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Showing 1-25 of 56 results
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Do You Like Soup?
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 24 December 2009
By Kelly McKinnon, KF9 Leon, Nicaragua The question is posed casually, but as all heads in the room turn to await my response, I sense that this is not a simple question. Ummm, I stammer. Rapidly wracking my brain for cultural cues or anecdotes I’ve heard on the importance of soup in Nicaragua. Nothing, I’ve got [...]
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Pumice stone/Piedra poma
Blog: Nicaragua Tourist - 20 December 2009
In the Chilamate, Masaya area, there are a lot of pumice stone deposits. As you might know, pumice is formed from ‘frothy volcanic lava’ that has been super compressed. It has a lot of uses: a cement additive, pencil erasers, toothpaste, cosmetic exfolients, stone-washing your jeans (I found one in a new pair [...]
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Childbearing at a Young Age in Nicaragua–At What Price?
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 19 December 2009
By Victoria Kabak, KF9, Nicaragua I try not to play favorites, but this week I met my favorite borrower. The borrowers I’ve liked the most so far have been those who are particularly friendly, have particularly interesting things to say, or give me food. Kenia fell into that first category, and I really enjoyed talking both [...]
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House on the beach/casa en la playa
Blog: Nicaragua Tourist - 17 December 2009
A lot of people dream about having a house on the beach. This house on the beach in Granada, however, tells a different story. Note the sign on the house. Translated, it states: “Hi friends. We hope you can help us this Christmas with whatever you can and may God bless your [...]
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¿Quién Causa Tanta Alegría?
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 15 December 2009
By Kelly McKinnon, KF9 Leon Nicaragua ¿Quién Causa Tanta Alegría? ¡La Concepción de María! An exuberant young man, who I was to later understand is the Priest who hosts a Grand Purísima celebration (attended by former presidents, the bishop, the mayor and a five piece brass band), rattled off the schedule of events of the day’s celebration of [...]
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Nicaraguan drummers/bateristas Nicas
Blog: Nicaragua Tourist - 15 December 2009
Check out these future stars from Somotillo, Nicaragua. Mirá estas estrellas futuras de Somotillo, Nicaragua.
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Three Interesting Borrowers
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 11 December 2009
By Victoria Kabak, KF9, Nicaragua Last week I met three borrowers who struck me as particularly interesting, each for a different reason. All three have been thought-provoking and have stuck with me over the course of the week. In their own way, each of the three represented a unique experience for me. Even though I’d been [...]
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Birdhouse/palomera
Blog: Nicaragua Tourist - 10 December 2009
Here is a homemade birdhouse that, at one time and unbeknown to it’s owners, housed two male birds. However, one of them finally got wise and went out and brought a female one back. He then ousted the other male, who can be seen in the upper branches of this tree. The [...]
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It’s Not Christmas
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 5 December 2009
By Kelly McKinnon, KF9, León, Nicaragua It’s not Christmas. 90 degree days and the glow of the Nicaraguan sunlight and my celebration of Thanksgiving in the reception of a medical clinic where I was diagnosed with a stomach bacteria, (Oh the irony!) somehow make the holiday season seem far away. And yet, I didn’t think it was Friday [...]
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Pork ribs/costillas de cerdo
Blog: Nicaragua Tourist - 5 December 2009
We had this delicious lunch a few days ago en El Valle de la Laguna…pork ribs grilled to perfection, carrots and chayote…with a Coca-Cola Light to wash it’s greasy loveliness down!!! Almorzamos rico hace un par de días en La Valle de la Laguna…costillas de cerdo asadas a perfección, zanahoria y chayote…con una Coca-Cola light para [...]
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Sorry, Travel Snobs: San Juan Del Sur Is Amazing
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 4 December 2009
It’s weird, the way people can look at the same thing and see something so different. We were on our way to Costa Rica, we weren’t yet ready to leave Nicaragua and we badly needed a break. We thought that one of the Pacific coastal villages would be best, and we decided that San Juan [...]
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Sea Bass/Róbalo
Blog: Nicaragua Tourist - 4 December 2009
I was out in the countryside in La Reforma II near Masaya and had a great meal, consisting of breaded sea bass, fried plantains and cooked carrots with a mayonnaise and ketchup sauce. The fish was out of this world!!! The man who cooked lunch sells fish and used to work in a [...]
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Sea Bass/Róbalo
Blog: Nicaragua Tourist - 4 December 2009
I was out in the countryside in La Reforma II near Masaya and had a great meal, consisting of breaded sea bass, fried plantains and cooked carrots with a mayonnaise and ketchup sauce. The fish was out of this world!!! The man who cooked lunch sells fish and used to work in a [...]
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San Juan del Sur - Nicaragua
Blog: A Travel Diary from Mexico, Central and South America - 3 December 2009
Making our way from Ometepe we headed for Rivas bus station to get a bus to San Juan del Sur. Getting a bus from a bus station is a pretty normal thing to do. But when you have a crowd of taxi drivers telling you a variety of things like the bus doesn't leave for hours, or it takes many hours to get there, you almost start to think you're doing something abnormal! And my disinterested looks and short firm answers they took for haggling. Their price must have halved and halved again, but what they didn't seem to understand was that its not a long journey and we really weren't in a rush.
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Volcan Maderas – You Really Don’t Need A Guide
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 3 December 2009
Or you don’t need the one we had. I’m really getting into this whole climbing volcanoes thing. I finally see the good in overcoming a challenge, rather than just lamenting making myself feel like rubbish for hours on end. My brother once accused me of climbing volcanoes like a little old lady. I think I’ve improved: [...]
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Pineapple, Plantains, Pitahaya…Oh My!
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 1 December 2009
By Victoria Kabak, KF9, Nicaragua Since arriving in Nicaragua for my Kiva Fellowship about two months ago, my time here has been marked by a range of new experiences. I have become surprisingly adept at pouring juice from a plastic bag into a glass. I am intimately familiar with the smell of burning garbage, the most [...]
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Ometepe - it's all action!
Blog: A Travel Diary from Mexico, Central and South America - 30 November 2009
Ometepe is the world's largest fresh-water island. Situated near to the centre of Lago de Nicaragua, with an area of 3000 square miles, it has two volcanos (where doesn't?!) and, according to our guide book, is home to the kindest people in Nicaragua. Volcanos yes, but the kindest people? I'm not so sure. From a tourist perspective you're treated as an inconvenience, whether it be in hostels, shops or restaurants. I'm sure that no malice is intended, but being nice to the customer just isn't something rated highly out here.
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The Boat Ride To Ometepe Island
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 30 November 2009
Urgh. I used to think I had reasonable sea-legs. I used to quite enjoy the rocking motion of a boat. But somewhere along the line I think I must have become old, because the journey by boat from Rivas to Ometepe Island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua was pretty unpleasant. And, to be clear, [...]
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Granada And All Its Magnificence
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 30 November 2009
“I didn’t really like Granada,” one girl told us thoughtfully. ”I found that it had quite a threatening atmosphere. I much preferred Leon.” Seriously? You honestly felt that way? I loved Granada. I absolutely fell in love with Granada, to the point where I would wistfully look at buildings with “se vende” written on them, and [...]
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Granada - Laguna de Apoyo
Blog: A Travel Diary from Mexico, Central and South America - 28 November 2009
Whilst in Granada you can take a popular day trip to Laguna de Apoyo. Here, at some point in the past, a volcano blew its top leaving behind a huge crater that has filled with fresh water. And the bonus is the lake has a sulphur content that keeps away mosquitoes. Don't worry, it doesn't smell!
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Granada and Archipielago Las Isletas
Blog: A Travel Diary from Mexico, Central and South America - 28 November 2009
Having spent some time in Leon and Granada, it is clear that Nicaragua possesses some beautiful towns with many attractive colonial buildings. Have a look at Viva for some quality blogging on Leon! Check out Viva!
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Las Penitas – Some Serious Surf
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 25 November 2009
Everyone goes on about how good Nicaragua is for surfing, so much so that I really feel that I might have to try to give it a go at some point. It wasn’t going to be on this beach trip, but I did experience what it was that is supposed to make these waves so [...]
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Microfinance, Migration, and a Constant Stream of Remittances (Part 3 of 3 of the Remittance Series)
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 24 November 2009
By Meg Gray, KF9 Nicaragua This is Part 3 of 3 in a series of blogs discussing remittances that were inspired by a recent UN Human Development Report on migration. As you will see from our posts, there are many perspectives to look at and the issue is by no means simple. I encourage you to [...]
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Iguana hunting/cazando iguanas
Blog: Nicaragua Tourist - 23 November 2009
These young men captured these iguanas in Nicaragua. Generally speaking, they locate them in the trees and then one goes up after the iguana(s) and gets it (them) to jump to the ground. They are quickly captured (usually live) and tied up to be sold or perhaps end up as soup or [...]
