27/10/12

26th October Irene rang me in the car last night and said she is coming to meet me at 9 a.m., before I set off for Leon. I did a bit of channel surfing last night and found tens of channels of telenovelas - soaps to us - so I tried to decode some hystrionics in Spanish I woke in the night as someone was going to the toilet in my room - but apparently they were next door. I did wake now and again as the plumbing system was snoring - but the regular exhalation was in pipes were too long and wet for it to be human, but of course it couldn't turn over.
AIr conditioning started getting switched on in various rooms at 4.30, then at 5.30 what sounds like a mynah started calling - lunchtime in Bristol. I thought someone had switched lights on outside, but no - we had rolled into the sunrise once again. Breakfast was banana and pineapple, yoghurt, white sweet bread and butter and instant coffee to drink. 1 night here costed 46 dollars.
Irene kindly took me to the bus for Leon. They only go when full, so as we waited for the full complement of 13, various hawkers, young and old assailed us with snacks, oranges and DVDs. Not the most comfortable of buses for my aging hips, but an interesting ride through the streets of Managua and then the countyrside before I got my first glimpse of Lake Niaragua - which looked beautiful.  The bus station at Leon is a chaotic street market, and I was hustled into a taxi by a man who put my case in the boot and didn't seem to mind if the lid didn't close. It flapped a lot as the taxi hit the bumps of Leon, then I notices dalight through the floor - the last tiem I saw that was when Brian gaive me a lift back to College in the 70s in a Mini Traveller he had. I wasn't that bothered now as I was drifting into unconsciousness because of the fumes.
La Tortuga Booluda (The Lazy Turtle) is a laid-back hostel with free cafe and Internet and make your own pancake - a very relaxed atmosphere that I can recommend. I tracked down Gioconda in Nicatiends - a shop in the next street that sells handmade items. Gioconda works for 3 organizations that link Leon with Oxford and Utrecht, and Bristol with Puerto Morazan.
I was lucky enough to get there for a Carnaval de Marionetas that was celebrating the 5th anniversary of the setting up of a Minibiblioteca that goes around lending books to schools- they have nearly 1300. In the back of Nicatienda is a homework club where children come after school - since 2007 they have had over 4,500 visitors. THey have run over 28 workshops and updated the skills of over 550 teachers. They have a bicycle that goes around to schools providing mobile workshops - since 2010 they have done 192 visits to schools. The procession was noisy, energetic, full of colour and a good way to get to know the streets of Leon. Joining in with the procession were various street hawkers with calls such as ÁGWA AGWA AGWA AGWA AGWAAA'. Back in the 80s this was the first Spanish word Alice learned as she watched Sesame Street. As the procession got back to Nicatienda, I met up with Rosa, who had come out to Nicaragua from Bristol about 4 weeks ago. Her mum was involved in setting up the link with PM in 1986-7.