Un Otro Mundo...

Poverty in Nicaragua is much more widespread than it is in Costa Rica. I spent the day in Candelaria, a tiny village near Chichigalpa. I went with a group of humanitarian workers from the U.S. who live in Leon and spend almost ever day in Candelaria with the villagers. They are in the process of building a medical clinic and a soup kitchen, and they have a two-acre garden where they train villagers to grow produce for the village. Even though the growing conditions in Nicaragua are so good, the people have no knowledge of how to plant or maintain a garden. Their staple food is rice and beans, which forms a good protein but does not provide the body with enough nutrients.

Opportunities here are even more limited than in Costa Rica. None of the women are educated, but then, the men aren't, either. Most of them never even leave the village, so they have little idea of what even exists outside of their world.

...Nicaragua...

Getting a Nicaraguan stamp in my passport was more difficult than I anticipated. I was swindled by a money changer and attacked by a drug dog... but it's a very nice stamp.

I was standing in line at customs when a drug dog appeared out of nowhere and lunged at my backpack, clawing at it with his paws. Two members of the Nicaraguan drug police force pulled me aside and dumped the entire contents of my bag, only to have to try and fit it all back in again. I am not, of course, a drug smuggler, but it would seem, from my limited experience, that the Nicaraguan police force--or at least, the border patrol--takes things more seriously than do their Costa Rican counterparts.

I arrived in Leon, the second largest city in Nicaragua, in time for the festival celebrating Nicaragua's freedom and revolutionist Daniel Ortega. Throngs of people were gathered in the town square singing and waving flags. A thick cloud of smoke hung over the square from fireworks and cannons. The celebration lasted for hours... I never saw such a large display of patriotism in Costa Rica, probably just because I wasn't there at the right time. But after only a short time here, I would say that the difference between Nicaragua and Costa Rica is quite distinct.

Cultura Roja

On my way to an assignment the other day, my taxi driver pulled me from my daydreams to alert me to the fact that we were driving through the red light district. "Never come here," he said. "Never even step outside of a car here."

I have been to the red light districts in most of the countries I have been to, but this one will definitely stand out in my memory. Prostitution is huge in Costa Rica since it is legal, especially among gay transvestites. But on this particular street, the prostitutes were middle-aged women whose bodies were ruined by drugs and years of selling themselves. It was the middle of the day, but they still lined the street, many of them strung-out and leaning up against buildings looking like they could hardly stay on their feet. There was nothing sensual or attractive about them, just the hard cruelties of life portrayed on their skin and in their eyes.

I was talking to someone about the area, and was told that in some places you can see men of all ages lined up to wait for their girlfriends or wives to "get off work." I couldn't believe this--what type of man would allow his wife or girlfriend to sell her body as her daily work? This seems to go against the "protective" and "territorial" nature of men, especially the overly-jealous Costa Rican men.