Not long after arriving, we lost electricity which continued for quite a few hours, which was much more than Ariane says is typical for the area. As a result, I don't have many pictures from our arrival in Matagalpa. After supper, we went out to a little ice cream shop called "Kiss Me" that Ariane told us was the best in the country. They were running off a generator as the blackout continued. The ice cream was indeed delicious.
The following morning we rode a hour out into the countryside with other staff from the partner organization, CIEETS (roughly translated as the Ecumenical Center for Theological and Social Studies). We would be joining them as they would give a workshop/training among farmers on ideas related to understanding and coping with climate change. Before the workshop began, we took a moment to explore down the road some. This was Lia and Silas's first time really in the "campo" (countryside). Below, Lia plays with sticks.
Matagalpa's location means they have different conditions than other areas that I've already mentioned in the dry corridor. Still, they have had noticeable changes in when the seasonal rains began, and how consistent or inconsistent the rains are. In the picture below, Lucrecia of CIEETS leads the meeting and Ariane supports the conversation from up front. Meanwhile, Lia and Silas did pretty well at sitting and coloring while we listened to the presentation/conversation, and shared their paper and crayons with the other children who were there. Later they need some breaks; we did some more walking and chased the soccer ball down a hill.
Another part of the work CIEETS does is with seed banks. The idea with seed banks is to store local seed, and when needs to be distributed, the recipient agrees to return 2 lbs for every 1 lb of seed. Below, some silos.
After the morning's session, we enjoyed lunch with the CIEETS staff and the session participants. Here's Lia and her coloring friends. Lia was also happy to find that, inside the house, children were enjoying watching Paw Patrol, which she and Silas currently enjoy through Netflix. As a side note, they've got most of the theme song memorized (in Spanish) by now, which impresses me.
Some more scenery on the way back to Matagalpa:
Back in Matagalpa, at the CIEETS office where Lucrecia and Ariane work when they're not out and about in the campo.
Unfortunately, our time in Matagalpa took a sour turn as we were on way back into town. Silas developed a fever which left him tired and cranky. Lia and I went to find him some Tylenol and juice, came back to Ariane's apartment, and then set out walking again to find the "Monkey Park," where we were hoping to find playgrounds and, actually, some real monkeys too. We were disappointed to learn that the park was closed until the end of the month for repairs. We met a kind older gentleman and his grandson who were learning the same thing, and the offered to give us a ride to the other park in Matagalpa. We rode with them to the other park and found out this park was also closed and would open again tomorrow. Lia was disappointed and frustrated. We went back to the house, where Silas was still sick and cranky, pulled out the laptop and let the kids watch some Paw Patrol. Thank you, Netflix.
The next morning, we would leave Matagalpa as Ariane would head out to the campo with CIEETS in a different direction. Here we are in front of Ariane's apartment, before leaving for Managua:
Lia was hoping to get back to the "other park" to spend some time before hitting the road. We drove over and learned (at 7:45 am) that it wouldn't open until 10:00. Once again, disappointed, I told them that we would go to the Luis Alfonso park (a.k.a. the splash park) back in Managua.
It should be noted as well that Rebekah took her first turn at driving on the return trip, first putting in some highway miles and then driving across Managua back to our house in Linda Vista Norte. She'll sleep well tonight.
Special thanks to Ariane (and the CIEETS folks as well) for the warm welcome and the good work that is happening around Matagalpa!
No comments:
Post a Comment