Pearl Lagoon

Sounds like its straight out of a Disney movie no? Maybe there should be pirates involved? Well there was no Johnny Depp, but there were dreadlocks involved!

Before I go in to my visit to Pearl Lagoon I’ll quickly recap the last two weeks!  The Sunday before last, several volunteers attended an annual festival called Hipica in the neighboring city of Massateppe.  The famous festival drew people from all over the department to drink in the streets while a parade of Nica’s most wealthy horsemen gallivanted through the streets.  Everyone was completely hammered, even some of the horses.  Several of the stallions were trained to prance or “dance” as some like to call it.  The difference in wealth between the classes here in Nica is drastic, but this was a true display of street drunks juxtaposed to the wealthiest Nicas that could afford horses as a recreational activity.  I indulged in the cerveza and my first popusa, which was amazing!

The following week was extremely busy as I prepared to teach my first class to Nica students in Spanish!  Pedro and I taught an hour and a half of Entrepreneurship Curriculum to the equivalent of high school seniors here.  I couldn’t have imagined things going any better.  The students were completely engaged and able to regurgitate all the information we taught.  Success!

Finally I went on my volunteer site visit.  This is when you visit another volunteer at their site to observe their projects and get a taste of what volunteer life is really like after training.  Low and behold I was one of the lucky two that got to make their way to the Caribbean cost for my visit!  I traveled the farthest out of all the volunteers, and I mean far, about 14 hours total one way by bus and boat.

Imagine my shock when my panga(small boat) pulled up to the wharf in Pearl Lagoon while people of African descent spoke Creole, I struggling to decipher this strange dialect of english.  My attempts to communicate in Spanish were just returned by my new friend Amy with “gal you done reached here finally”.  The fresh water of the Lagoon surrounded the town on three sides while streets of white sand mapped out this small community.  A gorgeous Moravian white church stood erect in the middle of town while horses grazed freely with their colts.  The very first thing Amy and I did when I “reached” was go straight to Aunt Betty’s to drop my stuff and go buy fresh fish!  I thought I was going to die, it had been way too long since I had eaten seafood and I was in for a real treat.  Not minutes later Amy took me to her house to met her mom(Ms Velma) who insisted I indulge in some coconut water straight out of the coconut off the tree in their back yard!  By afternoon I had enjoyed fried fish, coconut rice and beans, coconut candy, coconut bread and coconut water.

Moravian Church

Amy cutting open my first coconut

I would compare the hospitality that Ms Velma and her household showed me to the deep south.  I was literally adopted for five days as they prepared amazing meals of fried seafood, plantain porridge, fried chicken, potato salad, Rondon stew, coconut delights and fresh baked goods. 

I enjoyed an afternoon with Nga(the volunteer that I came to shadow) and her boyfriend Cuyo eating pineapple and drinking coconut water while baby chicks,  a monkey, kittens, dogs and horses roamed about.  I have to say the Nica Atlantic coast is very different from the Pacific in the fact that animals roam free and are all well fed by their owners.  Cuyo, who is also the town vet, took me horseback riding through the Savannah for a few hours which was absolutely beautiful.  We traipsed through swamp, rivers and tall grass while I attempted to speak in Creole.  I’m kicking myself for not bringing along my camera.

Drinking coco water with Nga's boyfriend Cuyo

Sunday morning I visited a “farm”, which is the equivalent to a rainforest.  There were pineapples, coconut trees, breadfruit trees, banana trees and much more.  Amongst the towering trees I spotted a howler monkey and a baboon.  I also spent an afternoon walking along the beaches of the indigenous village of the Miskitos with their village leader, observing their simple lifestyle and learning about their history.   While we were there Nga bought fresh crab to add to our lunch of Rondon soup, which is a coconut broth with plantains, yucca, rice, banana, fish and crab.

Amongst all the fun I also taught classes with Nga in the local high school, observed vocational business classes with high school grads, attended a working women’s group meeting and observed her co-planning with her counterpart Amy.  Over all I’m really looking forward to life as a volunteer after training is over. I made some amazing friends and hope to return to the village of Pearl Lagoon where I feel I have a second home with Ms Velma and Amy.