Back to La Mariposa (the butterfly). La Mariposa was created with the idea of providing employment for locals. It employs 80 people, not all full time. La Mariposa grows trees in its "reserva" and gives them away to locals as a reforestation effort. Nice. They are also involved in protecting abused or abandoned animals. We had such a great time there. It is not luxury but the spirit is wonderful.
We spent 7 days total, five days studying Spanish in the morning ...with one on one teaching. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn more Spanish. In the afternoon, we had activities, all nicely organized. We learned a lot of the history of Nicaragua, pineapple cultivation, artisan crafted work. We swam in Laguna de Apoyo.... a paradise on earth. The water temperature is at least 28 degree C. due to the location of the lagoon in the crater of volcan Apoyo, and the presence of hot springs warming up the water. No motor boats are allowed in the lagoon. The water is unspoiled and deep blue color. Nothing much grows in the lake due to the high temperature of the water. This lagoon provides an amazingly beautiful and peaceful scenery (see below).
We also visited the city of Leon and learned that Leon and Granada have been fighting against each other for several centuries. Granada is the city of the conservatives, Leon the city of the Sandinistas. It is a university town.
We heard unbelievably sad stories that brought tears to our eyes. So many young people died.... 30,000 orphans, 100,000 wounded in the 80s. This sums it up.
I hope that people from Nicaragua can continue to leave in PEACE as they solve their current and social economic issues.
Our "home stay" family - they were lovely people, very willing to share their home with us. Food was simple and good. We ate mostly rice, beans, some vegetables like squash or zucchinis, occasionally served with a piece of cheese. We got a small piece of chicken twice during the week. For breakfast, we were served a large bowl of fruit usually pineapple, water melon, melon, or papaya. We had our lunch at La Mariposa. La Mariposa grows its own salad. It was GREAT to be able to eat salad.
We wanted to offer a cake to our family on the last evening to thank them. Where to buy a cake? I went to La Conception with my teacher by microbus. It was my second microbus experience. It was interesting to witness the number of people that can be packed in a minivan :)) My teacher and I had to wait for one hour for the cake to be baked. We walked through town, speaking spanish. We discussed education, particularly private and public universities, and the upcoming presidential elections, both in Nicaragua and the US. After an hour, we went back to the bakery. I was given the cake without a box! Well, no way we could go back by microbus. The cake would have landed on someone knees for sure! We came back by tuk-tuk, a two seater. My only focus during this ride was...the cake. It made it home.
Our host family was very healthy and did not seem to eat much sugar. The top and side sugary part of the cake was carefully put into another plate and was fed to the dog at the end of the meal. We had a good laugh watching the dog licking the plate until there was not a single trace of the cream. This may have been a first for him.
The family had a tuk-tuk - an example for those who have never seen one.
La Mariposa Spanish School - a large property with splendid vegetation
My Spanish teacher
Coffee
View of active Volcan Masaya from La Mariposa - lots of smoke!
This picture was taken on our way to do horse back riding with GG, a 31 year old orphan from the war. She lost both of her parents when she was a baby and was adopted at age 2 by the owner of La Mariposa who is English and now lives in Nicaragua. GG is one of the "fortunate" kids who found a wonderful and caring adoptive parent.
Beautiful mango tree - Unfortunately for us, October is not mango season :((
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