I got to sleep in until 7:30AM today which was nice. Karen and I went to breakfast right away and joined the other students—I had me some pancakes (I was shocked to see them on the menu to be honest), and guess what I added to it---yep, peanut butter!! It was delicious and the best breakfast since the oatmeal Ronda made me right before I left. He group met shortly to discuss the day’s plans and then it was out to explore the town.
This made me extremely uncomfortable and it didn’t help that my professor was not paying any attention or worried about the students at all. He would just wonder off and not try to keep the group together or anything. He even left one of the students in one of the shops-just walked away from her and continued walking down the street—I realized one of us wasn’t here so I turned around for her. I am very disappointed in the professor and how he is not contributing to this trip at all and treating it as a family vacation for his kids and wife. He doesn’t care about the student at all and is not teaching me a thing since he is relying on Carlos as well. I am very disappointed.
Bluefields is known for fishing and is an all commerce based city. IT has 45,000 people living here. Everything is brought from the port on boats and sold to other parts of the country. We went to the main port and mostly men were just standing around so maybe we came before or arrived after all the action—but there wasn’t any shipments coming in or going out at that time. I did see about 10 boats docked all with different locations set. I learned that 70% of people in Costa Rica used the public bus system and 30% had cars, and in Nicaragua 90% used taxis and 10% had cars. All banks were guarded and everyone needed a passport or ID to enter. There was only a certain number of people allowed in the bank as well-so usually lines formed outside the bank. Since we were walking around and Carlos mentioned that people on the street also exchange money, I decided to go with him and couple other students to a street seller and exchange our money. I was a bit apprehensive, but Carlos had his phone out making sure we got the right amounts.
We continued to walk around the different shops, but mainly everything being sold at one shop was the same at the next and there seemed to be such a high volume with no interested buyers. After walking around for a little bit, I went back to the hotel to talk with an employee about my research---she shared: water is very scarce in this area, no public water is supplied on the weekends, and the public water she would not recommend drinking (which is why they supply water bottles for the guests). Fortunately, the hotel has a well of their own to get water. She shared that there is no money or education to do so.
After we got taxis, it was off to lunch at a local restaurant. I decided to get cheese pizza which reminded St. Louise old-school hot lunches meals. I liked it, but I was not a fan of the cheese which was supposedly mozzarellas. While at lunch, I was starting to see two different groups form. There was a bit of a personality clash and I think everyone is getting a bit sick of everyone else. After lunch it was time to bring our suitcase down and start heading to the airport.
The airport was very tiny. It was one reception area, one metal detector, and one area with cars and the tv. We were charged $2 to “use the airport.” I think sometimes think I am being taking advantage of and since I don’t know what they are saying anyway, I can’t tell whether they are using me because I am American or this is the real rule.
They weighed all of our suitcases and also weighed each of us with our carry-ons. There were no rules referring to how much the carry-on weighs or what is being brought with you (like water, liquids), but the focus is a combined weight. The airport makes everyone arrive early but then makes them sit for hours and wait. A plane landed about a half hr and it was finally ours! Since the plane was late, I started talking with a ministry trip (they whole group went to the dump of Nicaragua. They are called globalcelebrations.com and a wife and husband travel most the year delivering the gospel to those in need. They also provide food and prayers for the people and places they visit. There were helpers from AUS, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and all over the U.S.---about 30-35 of them! I just thought what they did was fantastic and very inspiring and motivating to help others!
A plane finally landed after a couple hours and after about a half hour they told us it was for us. We were called by name to go out and stand in a line and then we had to walk out to the plane in a single file line---I felt like I was boarding a spaceship! There is about 40-44 people on this plane and the trip was really short—only 40 minutes. It was a rather smooth ride which I wasn’t expecting because of its size and propellers.
Once we landed on Corn Island (I could see a few trees but nothing too island yet), we had to have our passports checked again and then we claimed out luggage and got three taxis. While driving to the hotel, I saw many homes (small, one room shacks they looked like), lots of roaming goats, cows, and horses, and islanders hanging around their homes. The land had a lot of forestry, and a ton of trash (a lot of plastic all over). The road was paved until right before the hotel. Then the pavement just stopped. The hotel was on a dirt, well muddy road. The taxis had to slow down and idle through this thick and wet mud. It took about 5 minutes to go about a quarter of a mile. It was crazy bumpy—throwing everyone all over the taxi. We finally reached out hotel though---it was just beautiful--We went from poverty (Bluefields) to paradise (this Corn Island hotel) in about an hour!
The rooms were small, colorful (bright green and blue) houses with two hammocks in front and 4 bedrooms. I shared a room with Karen and our room smelled of fresh pine wood. It was a very nice room, air conditioned, clean and the wood aroma was very relaxing. It didn’t take us much time before we dropped our things off, put on our suits, and head directly out to the beach. It took maybe two minutes to get there---I loved this place! It felt great to be laying out in the sun. I didn’t go in the water, but everyone else said it was warm and refreshing. Unfortunately the sun was already setting so it was getting dark quickly. I met with the manager of the hotel and got to interview him on the spot!
The manager shared that electricity is very expensive on the island since there is only 2 generators supplying all the energy to the entire island. He also shared that he gets water from the swamp behind his hotel and that his beach is private. He had to do this because the islanders would come use his showers and amenities (I saw a few armed men standing around the beach and by the hotel entrance). He didn’t recycle because the island just puts all the garbage together and piles it up.
After the interview, it was dinnertime—we ate at the restaurant in the hotel. The food at this hotel was outstanding---everything looked and tasted amazing! I had shrimp in a coconut sauce with mashed potatoes and veggies. It was just exquisite! The group met to discuss what we have seen in the last few days and then we were free for the evening. Karen and I went to bed because we were pretty exhausted from the traveling.
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