Weekly Photo Challenge: Storytelling Patterns

“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.”
― Terry Tempest Williams, When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice 

 

Living abroad has increased my creativity. I’ve broken out of established patterns enabling me to look at the world with eyes without borders. I have become a storyteller, seeking tales in patterns of life.

“Humans are pattern-seeking story-telling animals, and we are quite adept at telling stories about patterns, whether they exist or not.”
― Michael Shermer

Weekly Photo Challenge: New Life From Above

“The trick to forgetting the big picture is to look at everything close up.” ― Chuck Palahniuk

And, I might add….from above. Mama hen stepped off her nest to get a bite to eat. While she was gone, a chick hatched.

Life is all about perspective. The little chick could have thought this:

“The hens they all cackle, the roosters all beg, But I will not hatch, I will not hatch. For I hear all the talk of pollution and war As the people all shout and the airplane roar, So I’m staying in here where it’s safe and it’s warm, And I WILL NOT HATCH!”~ Shel Silverstein

Instead, the chick thought this:

“Ready for a new life” ― Sylvia Plath

Meanwhile I thought this:

“If you want a new life,  first give praise for having the old one!”
         ― Stephen Richards

My Husband: The Snake Whisperer

“When a woman teams up with a snake a moral storm threatens somewhere.”
― Stacy Schiff, Cleopatra: A Life

Marina shouted across the fence, “Ron, Ron ven aquí rápidamente! Hay una serpiente en mi cocina.” “A snake?” Ron shouted back. As usual, it was after dark on a Sunday night, and we lost our electricity.  I swear, the weekend electricity guys flip a switch every Sunday night leaving us in the dark for two hours. I picture them snickering and snoring in the Union Fenosa office.
Ron and I grabbed a couple of flashlights and squeezed through the barbed wire fence separating us from Marina’s house. Marina was standing on a plastic chair in her kitchen waving the only light she had…her cell phone. “Quick, help me trap the boa constrictor in the wall,” she ordered. “We’ll kill it tomorrow.” Stumbling around the dirt floor kitchen, we spotted some bricks and covered the top holes in the cement block wall. Trapped for the night! We lent Marina a flashlight and whispered, “Sweet dreams” (because their three grand babies were sleeping) and headed home shaking our heads wondering what the next morning would bring.
Early the next morning Marina shouted, ” Ron, Ron ven aqui.” With machete in hand, she was determined to capture and kill the giant boa sleeping in her kitchen wall. Now, we are not snake killers. If they are not poisonous, we trap them and set them free. Boas are beautiful and they eat rats, which is probably why it was in her kitchen wall. But, tell that to Marina, a protective grandmother. A moral storm was brewing.

With a mirror, flashlight, and a ladder, Ron spotted the boa near the top of the hole. He tried pouring warm water down the hole to flush out the boa, but it only aggravated the enormous snake and it retreated farther down. So, Ron chipped a small hole in the cement block, found his tail and started p-u-l-l-i-n-g.
Meanwhile, Adioska was screaming, Marina had her machete in her hand, and Don Jose was comforting his grand babies. This picture is priceless. You can just feel the fear!
But, Ron kept p-u-l-l-i-n-g. That was one strong boa!
Success! Isn’t it a beauty! Marina rushed forward with her machete. “No, Marina,” I explained. “We’re not going to kill it. We’ll put it in a sack and take it far, far, away from your house.”
Marina wasn’t sure. “You’ll take it far away? she whimpered. “Certainly,” we promised. Meanwhile the boa was getting restless. It tried to wrap around Ron’s arm and he lost his grip on the boa’s head. It only bit him once. Jose ran forward with a big sack, and Ron dropped it comfortably into its temporary home.
I have no fear of losing my life – if I have to save a koala or a crocodile or a kangaroo or a snake, mate, I will save it. Steve Irwin
“Stephen, do you want to see the boa?” Ron said reassuringly. But, Stephen ran for his life in the opposite direction. “Dustin, do you want to see the boa?”  Dustin took a few tentative steps toward the sack. He peeked in and soon wanted to touch it. Maybe a new snake whisperer is born.

Ron took the wiggling sack to the new airport. Just as he set the sack on the ground to release the boa, a big, fat rat ran across the path. “Perfect,” Ron told the boa. It looks like it’s lunch time.

Have you seen the movie, Snakes on a Plane? Let’s keep our fingers crossed that we never hear the quote below. LOL

From the movie, “Snakes on a Plane” : Neville Flynn: [TV edit] Enough is enough! I have had it with these monkey fighting snakes on this Monday through Friday plane!

Faces of Los Ramos

“Family faces are magic mirrors looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future” Gail Lumet Buckley

 

Faces in the community of Los Ramos. Thanks to Santiago and Ever for the photos.

 

“Masks beneath masks until suddenly the bare bloodless skull.” ― Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses

“His dress told her nothing, but his face told her things which she was glad to know.”
― A.A. Milne, Once on a Time

“For a moment at least, be a smile on someone else’s face.”
― Dejan Stojanovic, The Sun Watches the Sun

“Age should not have its face lifted, but it should rather teach the world to admire wrinkles as the etchings of experience and the firm line of character.” ― Clarence Day

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow. ~Helen Keller

“When I look at the smiles on all the children’s faces, I just know they’re about to jab me with something.” Dan Castellaneta

“Every child needs a champion.” ― Hillary Rodham Clinton

 

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Heads Up!

Life is a balancing act. You need to keep your head up and your feet on the ground, while allowing your heart to go wherever it pleases! ~Susan Gale

I spend entirely too much time with my nose to the ground in Nicaragua. There are hidden dangers lurking in the forms of scorpions, red ants, and biting centipedes. Yet, I need to remember that life is a balancing act. There are beautiful surprises awaiting when I choose to hold my head up high!

Coconuts, the life force of Nicaragua.

Hidden among the fronds are vampire bats.
Our Peras are ripe. A new batch of apple sauce and Pera pie is on the way.
The bananas have a couple of months left before they are ripe.
If we can only keep the Howler monkeys from nibbling on the bananas!
Our orchid is blooming, strung high in the nancite tree.
Marvin’s welding mask is strung high in the water tower. Our new water supply is almost finished.
My new Moroccan lamp shines colorfully in the darkness reminding me to keep my head up and my feet on the ground, for life is truly a balancing act.

My heart will always be free to roam, wherever it pleases. Thank you, my precious Nicaragua.

 

Gargantious Gar

In the evening, as the brutal sun was sinking into the sweet sea for its nightly nap , a freshwater giant was lurking in the shallow waters of Lake Cocibolca. These gargantious alligator gar have few known predators, mainly because the prehistoric relatives of the megafish have tooth-filled mouths and heavily scaled bodies.

Yet, one unfortunate menacing-looking behemoth couldn’t contend with Julio and his missile-like aim.
With a swiftly flying rock, he pounded the alligator gar into deadly submission. This toothy giant didn’t have a chance.
This gargantious gar may look fierce, but attacks against people are unknown. Tell that to little 8 mo. old Braydon, whose mother just finished bathing him in the lake.
Julio chopped up the gar with his machete throwing twinkly flying sparks….seriously! Then, the big hunks of meat were distributed among the neighborhood. Some say that gar is a tasty treat, others say that gar is bony and tough. The only fact I know about gar is that the eggs are poisonous to humans if ingested.

Stay tuned for my gar recipe. In the meantime, I think I’m taking a break from swimming in the shallow waters of our sweet sea.

 

 

Raising the Water Tower

Five Tips for Raising Water Towers

1. Think creatively. When one lives on a primitive island that lacks cranes and pulleys, it helps to think outside of the well when raising a tall water tower.

2. Be Positive. Marvin said, “Don’t worry! I’ve raised water towers many times. I never use machinery.” Also, it helps to be a good boss using clear directions.

3. Have a basic knowledge of physics. Plus, it helps to have strong ropes, thick gloves, and many strong men.

4. Know when to let go and NOT to let go of the ropes. It could save lives.

5. Celebrate the raising of the water tower! Gaseosa! Coca Cola!

Enjoy the video of Marvin Raising the Water Tower. It was an amazing feat of strength and ingenuity.

The Water Tower from Debbie Goehring on Vimeo.

 

The Cultural Cooking Class

Last year, Cory and Sam spent 5 months in Los Ramos developing cultural tourism programs for OutMore Adventures.  They made brochures and a website for Los Ramos Tourism.
This year, the indigenous community of Los Ramos is embracing rural tourism and opening their homes to tourists so that they may experience a slice of daily life on Ometepe Island.
Since it was time for me to exchange my lending library books in Los Ramos, I decided to take their cultural cooking class. Oh, what a wonderful experience it was!!

Francisco’s mother displays all the ingredients for nacatamales.

Then, it was time to head into the banana plantation to pick the best banana leaves for wrapping the nacatamales. Along the way, Ever shows us the Guanacaste seeds…beautiful for making jewelry. The fruit surrounding the Guanacaste seed is also used as soap…just add water..and voila..clean clothes.
Rebecca carries ten perfect banana leaves back to the kitchen.
Ever shows us the outside bark of the banana plant that will be used to wrap the nacatamales. It’s called burreo…I think! We need to soak it in water, then rip it into small strips, like ribbon.
On the way to the kitchen, we stop to gather some achote…the prickly little brown balls. Inside are tiny red seeds we grind for flavoring the masa ( flour) for the nacatamales.
We also discovered that the achote seeds make a fine, natural lipstick.
Next, we peel, dice, and slice all the fresh vegetables for the nacatamales.
It looks like we are really into slicing carrots.
Francisco’s mother adds the onions to the grease. She gave us a choice of vegetable oil or homemade rendered pig lard. Of course, we chose the homemade pig lard.
Tina adds the achote flavored chicken. Most nacatamales are made with pork, but they hadn’t slaughtered a pig, so we made chicken nacatamales. I’m just glad we didn’t have to slaughter the chickens. They slaughtered them early in the morning.
She prepares rice for a topping of the nacatamales. And, the most amazing thing..she’s wearing the apron my mother made for her 2 years ago.
The chicken is ready. Rebecca stirs the masa harina, while a one-eyed dog, and 2 baby chicks peck around the dirt floor. Little Lupita, Fatima’s daughter, enjoys helping her mother and grandmother cook.
Rebecca gets to load her nacatamale first.
Then, we wrap it in a banana leaf..kind of tricky..and add the strips of banana bark to hold it all together.
Cory’s nacatamale wins the grand prize! Plus, it must weigh a ton!
Into the pot of boiling water they go.
Meanwhile, grandpa serenades Cory and Tina with a love song. 
Watch out! Steaming, hot nacatamales are on the way!
Boy, are we hungry! They smell rico!
My perfect nacatamale.
After a trip to visit the school, deliver my books and new school supplies, and a side trip to see our friends the brick makers, we head up the long hill to catch the bus back to La Paloma. The end of a perfect nacatamale day!

Two links from my blog:
1. Want to make Nacatamales? Check out the recipe here.
2. Want to learn more about rural tourism? Check out my post here.

Weekly Photo Challenge: A Good Friday

Ron returned from the states yesterday bearing gifts for all. This morning, after completing my outdoor chores, my two favorite girls came to visit. Lourdes wanted to make cupcakes for Semana Santa. So, I sent her to the side porch to see if there were any eggs in the box. “Dos huevos,” she shouted. “Perfecto,” I responded. Just enough for cupcakes. She mixed, blended, and gleefully decorated two dozen cupcakes.

Then, Johnson and his girlfriend arrived. Last week, Johnson came to my house to visit. He pulled a plastic bag out of his backpack and said, “I have a present for you. It is something for your house.”  His gift to me was his Survivor Run trophy mask. “Johnson, are you sure you want to give your trophy mask to me?” I said kind of teary eyed because I was so touched that he would give his trophy to me. “Of course,” he responded as if I had asked him if he wanted a glass of water.

Johnson is the most humble and gracious person I know. He never complains and works extremely hard to better himself. His goal is to be in the 2016 Olympics as a marathon runner representing Nicaragua. Yet, he has no good running shoes. “Johnson, come here,” I said as I directed him to my laptop. “Pick out a pair of good running shoes. I’ll order then online and Ron can bring them back from the states.”

Today, Johnson tried on his new running shoes. They fit him perfectly. I am so grateful that I can do just a little thing to help him meet his goal.

Next, Marvin and his daughter, Lauren stopped by with a warm, delicious bowl of alvimer. It is a traditional Semana Santa dish of sweet mixed fruit. In exchange, we gave Lauren some Mardi Gras beads that Ron found at his sister’s house in the states.

Soon, Cory, Tina, and Sam arrived. It was a hot afternoon. We are on our second day without running water. AGAIN! It was either go swimming or eat watermelon and play spoons. We opted for both. After teaching all of our Nicaraguan visitors how to play spoons, we joined the crowd swimming on our beach.

At sundown, we watched to cormorants chatting with each other. Then, everyone headed home. Ron and I settled down to a light supper of toasted cheese sandwiches. We still don’t have any running water and I didn’t feel like using my bottled water to wash any dishes.

This evening, I voted for my Cradlepoint Entry. I was trying to win a mini-iPad for Ron, but he bought a new laptop in the states. Now, I have a new goal in mind. I’m trying to hep my young friend, Ever, win this mini-iPad. Ever is the head guide in the Los Ramos rural tourism program. He really needs the internet to communicate with tourists interested in the Los Ramos cultural immersion programs. Presently, my son does all the communication. So, if you can find it in your heart to vote for Ever, please go to this Facebook page to vote. You must have a Facebook account to vote. You can vote every 24 hours until April 12th. Thank you so much for your help.

I’m working on my Weekly Photo Challenge post..a day in the life of…while Ron is passed out on the couch watching basketball games.
It has been a good Friday. Full of love, friends, gifts, and fun. It would have been perfect if we had running water! Feliz Semana Santa!

Lauren’s Mardi Gras beads

Sound asleep

Vote for Ever

A Semana Santa beach day

Johnson’s trophy mask

Teaching our visitors how to play spoons

Picking jicotes

Lourdes makes cupcakes

Yummy alvimer

Johnson and his nephew, Dustin

My two favorite girls

Johnson’s new running shoes

A crowded ferry passes by our house

Writing my Weekly Photo Challenge

A chicken in a box

The cormorants chat on a branch

Weekly Photo Challenge: The Future of Water

This week’s phoneography challenge is to freeze a promise of things to come. As we celebrate UN World Water Day, March 22, 2013, I am advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.  Sealed in amber, my phone photos represent a peek at our future of water, unless we take steps to conserve, reuse, and manage our freshwater resources responsibly.

Lake Cocibolca is at record lows. Fishing boats are stranded in mud flats. To complicate matters, we have not had any running water in our homes for four days.
Our beach resembles a moon-like surface. Although we are surrounded by a sweet sea, our water is poorly managed and becoming increasingly scarce.
Without running water, we are forced to wade beyond the shallow, warm, algae infested water to bathe, wash clothes, and perform other necessities of life.
Aquatic midges, known locally as chayules, feed on the algae. When the wind blows from the lake, they swarm our house blanketing everything in a dust of carcasses and an odor of dead fish.
We are the fortunate ones. We can dig a well, buy a pump, and build a tower to hold a large water tank. But, most of the locals don’t have the means to buy an alternative water source. They continue to haul water, sometimes for miles with babies clinging to their backs.

Water facts in Latin America and the Caribbean
1. 32 million people without water access in Latin America and the Caribbean
2. Sewage from less than 14% at houses is treated at sanitation plants.
3. Major financial constraints restrict the abilities of national and local governments to address all of the water needs simultaneously.
4. Many major lakes and river basins are under great strain from growing populations and decades of agricultural run-off, including Lake Cocibolca, the 11th largest freshwater lake in the world.
5. The periodic effects of the changes in the Pacific ocean current, known as El Niño, alternately brings large-scale droughts and more severe storms. ( We are in a drought period, now. Two years ago, we had severe storms that flooded the lake.)
6. Transboundary water issues require diplomacy and management models that can provide rational water allocation, while respecting country sovereignty. Costa Rica and Nicaragua have battled over water rights to the Rio San Juan for decades.

What can you do?

Take action, spread the word, and create an awareness of the future of water.

 

Battling Bugs

Chayules…swarms streaming…clusters congregating…gnats gathering…masses mobbing
My house is overflowing…jam-packed…filled to the rafters…overrun with chayules.
To complicate matters, we haven’t had any running water for two days now.

This is the price of paradise. Living lakeside creates some challenges: Chayules are my number one challenge. Two times a year, when the wind shifts and blows from the lake, millions of chayules hatch. They live for 3 days and cover every surface. Nothing is sacred. Nothing is out-of-bounds.

They are relatively harmless little gnats if you don’t mind breathing, eating, and sleeping with them. Lacking running water, the rinse water for my dishes is now a swimming pool of gnats. I had chayule flavored coffee this morning, as I picked them out of my ears and nose. Unable to cook, I ate sandwiches on the beach yesterday. Oddly, they weren’t swarming on the beach…only in our houses.

My neighbor’s kids spent the day at the beach. They helped me gather trash that had washed ashore. We played and bathed in the lake. Marina started a fire on the beach and cooked rice. It was a pleasant afternoon, as long as we stayed out of our houses.

But, when darkness blanketed our beach community and we turned on the lights in our homes, the chayules were unforgiving. Fans swirled the gnats like little tornadoes. A whispering buzz filled our homes, warning us of an impending attack. Babies cried. My cats swatted the gnats relentlessly. There was no escape until the lights went out.

At seven o’clock in the evening, La Paloma was dark. We all sought refuge under our mosquito nets ( those of us who have mosquito nets). When I awoke this morning, all was eerily quiet. Mountains of dead chayules dotted the floors. Carcasses clung to the walls and spiderwebs like curtains.

It’s time for the leaf blower. Living on the beach is challenging at times. Yet, I’m determined to make the best of it. We’re going to invest in a water tank and a pump. It’s easier for me to deal with the chayule attack than to live without running water.

You are probably wondering why we continue to live here. Honestly, the challenges of third world living have made me a better person. I’m more flexible and less stressed… more giving and less greedy…more tolerant and less unforgiving. The intangible qualities of life attract me. Soothing…speculative…mythical qualities. Sometimes it’s like living in a fairy tale.

Well, back to reality. It’s leaf blower time! Maybe today we’ll have a dribble of water. The price of paradise. Is it worth it? You betcha!

swarms of chayules

a chayule swimming pool

dusting every surface

Three Little Kittens

Last July, we had a rat problem in the garden. We didn’t want to use poison because we have ten free-range chickens, plus all the neighbors chickens and other critters come to our gringo house to graze.  Instead, we contacted a friend who lives in Granada to see about getting a cat.

We consider ourselves to be dog people, and we weren’t too familiar with the ways of cats. We only wanted one cat, but things didn’t work out that way. “Will you take two kittens?” Carol asked. “They are brother and sister. Poor babies were thrown in the Granada dump,” she pleaded. I relented. What’s one more kitten?

A few days later, the foster mom of our two kittens called. “I just got another kitten about the same age as the brother and sister,” she said. “They love one another. This little kitten was thrown over a wall in Granada and left to die,” she pleaded. I relented again. What’s one more kitten?

When the kittens were old enough to be spayed and neutered, our foster-mother took them to a free clinic in Granada operated by Donna Tabor. See her blog here with heartwarming stories.

Last September, we became full-fledged cat people. Our cats have adjusted to life on Ometepe Island. There is never a dull moment with Black Jack, Queenie, and Ocho.

Bringing the kittens home

Ocho curls up in my pottery shards

Sleeping between our laptops

Their first ferry ride

Chickens? Oh boy!

Time to relax

Always sucking on one another

Curious kittens inspect the construction site

Naptime

Queenie is the queen of the finca

Ocho loves to fish

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Hora de Almorzar

The weekly photo challenge is all about lunchtime. Check out the weekly photo challenge HERE. All of the photos, except the vegetable truck, were taken with my new-to-me iPhone 3Gs. It’s lunchtime on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua! Everyone helps to prepare lunch, the largest meal of the day for a Nicaraguan family.

The vegetable truck comes to our door every Friday. We choose the freshest veggies, all homegrown on the island.

Don Jose, our 78 year young neighbor, hacks away at our fallen tree with his machete. Our neighbors need firewood to prepare lunch.
Stephen gathers our sweet mangoes, while his grandfather cuts firewood. The mangoes will make a tasty dessert.
Meanwhile, Dustin snacks on a juicy jicote, similar to a plum. ( I had to retouch this photo. Dustin wasn’t wearing any underwear or pants. jeje)

Our chickens wait in line to lay eggs under the pollo grill. We never lack fresh eggs around the finca.
Rafaela isn’t neglected either. She’s neighing for a fresh carrot from the vegetable truck.
Black Jack, one of our three rescue kittens, inspects our produce. “Anything good to eat here?”
The avocados will have to wait for tomorrow’s lunch. They aren’t quite ripe. But, the tangerines are ready!
Don Jose stokes the fire. Lunch is almost ready. “Hora de amorzar?” the kids ask.
Lunch is almost ready. A big pot of gallo pinto, a fresh egg omelet, and lots of handpicked fruit. Everyone helps prepare lunch in Nicaragua. It’s my favorite time of the day, the hora de almorzar.

 

Phoneography Challenge: Where’s the Wi-fi?

The timing was perfect for this phoneography challenge because I just brought back a new-to-me iPhone 3s from the states. Since I had uploaded the Instagram app, I was on a search through our tiny neighborhood for a strong wi-fi connection. Our internet is painfully slow at our house.

First, I stopped and asked some neighborhood kids playing in the sand on our beach. “Donde esta wi-fi?” They just looked at me with puzzled, dirty faces.
The whistling boy on his bicycle was waiting for the fisherman to return. “Donde esta wi-fi?” He thought I wanted to learn how to whistle.
The kids were playing soccer at Puesta del Sol. “Donde esta wi-fi?” “Aqui! ” they all shouted across the soccer net. But the internet café wasn’t open until 6 pm.
Perhaps if I get more minutes on my phone, I can use my 3G to upload my photos. So, I ambled down the sandy path to our local pulperia. (tiny grocery store)
Oh no! It’s never closed! Where is Carla?
Carla’s mother came out to greet me, but she didn’t have a clue how to sell me minutes for my phone. She thought her photo was feo (ugly), but I love this beautiful, hard-working woman.
I turned around and headed home. Maybe my internet will be strong enough to post my photos taken with my iPhone.
Uh-oh! Marvin is welding our casita roof. I’ll have to wait until he is finished because our electricity fluctuates too much when he uses the welder.
So, I guess I’ll rake mangoes until the internet café opens. It’s a beautiful day in our tiny neighborhood. A great day to practice taking photos with my new-to-me iPhone.

 

Three Eggs in a Box

A popular TV show in the states asked Ron and I ( actually, the producer found my blog) to make a casting video. No, It isn’t “Honey Boo Boo”, but I think it would make a fine “Green Acres” episode.   I’m not sure if anything will ever come of it, but it was fun to make.  The requirements were to smile, show lots of energy and enthusiasm, and start the video in a beautiful location. Well, I definitely exuded play acting enthusiasm when I screeched, “Three eggs in a box!” However, we did get the beautiful location at the beginning. And, I learned how to embed a Vimeo video using a shortcode.  I hope you enjoy our production, which I call “Three Eggs in a Box.”