I’m worried. La Prensa is reporting that buses are being loaded with stones and homemade mortars by the Sandinistas. It seems that they have decided to counter demonstrate with a “celebration of victory” and are calling on supporters from far and wide. Some one has already been down my street painting the power poles in fresh red and black so I am sure I will get a front row seat for the parade out of town to Managua. I’m sure that there will be some kind of set up to justify violence. I’m nervous for friends I know will be there.

San Martin

When I stopped by the Cathedral yesterday, I noticed that a couple of Saint’s statues had fresh flowers. That means they are getting ready to go for a ride. He parish bulletin said it was the celebrations for San Martin de Porres. He is Peruvian and the first black saint of the Americas. He lived at the end of the sixteenth century and is a patron saint of peace. This morning, Sunday, more rockets than usual went off at 5:00 and I heard a rather larger band going by. But I just rolled over and went back to sleep. I would have liked to see him go by, but there were just too many stairs and doors to unlock.

Just now San Martin has toured the streets again. An ambulance with siren went in front and the band followed surrounding the bearers with the small statue of the brown robed San Martin. I heard the band and stuck my head out the door to see my neighbors sitting in their chairs watching the procession. I am still too shy to pull my chair onto the sidewalk, but I am taking baby steps by having my front doors open so I can see everyone that goes by while I sit in my chair in the sala.

Bugs

Having spent the last more than a decade in Seattle, the land of no screens, I have grown unaccustomed to bugs. My high and mighty organic principles are being challenged by the tropics. Powder post beetles destroyed most of the first harvest of bamboo for Jonathan's company and they are present in each hand crafted bamboo basket I can't keep myself from buying in Catarina. I keep spraying the baskets with Raid, but it only helps momentarily. I'm terrified the beetles will get into the ancient wood of the house and destroy it. In desperation the other day, I soaked the baskets in the insecticide I found in the closet. Riccardo had bought it to but on the lawn for the mosquitos, but I wouldn't let him use it. I mixed up a big batch, doused the baskets in it and dumped it on the garden.

There are several types of mosquitos. The teeny tiny ones at night that you can't see but leave three inch welts on your body when they bite. I have screens and a bed net, but still, they are a problem. The medium sized evening ones that live under the dining room table and make tiny bites on your ankles. Guests are always sitting with their legs on a chair, I notice. Then there are the dreaded day time mosquitos, which can have dengue. The biggish, blackish ones. The health department has come by several times putting crystals in all standing water including flower vases. When I ask where I can buy some of those - to keep the flower vases freshly sprinkled - they tell me you can't buy it anywhere. The dengue outbreak is worst in Masaya and Managua and I sure wish I could get my hands on some prementherine so I could treat the boys school uniforms. For a while, I was convinced that Eucalyptus oil repelled mosquitoes, but I think I was just smearing it all over my legs the week after the health department came.

Cockroaches don't bother me, so I won't mention them except to say, they ARE big. Spiders never bothered me before, but there are so many tiny ones. That brings us to ants. The most hated ones are living in the cracks in the ground that I always step on. Their bites itch like crazy for days. The house and garden ants don't bite, but they do swarm over every bit of food. Wiping the counters with eucalyptus oil doesn't help.

I was once sitting at a restaurant in Catharina and as I was eating, the waitress was spraying the table cloth on each little table with a big cloud of Raid. I was horrified and disgusted, but now I sort of understand.

Babies

Lucia's mama pig had piglets last week. Eugenia and Lucia delivered all the little ones and cut their cords. The vet will be by to give shots this week. In December, Lucia will be able to sell them for $7 dollars a piece. Fabiola's favorite is the runt of the litter. I gave her Charlottes Web for Christmas last year, but I am not sure it such a good idea read to it at this particular moment. Unfortunately, one pig was lost since I took the picture, leaving only 9.

Hurricane Ida

Hurricane Ida slammed into the Atlantic Coast on Thursday. It quickly reverted to a tropical storm, but not before messing up the coast communities and Carribean Islands. Some 13,000 people are affected with 900 houses losing their roofs. Estimates say that 80% of the wells are contaminated. Forests were knocked down and harvests were lost. Now there is a big problem with flooded rivers and people stranded far from their homes. Goods will not be getting to market for a while.

The government has stepped in quickly to assure that aid is on it's way and will continue for 5 months using ALBA (Chavez led alternative to the Association of American States) funds. Funny thing, just yesterday there was an article about how Ortega was secretly spending ALBA funds out of a house next to his own in Managua. RAAS and RAAN - the Autonomous Atlantic Regions have always had a difficult relationship with the central government. They are not counting their pennies yet.

Here on the other side, we just had a very pleasant rainy weekend.

Ida continued on to El Salvador, killed about 100 people and caused a state of emergency.

Dia de los Difuntos - Day of the Dead Nov. 2

There were a lot of Halloween parties in Granada, but the big observance was for Dia de los Difuntos. I tagged along with Lucia and Fabiola as they visited the graves of their relatives in the beautiful old cemetery on the outskirts of Granada. Mombacho rises up behind the tombs of the dead that are much fancier than the houses in the area directly adjoining the cemetery. There are presidents and famous writers and lots of the old families of Granada. Once you get past the big mausoleums, the structures are simple, mostly just one level with space for 4 people. Out in the way back, there are just mounds of dirt with wooden crosses.

The street leading to the cemetery was more crowded than usual and we walked behind a group swinging rakes and machetes to use to make a little money cleaning grave sites. Flower sellers were fanned out along the whole front, usually there is just one woman with a basket on her head. Since they were mostly so aggressive, I bought some bouquets from the most timid vendor I could find. She probably had to give all her money to her mom.

There were a couple funerals that day and the chapel was full with a family saying good bye to a loved one. The Jesus was hanging on his cross outside the chapel with a little box for donations. Later, he will be carried in a procession throughout the roads of the cemetery. Families were gathered by their dearly deceased, engaged in the mundane work of cleaning, paining and decorating the tombs and graves.

Lucia went to meet her mother-in-law at her father-in-laws grave. They reminisced and filled me in on the activities of Omar’s 8 siblings. His sister artfully arranged the flowers while the grand kids ran around the grave. The family discussed further gravesite acquisition. There are only two spots left and they belong to an aunt. Just Omar’s family would need a lot more room and Lucia’s family has 9 children in her generation, too. They really need two more large plots with multistory tombs. But the jewelry business isn’t really doing well enough to get the $150 necessary.

We went on to visit the grave of Lucia’s Tia and Tio who died within one week of each other about a month ago. They had lost their beloved son a few months earlier and it was just too much to bear. Although they didn’t have a family plot, their graves are close together because they died around the same time. A new grave was being dug right next to the Tios and the gravediggers had hung their shirts on the cross and left their shoes and water bottles in the fresh mound of the grave. The band was playi

ng for the family of the newly deceased and the diggers enjoyed the music.

We went on to look for the graves of Lucia’s grandmother; her dad’s mom. Her maternal grandmother just celebrated her 99^th birthday. After that, we tried to find the grave of her nephews’ grandmother. Because all of her children are working in Costa Rica, there was no one to tend her grave and we wanted to leave our last flowers. Fabiola walked slowly reading all the names, but we couldn’t find her. We walked back home. It was really hot so we had to stop for a drink along the way.

First Small Wave

I had my first small wave of homesickness. This afternoon and into the evening, our neighbors were blaring music. I couldn't think after a while and I so missed our Seattle neighborly restraint. When the music stopped, it was really only 7, but I was extra cranky because some other neighbor was playing music until 3 this morning. Jonathan put on the Decemberists and we sang along and talked about what the music reminded us of - Driving to Orcas Island. The music evoked a vision of a cold, quiet and sunny afternoon somewhere in the Upper Midwest insulated by blocks and blocks of comfortable houses full of well fed people with jobs and winsome irony.

A different neighbor came by - Roland is technically not on our street - but lives close by. He wondered if I could give him something to eat. He is in charge of our recycling for a couple bucks a week. But I only give him food in the evening because he is often drunk or high then. Poor guy, he hasn't figured out Moni's schedule. I hadn't finished making dinner yet, so I gave him some cold beans and an egg. He said that was fine, he could cook.

We had our dinner and watched a bat fly around the courtyard. Later, as I was walking down the steps, I looked at the pool in its stunning clarity. I thought, Wow, this is pretty cool. Wave washed by.