The Road to Achuapa: 06/10/10
After a bumpy one and a half hour ride from Esteli to Achuapa, I laid my eyes for the first time on the place that would become my home for the next two months. We came in with the rains, which pounded on the horsecrap laiden streets and many closed door store fronts. But when the sun emerged in the morning, we found ourselves in a great valley, with achuapa nestled again in the palms of mother mountains. There are oxen carts pulling wagons and horses greatly outnumbering any other form of transportation (rivaled only maybe by little motorcycles or bicicletas). We made our way to the natural medicine clinic, where my host mother Gladys and the homeopathic doctor awaited us to conduct energy exams. Among us were diagnosis of swollen ovaries, pancreas and of course, abounding tightness in our stomachs. For one of us with migraine probelms, the simple solution of mugwarts and incense made the burning sensation quite real and the headaches (hopefully) less. We also visited the Achuapa Co-op, which is the sole supplier of (i now can´t remember what kind of oil it is) to the Body Shop in England. I think its some kind of nut. This morning we went to Lagaritillo, the site of a peasant community that was attacked by the Contras. It is one of the only communities of such attacks which has maintained the revival of this loss through continued celebration and memorial to the lives lost. They have a plaque and annual reanactments on the day of the attack (Dec. 31st). It is also one of the only peasant communities that has used this tragedy as a factor which has unified and help to make constructive efforts toward collective progress– a few years ago, the community opened the only peasant run Spanish school in Nicaragua. This is a community only a few kilometers outside of Achuapa.
So school starts Monday!
I have so many ideas for what I want to do– murals, planning for the music festival in August, classes and possibly getting a women´s baseball team organized.. we´ll see.
Hasta pronto, pues.
Adios