Our first Sunday in Nicaragua was a day of welcoming. La Merced evolved from a sister parish exchange with Father Castro's parish in Managua and the St. Francis parish in Salisbury. Consequently, Sunday morning found us warmly received in the mass at Father Castro's church. (I am not Catholic, so I'm sure I'm using all the wrong terms. Bear with me!)
Nancy Weller, one of La Merced's organizer, participated in the Mass; towards the end of the service, a young couple performed a traditional dance, and afterward, we were invited to a phenomenal breakfast with many of the parishioners including Father, a doctor we would be working with at the hospital, and a guy named Jerry (along with his wife) who would be taking us out for the day.
The afternoon was spent at the Masaya national park, an active volcano site not far out of the city. I wish I hadn't been so tired from the weekend; I would have captured a lot more of the natural phenomena we saw. It reminded me very much of Réunion, where Megan studied abroad for a year. (Also a volcanic island, but located in the Indian Ocean).
Like Réunion, one of the volcanoes is currently active (Masaya), sending up steam like smoke signals. A sign at the entrance to a trail leading to a viewing point warned of the gasses, and to leave immediately if they were emitted. No word, however, on how one would know. Pretty sure they would be invisible... would there be a smell? A warning siren? Any clue? The other interesting thing was everyone is required to back their cars into the parking spaces. No doubt for a quick getaway.
After Masaya, we went shopping at Mercadio Viejo (an artisan market). Really cool handicrafts, and I didn't see one 'made in China' tag. How refreshing. Especially since China (and Argentina) are supposedly cozying up to Ortega after the US pulled foreign aid from Nicaragua.
The main handicrafts of Nicaragua seem to be hammocks, coffee, really cool wood bowls and cutting boards, dolls, blouses/shirts, and woven mats.
We stopped for dinner at a great outdoor restaurant on our way back to the hotel. Notable item: the piña coladas were the best ever. And yes, it's plural. I had two!
On our way home, we made one last stop at Laguna de Masaya. It was getting dark when we arrived. It was a carnival atmosphere. Little shops lined the street approaching the lagoon. Families with children and couples were everywhere. Street musicians were performing. I was expecting to walk towards the lagoon and find a beach with people relaxing and playing in the sand.
Instead, we came to an overlook with benches placed sporadically amphitheater style. The place was indeed full of people sitting, running, laughing, and playing. But there was no sand. The center attraction: the view of the lagoon, an ancient crater, nestled among gentle hills far below.
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