30th October

To get from León to Tonalá took 2 buses. Rosa said that Leán was different as it was a city - with drains, cars, cafes, backpackers, a university, a theatre .... Tonalá is rural, very rural. Some of the roads are covered with tesselated concrete slabs, but the recent rains mean that the crossroads are often little muddy lakes. People travel by bike or motorbike or by a sort of bicycle rickshaw called a triciclo. Some have motorbikes and there are a few trucks, but I haven't seen a car yet.
I don't need an alarm as the vice-alcalde (deputy Mayor) wakes me every morning just after 5. Not personally, but her voice comes over the Tannoy a few streets away. She tells me what's going on and where I can buy men's trousers and the like. She's a nurse and still gets paid as one, whilst receiving a salary as vice-alcalde and payment for telling me where to buy things - she has the entrepreunerial spirit. But maybe not for long - there are municipal elections here on Sunday.
There are 5 parties going against the Sandanistas, but I haven't fathomed out the differences yet. Yesterday in school we had to stop teaching a couple of times as trucks went by laden with loudspeakers playing LOUD reggae - there isn't a Noise Party, but some of the songs apparently have political messages. In the afternoon (I'm in the school 7-12)
Rosa dropped by and we went for a walk through the banana plantations, across the river - nice views across to the largest volcano in Nicaragua - San Cristobal. In September it erupted but seems quiet now. She has been here 4 weeks already so has experienced and learned a lot and is a mine of information. It would have been difficult without her here as it is refreshing to be able to reflect upon things in your own language.
On Tuesday afternoon we went to a PLI (Partido Liberal Individual ) rally where a pastor was calling on God to help his party - God is big in Nicraguan politics. Then in the evening Rosa went fishing with people from the shrimp cooperative in Puerto Morazan.   Wednesday afternoon we achieved a bit of political balance by jumping on one of the 30 Sandanista buses going to Puerto Morazán for a rally there. Rosa decided that sitting in the bus was too hot so joined some jovenes on the roof. It was good to see Puerto Morazán - the river and wetlands were fresher and more open than Tonalá, but apparently the proximity to the estuary means that
well water is too salty to drink.   The Sandanistas certainly go in for politics with enthusiasm as well as noise. There was an odd performance from a duo who were introduced as revolutionary but as the miniskirted singer sang, the other squirmed in her hot pants - not my idea of revolution! I took an early bus back and was quizzed by some women as we waited for the bus to go. Their political anaysis was that the PLC and PLI want power so they can get big farms for themselves, and that the Sandanistas are concerned with the poor.    -