Arrival...and getting on the net

Augusto Sandino International Airport tarmac.

Busts of women representing various continents and nationalities in the airport.  Each stand contained a literature or poetry excerpt related to that particular country/culture.

Ruben Dario mural on the wall of the airport.  The first airport I´ve seen with a poet prominently displayed.

I finally today figured out connecting to the net, so an updated post.

Flight arrived about one-half hour late, but customs was a snap. The only hitch in the airport was that I couldn’t get on the internet even though the computer indicated that I had a good wireless connection—I hope that’s not an omen of computer problems!   The Augusto Sandino International Airport is about one-fifth the size of one concourse in Atlanta and we were the only plane at the gates.  When the plane landed, instead of turning onto an adjacent taxiway, it had to turn around on the runway and taxi back on the runway itself.  The terminal is quite modern (but not air conditioned) and is perhaps unusual because it has a large mural of a poet—Rubén Darío—one of Nicaragua’s heroes.   It’s rather nice to find a country that has a poet as a hero, I think.   The airport also has busts of nine women from different cultures/countries with a short poem or prose excerpt extolling the virtues of that particular culture.

I met up with the group who’ll be taking the solar course the first week here and we were on the bus by 15:30, arriving Sabana Grande at about 19:00.  The course only has 2 other participants and amazingly, I’m not the oldest.  Miguel is a year older, a native Cuban currently from Hawaii and here just to take the course.  Greg is a recent college grad who’ll be here as a volunteer the entire 3 months that I’m here.

I’m staying with the family of Marco and Vidalia and still need to figure out the kids’ names (or even who their kids actually are!).  Doors are always open in Nicaragua and neighbors/friends simply wander in and join the conversation.  This family is much more prosperous than the one I stayed with in May and the accommodations are, in fact, relatively luxurious.  They have an electric pump and a water tower, so there is actually a shower (though not heated and outside), The latrine has a door and is tall enough to stand up in, I have a light and power in my room, and they have satellite TV.  As I was eating supper, I saw the last couple of innings of a baseball game (the season is just starting in Nicaragua) and left for bed just as the movie Serpientes a Bordo (Snakes on a Plane) was starting. 

After a good night’s sleep (although just as in May, the roosters start about 4:00), started a slow introduction to the course with a tour and discussion of the reforestation project and the associated solar water pump and drip irrigation system.  In the afternoon, we walked to La Muta (another sub-community in Sabana Grande) to hike down a very beautiful valley with cascades, pools and waterfalls.  Those who know me well will be very surprised that I actually went swimming.  After hiking, the water was quite refreshing although the temperature here in the highlands are very comfortable—mid 70’s in the day and mid 60’s at night.  This contrasts with highs in the high 80’s or low 90’s in Managua.  The final surprise today was a decent rain shower (maybe .1 inch), although this is reputedly the dry season and there should be no rain at all.
I'll try to add some photos next time.