Nicaragua: Post #2

Leaving Jinotega was emotionally difficult! The visit was so quick and so full of love! And there were tears all around.

... Continued from Post #1 http://amishhighway35.blogspot.com/2010/11/nicaragua-post-1.html

Finding the "express bus" in Jinotega, we were quickly ushered by our bus guide to our seats. Now in Nicaragua, an "Express Bus" means that you purchase seats and it goes directly from Point A to Point B. And I incorrectly assumed that if everyone purchases seats there would be no one crowding in the aisles. Hmmm ... I should never assume! I can tell you exactly what it said on the gentleman's belt buckle that was less than 2 inches from my face for at least 2 hours, as he hung on tightly to the ceiling rail while we bounced along back to Managua.

Upon arrival in Managua Alli waved down a taxi and we shared the back seat with a nice young woman and her baby. That little baby, about 5 months old, took one look at Alli with her beautiful blond hair and began to scream in fright. The Momma was not at all daunted and quickly exposed half of her torso and the little guy "latched on"! These taxis are about the size of one of those zippy little electric cars that you see in the US, so as we traveled to our next transfer location Alli & I felt like we were a significant part of that little baby's dinner!

Our wonderful taxi driver finally found us our "shuttle van" that would take us to Jinotepe. The van is slightly larger than a mini van and has 3 partial bench seats facing forward and then a 6 inch wide board nailed behind the front seat facing toward the back. That is where I quickly perched my behind, staring at a young man who was facing forward. Alli was beside him, sending me calming smiles. I thought the van was packed when we climbed aboard but there was much more excitement to be had. The driver continued to stop and pick up passengers! At 21 I thought for sure he wouldn't squeeze anyone else aboard, but of course he didn't stop at 21. I stopped counting at 29, because I was sure there were poor souls buried deep in the body debris that I couldn't even see! I was sitting kind of at an awkward angle with my right cheek pressed against the window, with the rain blowing in the driver's open window giving the back of my head a good wash. With my weird angled body, the person beside me was continuously bumping body parts on me that historically haven't been touched in a vehicle! My knees were confusingly intertwined with the young man's across from me. I was concerned that one big bump, and that nice young man with the baritone voice would be forever speaking in falsetto. All of that description to say that there was no way to tell where one person's body parts started and another's ended. But we arrived safe & sound back in our first town and it felt good to "be home".


Alli made reservations at this really cool motel/outreach ministry type place. It's called "House of Matthew", and it is the place where her SST group held their group meetings. This picture is taken on our balcony looking down the street. Alli's family's home is about 3 blocks from here.

Alli and her little sister, Anna. This is taken in their couryard in front of their home.

Enjoying Alli's favorite dish, tajadas. It was delicious! Fried plantains with steak or chicken laying on top, then a pile of slaw-type mix on top of that. For me this was a great change from rice & beans. I liked the rice & beans, but after 3 meals a day for several days of of rice & beans, my body felt like I had opened my mouth at the end of a cement truck chute.

I took this photo of the water heater in our hotel shower. The white dome on top heats the water as it goes through to the shower head. Never fear folks, the electric wires are fastened to each other and the wall with black tape. And most importantly we had warm showers!

Another picture of the courtyard outside the home. This was a wonderful place to just sit and wait ... for whatever was to happen next ... in 15 minutes or 3 hours ... we never knew.

We helped the family tie ribbons onto the wedding favors.

Woo Hoo! Buying cotton candy at the market.

Street shot at the front of our hotel.

Large parrots that called the courtyard of the hotel "Home".

The beautiful bride & groom, Rosaly & Joel.

My wonderful & patient daughter who perfectly took care of me, in a really cool role-reversal type of way.

Alli & her Mom (Mother of the Bride).

This picture brings tears to my eyes, because it just bursts with the love that these two have for each other!

Before leaving for the airport we took one last picture of Alli with her Mom & Dad. To give you a brief snapshot of the relationship that Alli has with these wonderful people, I will tell you a quick little story of our trip to the airport ...

Of course the chatter on the way was all in Spanish, and I was pretty clueless to the conversation. However, at one point I caught on that Mom was talking on & on & on, and no one was responding to what she was saying. Finally, she said "Amen" and Dad & Alli also said "Amen". Alli told me that Mom had asked to pray for us, and that is exactly what she was doing! At our goodbyes at the airport, I shamelessly wiped at the tears that streamed down my face. These people opened their hearts and their homes to us, and now a part of my heart has remained in Nicaragua along with a larger piece of Alli's heart!

te amo, Nicaragua!