Castaways

Jean and I have been married for roughly two months now, and it was time to make my three month visa run to Bluefields. We decided to make the most of the trip by bringing more of our things from Pearl Lagoon. It should have been a routine trip, but traveling in Nicaragua rarely goes according to plan.

We set off from Corn Island on Saturday night on the Captain D, the largest and allegedly safest of the boats available. The trip was very smooth, neither of us are prone to sea sickness but we took some nausea pills regardless to be sure. We woke up in Bluefields the next morning, and spent the day with our friends in Bluefields. The next day we made the obligatory stop at immigration, did some shopping then headed to Pearl Lagoon. It was nice to be "home" again and to see all the brothers, and all the exciting things that had happened lately with the new boat and Miskito class. When it was time to leave on Wednesday (there are normally two boats travelling to Corn Island on Wednesdays) we crammed as many things including wedding gifts into as many suitcases as we could manage to drag with us. Either the pangero (panga driver) was in a good mood or just wasn't paying attention, because we didn't get charged a single Cordoba for all our bags. As we pulled into Bluefields we saw the Captain D pulling into the dock at the same time, it looked like we were making all our connections easily this time.

Jean stayed with the bags while I went up to the office to buy our tickets, and then we hauled all our luggage onto the ship. Being so early we managed to get a bunk on the lower decks, today the boat was especially crowded, as we learned that Rio Escondido (the government owned passenger boat that normally leaves the same day) had broken down and was not running. In any case the Captain D is very large so we had enough space. The boat was scheduled to leave at 10:00 AM, so we waited on board, also meeting several other witnesses who were also traveling to Corn Island at the same time. At this point, everything looked great. Time went on, and we saw that the boat was not leaving on time. This is nothing new, in fact they never leave on time so we thought nothing of it. People from the wharf began coming on board to sell food and snacks to the passengers, I had a rather nice slice of pizza.

Excited to go to Corn Island... we thought.

We finally set off around 1:00 PM. We seemed to be moving slowly across the bay, although the boat needs to follow a long winding channel to get across due to the shallowness of the bay of Bluefields. We made it to the Bluff, a small island where the military checkpoint is before heading out to sea. It took about two hours to get there, it normally takes 45 minutes to one hour. As we waited for the paperwork to be finalized we heard the engines starting up... well, trying to. They fired up twice, and then went silent. No one paid much attention, but after several hours went by we knew something was wrong.

Finally around 5:00 PM, the captain came to inform everyone that the boat would not be able to travel, and that anyone that wanted a refund could get it from the office in bluefields. We were also told that another boat would be by shortly to pick up those that wished to carry on. This is the last piece of information that anyone was given voluntarily. As the hours went by, rumors spread throughout the ship among passengers. Some said the boat had just left from rama which was 6 hours away, others said it was coming form Corn Island. I had personally seen the boat in question (Isleño) in Bluefields as we were pulling away. Others said it had broken down as well, or that it was loaded down with cargo and wasn't taking anyone. In reality, it was coming from Bluefields but it was just taking its sweet time.

It finally arrived, well after dark. The boat was out of food to sell to the passengers, and people had only left what they brought with them. Jean and I had put our luggage on the deck in preparation to leave the boat, and were waiting upstairs by the bridge so that we could see what was going on. Isleño pulled up next to captain D, and immediately passengers started scrambling across the deck, climbing over cargo and vehicles to try and jump on to the Isleño. Several made it on board, only to be told to get off the boat and wait until they were called. We watched the chaos, worrying mostly about our luggage which now had people standing on top of it. Another hour went by with people standing and waiting to be let on the Isleño. Some were lining up to enter the bridge to speak to the captain, and find out if they would be allowed on. He explained that passengers who had come from Rama (and thus had been on the ship for 6 hours already before it reached bluefields) would be given priority. Jean and I were on the "third list" meaning that we would not likely be getting on. Isleño has a capacity for 60 according to rumors, and there were 40 passengers from Rama. So we knew we wouldn't be getting on.

seeing that people were starting to panic, we decided it would be best to get off the ship. We called the brothers and made contact with the local congregation at the bluff to find accommodation. Getting off the ship was easier said than done though. We took our backpacks off, after climbing and squeezing through a wall of frustrated people. Jean sat with the luggage on the wharf, while I tried to squeeze through and get our suitcases one by one. It took hours, because at times people were not willing to move from the spot they were standing for me to pick up the suitcase.

Finally, the Navy told everyone to get off of the ship... Nobody moved. I still couldn't get to my suitcases, and I couldn't get off the ship even without them because the people standing behind me wouldn't move either. Finally workers started unloading the cargo onto isleño (which evidently had priority over the passengers) and there was more room to move, I grabbed the last two suitcases and got off. The navy again told everyone to get off the ship, and no one moved. 

Refugee camp at the brother's home

Once we had our things we left, leaving the angry mess of people behind. The brothers were already waiting for us outside the gate. 9 other witnesses also decided to stay at the bluff. We later heard that people were asked to form two lines, one of those from Rama, and one of those from bluefields in order to board the ship. No one cooperated, and people crammed on in a mad panic until the boat was full, and it left with only a fraction of the passengers from captain D, leaving the rest to sleep on the street at El Bluff without any food or water, only what they could find on the street. El bluff has no hotels and very few restaurants. I estimate around 120 people were left behind. The brothers found mattresses for people to sleep on the floor in one of their houses, and we were able to use the kitchen to prepare a proper meal.

The next morning we decided to go in service, to make the most of our time. We walked up a hill to a rock-quarry and preached to people sitting in makeshift tents, smashing rocks with a hammer. They were making gravel by hand evidently for a very small salary. It kind of helped put things in perspective to see what these people had to do to make a living.

Rock smasher tent

We went to the wharf again in the afternoon to see what we could find out. There were people everywhere, they had been there since the night before sleeping on the ground and in hammocks outside the gate. Some approached and asked us if we knew where to find a hotel, or food. Many had spent the night on the Captain D which was repaired and returned to Bluefields that morning. They had then taken a panga Back to the bluff in order to board the ship again as it was allegedly departing again the same day in the afternoon. One of the sistsers decided to go on our behalf and get the money back for our tickets, then return to the bluff to go on the next boat scheduled to leave Friday at 3:00 AM.

While she was in the office however she learned new in formation which she told us about by phone. There was in fact, no boat coming that afternoon, but one would be coming at 3:00 AM the next morning and that we should use our same tickets to board it. She wrote down our names on the "list" to get on, however she and the others decided to return to bluefields and cancel their trip to corn island for the time being. The company garunteed that everyone on that list would be allowed on the boat that was definitely coming at 3:00 AM Friday. So we spent another night with the brothers at the bluff.

Late that night however we got information of someone working at the company who we phoned. He told us the boat would not be coming at three, but at 5, or maybe 6 or 7 in the morning. Many of those sleeping on the street had given up and gone home during the day, leaving only about 50 who were determined to get to Corn Island. They were not aware of this development, although we tried to inform some of them, but they had been assured that it was coming at 3.

It never came. We showed up at the wharf with all our bags, along the way busting a wheel on one of the suitcases. Again, people were all over the place sleeping on the ground waiting and hoping that a boat would arrive. Hours went by, no boat. We made some phone calls and found out from someone in Rama (6 hours down the river) that he could see both of the boats that were supposed to have come at 3, and they were still there at the port not even moving. Around the same time the Navy told us the boat would arrive around 9 or 10:00 AM, which would be about 1 hour. Needless to say it never came. We kept phoning our contact in Rama and he kept telling us the same thing "The boat is still here". And every time, they kept telling us it would soon arrive. We phoned the company as well, and they said captain D was being fixed and would arrive shortly. We spent the entire day waiting, waiting, and waiting. Mid-day passed, some sisters from the bluff brought us food around lunch time.

Meanwhile we heard from our friends in Rama that the Isleño was not allowed to leave from Rama because it was overloaded with cargo (no passengers yet). The captain was unwilling to unload any cargo, so they sat there for another day. Finally around 5:00 pm, one of the passengers who had showed up later form the bluff, expecting to get on the Captain D decided to phone his buddy who owned a lobster ship to come and give everyone a ride. Word spread quickly among the stranded passengers and the general mood started to improve. Some were even singing and playing the guitar. 

Me, Jean, and another sister when we found out a boat was coming

After about an hour the lobster boat arrived, and the captain came out from the port. Everyone waited silently to see what would happen.

"Everyone goes" said the captain. We all sighed with relief and were ecstatic to finally be going. Meanwhile we got a phone call from "Transporte Norman Downs" (the captain d's company) saying they were getting the boat ready and it should be able to leave soon. I said "Ok thanks" and hung up. We had waited two days and had lost count of the number of lies this company told us. They were trying not to lose the money they had made from the tickets and didn't want us going anywhere without them, but we were going.

Everyone was buzzing with excitement as we climbed on to the fishing boat, the crew helping people with their bags. We all kept thanking them for finally taking us home, and when we asked how much the trip would cost they said "Nothing". Furthermore, the fishing boat was cleaner and in better condition than any of the passenger boats. The boat was empty and on its way back to Corn Island, so it had no lobster cages or any fishing equipment, so all the passengers just put blankets and mattresses down on the deck, leaving more than enough room for everyone.

On board the Pacific Dream, the fishing boat that rescued us.

It was a smooth and happy ride back to Corn Island, we made it in around midnight. It was an eye opening experience. Kind of a good reminder that anything can happen and then no one is entitled to anything. Thanks to the brotherhood we passed through the ordeal without being in any serious danger or being completely lost. If this had happened in any other country, there would be no end to the lawsuits and it would be all over the news, but in reality no one will likely be held accountable and things will carry on as usual. Isleño finally did leave Rama, but they didn't stop to pick anyone up at the bluff. So much for the "Guarantee". Captain D is still broken.

I've also started a new side business, we're trying to make a little as "Travel advisers" using our experience in the area to plan and book vacations. Check out the information page at:
http://nicaraguadrift.blogspot.com/

Now we're looking forward to our assembly at the end of the month, hopefully our next attempt to get to Bluefields and back is a bit more successful.

Stuff

Its been a while since the regional convention now, and not really much has happened lately, except that I got married and moved to Corn Island. Getting married in Nicaragua is a little different (so I'm told) from getting married in Canada. I wouldn't know, as I've not been married before but the requirements are quite different and the resulting wedding is significantly different from what I've seen as well.

Firstly, one cannot get married at the Kingdom Hall like most do in Canada. In Nicaragua you need to be married by a Judge at the local "Casa de Justicia" or as they call it in Creole the "Judge house". From what I can tell its a court house as it appears that the Judge did not actually live in that building. Maybe its a place where people can come and be judgemental?

One generally has a talk at the Kingdom hall the following day after the civil ceremony, or later on in the same day. Since the real wedding already took place and the talk at the hall was optional, we had to say the vows in past tense. "I have taken you" instead of "I take you". I had mixed feelings about that but in the end I don't think anyone even noticed. We had also already exchanged the rings by the time of the Kingdom Hall ceremony, but we exchanged them again just for show, and for the sake of photos. Although our photographer was present at the civil ceremony as well.

The documents were not too difficult to find, and did not require that I return to Canada which was quite a relief. The hardest thing to find was a document called a "certificate of singleness" which has to be from my home country, and the Canadian government does not issue any such document. We were told by the embassy that there is one that can be obtained in lieu of that, but I would have to return to Canada in order to get it and have it signed by a Canadian notary. Fortunately that was a lie and the judge in Pearl Lagoon said that a "Marriage search" which can be obtained by my parents without my presence was sufficient. My parents brought all the other documents with them when they came down for the wedding, the rest of which was pretty standard (birth certificate, etc).

And that's something else I never imagined would happen, that my family would come here to Nicaragua! but it did! Right now most of my immediate family are here on Corn Island with us. My parents flew in a few weeks before the wedding, and I came over on the boat to get a place ready for them and show them around before going back to pearl lagoon. Jean and I went to meet them at the bluefields airport a long with my sister and her family the day before the wedding. It was fun to see someone else's reactions to seeing Nicaragua for the first time.

The reception was a huge success as well. We had the party at what is without a doubt the best hotel/restaurant in Pearl Lagoon, Casa Ulrich. We also had Mr. Fred (the owner) cater the reception, which was probably among the best decisions we could have made. Guests had a choice of either chicken or fish, which was served with various sides. Everyone was well fed and as always Fred's cooking exceeded expectations, and at prices comparable to fast food back in Canada.

View from Lighthouse hotel, Little Corn

We spent the first part of our honeymoon at Long Bay on Big Corn Island, and then the rest on Little Corn, and now were settled int our place on Big Corn where we will be serving for the foreseeable future. We don't know how long we will be staying here but we felt it was time for a change, and at the same time there is a need for us. There is only one Spanish congregation here, and a small Creole-english group trying to become a congregation, for which they need more permanent helpers. Lots of visitors come to Corn Island eager to help in the ministry, but they stay only for a short time. When they leave at times the group is left with barely enough people to continue.

The entire group is made up of foreigners like myself trying to learn Creole, and my wife Jean is the first actual creole person in the group, so hopefully we can help in reaching the people here and help others to learn Creole faster.

Dive Shop, Big Corn

Dive shop again

ready for takeoff

Big Corn

Regional Convention - San Salvador 2015

We often say that "this was the best convention yet", but the events around this years assembly really did make it the most memorable yet. It was a long and exhausting journey for our congregation, but we also received overwhelming hospitality from our international brotherhood.

Our region includes English and Creole congregations from Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Our Journey from Pearl Lagoon started on Tuesday at 5 AM. We caught a bus to Rama, which takes about 5 hours on bumpy jungle road. After which we had planned to take the express bus from Rama to Managua but it wasn't available. Unfortunately this meant we had to run to the next bust after our 5 hour trip (no time for a bathroom break) and hop on for another 4 hour trip to Juigalpa. After Juigalpa it was another 3 hours or so to Managua. By the end of the day we all felt (and probably looked) like zombies. But now we were half way there!

Do-pi, the Creole word meaning "Zombie"

After that exhausting trip, we had to find ourselves a place to stay in Managua until the next morning when we would be taking the Ticabus to El Salvador. Imagine our delight when it turned out that someone from the local congregations had arranged hotel rooms for all of us right at the Ticabus terminal! we didn't have to pay a cordoba, and didn't have to worry about how we would make it to the terminal at 5 AM. The hotel even had a coffee shop inside that opened at 4 AM, just before we had to get on the bus. We never met the brothers that had arranged this for us, but we were so very thankful to have a clean and safe place to sleep at the end of the journey.

Ticabus hotel

The next morning was part two. There was a dramatic increase in the quality of the bust however. Even traveling in "economico" the bus had air conditioning, arm rests, cup holders, comfortable seats, and even a bathroom. We had to wear jackets thought because the AC only has one setting which is evidently used preserve meat. That is of course until about halfway through Honduras when the AC broke down, but they were able to fix it.

Repairs on the fly

Honduras

So after another 15 hours on the road, we finally made it to San Salvador! And again the hospitality of the brothers caught up with us. As the bus pulled in to the terminal there was a large crowd of people standing outside holding signs saying "Welcome!" and "We love you!". We all had arrangements to stay with local families in San Salvador. Evidently local congregations had assigned groups of volunteers to look after our every need. So as soon as we got off the bus, we were each handed a bottle of water and a sandwich, Then we were helped with our baggage to a brothers car. Some who were housing larger groups of us had rented buses to drive us around. We were taken to a lovely house with several guest suites where an older sister from the congregation had prepared a hot meal for us.

Welcoming comittee

Beautiful San Salvador

Delicious Pupusas

Starbucks!

More Starbucks

Inside Starbucks

And of course, my annual cheeseburger.

We had a day to rest before the program began, so Jean and I went shopping for wedding stuff. I also got to take Jean to Starbucks for the first time. San Salvador has a lot of amenities that one cannot find in Nicaragua, and comfort foods like McDonalds, So of course I had to get a cheeseburger and fries because it might be another year before I can eat that again.

The program of course was amazing, but I won't go into detail as some with access to this blog may not have had their assembly yet and I don't want to spoil it for them. I will say though that it was very up-building and the use of videos really made the program go quickly and made it easy to follow. The brothers are really reaching out to those of us with squirrel-like attention spans.

I already miss Starbucks. If anyone is coming down and wants to bring a treat please bring those Starbucks refreshers that come in a little package.

Camping

One of my favorite pastimes since I was a kid has been camping. Its also probably the number one thing I miss from being in Canada, is going on long camping trips out in the woods, being close to nature and away from all traces of modern society... sitting around a fire and most importantly doing nothing at all.

Occasionally while working our more distant territories we do go "camping" as some of them take nearly a day to reach and it would be impractical to return the same day. Also most of them do not have hotels or hostels to stay at so we are left with the option of camping.

However, for the first time we got to go on a recreational camping trip. Its a bit different than camping in Canada but it was an awesome experience. A family visiting from Germany was kind enough to invite myself, Jean, and another couple on a 3 day camping trip in the Pearl Cays.

The Cays (pronounced Keys) are a group of tiny islands in the Caribbean about a one hour Panga ride from Pearl Lagoon. They vary in size and are completely undeveloped with the exception of some abandoned houses that were never finished constructing. I mention the history of these buildings in a previous post, basically someone started building them illegally and were forced to leave. There are no shops obviously. When you are on these islands you only have what you brought with you and what you can find from nature.

One of the keys is so small it is just one palm tree and a bunch of sand. The one we stayed on was somewhat bigger, Clark key is just about as long as 2 or 3 city blocks... I guess. You can walk from one end to the other in a few minutes, but its big enough that you can go for a walk and not see anyone. We brought all our camping gear and food for 3 days with us and set up camp under some young coconut trees. (we picked a place where the tents were not in danger from falling coconuts, as coconuts kill more people than sharks, you know.)

Hammock Zone

Tent City

Casa Mateo

we had a small campfire as well, we were told not to have a large one by some conservationists (the only other people you will see around here) as it would attract the baby sea-turtles that were hatching in the area. We went to great lengths, walking around at night with red flashlights trying to see baby turtles running for the water, but all we saw were their tracks, we just missed them each time.

We used a typical coal "furnace" to cook our food using wood heat, and also ate what fish we were able to catch in addition to what we had brought with. Our driver picked a dead fish out of the water on the way to the islands which turned out to be delicious.

Jean making Coffee

Camp Kitchen

Its amazing how the daylight changes your schedule when you are not exposed to any artificial light. We usually all went to bed around 7, and got up just in time to see the sunrise at 4:30-5:00 AM. We spent a lot of the time snorkeling and building sand castles, but somehow it didn't feel quite like camping because there were no pine trees. I don't feel like I'm camping without pines, but i suppose that palm trees are an acceptable trade.

Sunrise

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeean

July

It is now July, and Pearl Lagoon is in the beginning of the rainy season once again. The congregation is still making regular boat trips up the lagoon, in fact there is another trip to Karawala coming up very soon. This time I plan to bring more camping gear. 

We are also getting a new boat! It was determined that the Mensajero III is not the most suitable class of boat for our territory, as it cannot carry enough people to effectively work our distant territories. So it was approved by the branch to have a new one built! This type of boat is known as a Cayucon (not sure of the spelling) as opposed to a Panga. It is much larger and is often used on the river communities to deliver cargo. The Mensajero III carries 5-7 people at a speed of 12 knots. Our new boat will be able to travel at 13 knots, and carry 20 or possibly more passengers. It will be covered to protect from the rain and also have a closed compartment for literature and supplies to keep them dry.

Mensajero IV, under construction

We have also been informed that new special pioneers have been assigned to Pearl Lagoon. That means that we will have 4 in total. The first couple is working on Miskito and Mayagna translation and also taking the lead in the Miskito language field as they are both fluent in that language. The next couple however have much experience in the Creole language, and will be focusing on that. This is something we really need, as learning Creole is quite difficult for many. Rather than learning a new set of words and grammar, you have to learn how to speak your own mother tongue in a way that you have been taught all your life is wrong. It takes courage to comment in Creole, we have a tendency in the congregation to simply comment in English because we are timid about using Creole. For us foreigners, we are afraid that we will say something wrong and sound silly, whereas the locals are timid to use it because when they were growing up they were taught it was just "bad english" and that they had to speak properly in the kingdom hall.

The best thing, from what I have seen, in combating both of these mentalities is for someone who knows how to do it, to work up the courage and set the example by just commenting in pure creole. Hopefully these new special pioneers who have dealt with all these challenges before will be able to motivate us to progress with our creole.

Oh and one more new detail, I got engaged. My Fiance Jean grew up in Guatemala but is originally from the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua. We met and have come to know each other while serving here in Pearl Lagoon. As far as I know, ours will be the first wedding in the Pearl Lagoon Kingdom Hall. We actually first met 3 years ago on my first visit to Pearl Lagoon, but didn't start dating until this last year. In fact, i made a post about that visit to pearl lagoon here. she's even there in one of the pictures.

Cooking with wood

Many homes in Nicaragua do not have a gas nor electric stove on which to cook. Some do, but prefer to use a wood stove to cook certain things on, so they have both. Its a common sight, particularly in Miskito communities to see two buildings at each home, one is the main house and the second is the kitchen, where they have a wood fire on which to cook so they don't fill the entire house with smoke.

One reason to have a a wood stove to cook with in addition to a gas one is for cooking beans. Cooking dry beans takes many hours, and would be too expensive and impractical to cook using gas, so many families cook large batches of beans over a fire in order to save on gas. Below are some pictures and step by step instructions for starting and using a cooking fire.

Your stove may look something like this. A wooden stand with a box on top filled with sand (to prevent the fire from spreading to the stand/box) and some concrete bricks to contain the fire and also to set a grill or a large pot on above the fire. Its also important to have airflow and easy access to the fire for adding/removing sticks.

Just like starting any fire, start with a pile of small thin dry sticks or kindling, maybe some bark or paper scraps if you have them. Its a common practice also to burn pieces of plastic to get it going, although you may prefer to stick with tree bark.

Gradually add more until you have a decent flame going, then when ready put in some larger pieces of wood. Its good to use long sticks, so that one end can be burning and you can handle them by the other end to move them around without being burned.

Fan the flames with a lid to get it nice and hot.

And now you're cooking with wood!

Karawala

This past weekend we went on a 4 day trip to work our most distant territories. The Pearl Lagoon congregation technically has territory all the way until it meets up with the boundaries of the puerto cabezas congregations, so they asked us how far north we could realistically work. The answer was that we could reach as far as Karawala in the Rio Grande area, so that is where we went. We left at 5:00 AM and the trip took us about 4 hours to reach the first community. There are many towns here, mostly along the Rio Grande de Matagalpa river. We reached it by going to the top of the Pearl Lagoon, and then through the Top Lock lagoon and into the river. The weather was somewhat favorable but there were enough waves to make sure we were properly rinsed before arrival.

The first community was Kara, of which the primary language is Miskito, however the people also speak Creole and Spanish. We spent the day there, taking turns guarding the boat which we had parked under a tree on the shore. One of the rules that goes with a boat belonging to the branch is that we can never leave it unattended. I took the afternoon shift. Of course the one staying with the boat also gets to preach because people take notice of a new boat in town and come over to make conversation. After we finished for the day, we headed off to Walpa where we planned to spend the night.

Arriving in Walpa

Home

Walpa is another Miskito community, and on a previous visit a family living on the shore showed us great hospitality, and so we parked the boat in their front yard. They gave us the use of their kitchen, and also allowed us to sleep inside an abandoned house that they had been planning to tear down. Actually they offered us a bedroom in their house, but since we had tents the house was just fine. It had no walls but it still had a roof to protect from the rain. For the first day we had all brought our own meals, so I had my second serving of tuna sandwiches on coconut bread for supper. The next morning the brothers assigned to cooking for Satuday had prepared scrambled eggs and rice for breakfast, and rice with sardines for lunch. Luckily I had brough extra ramen noodles and bread, because it was at this point I learned that Nicaraguans generally do not eat supper, so no arrangement for a third meal had been made.

Walpa

Our territory for the second day, in the morning, was Walpa where we had spent the night. Walpa is a very quiet, peaceful town (one reason why we chose to spend the night here). Normally people have electricity, but at the point of our arrival the power had been out for 15 days and it was unknown when it would be back. People in Walpa get their water from wells, which was surprisingly clean. I used a portable filter and iodine drops before drinking it just to be safe though.

Sunset in Walpa

Making the morning coffee

After Walpa we went down the river to Sandy Bay Sirpi, which is a large town that faces the sea. Miskito people seem to have the custom of building their houses far apart from eachother, so all of these communities were well spaced out with fields of flat grass in between. A brother who had been in the Miskito field for a long time commented that they also tend to plant coconut trees everywhere they go, so the coconut palm is almost like a "Miskito Flag". When we reached the side of Sandy Bay facing the ocean it was amazingly beautiful. The area looked not unlike the east side of Corn Island, but a little (a lot) less developed. We finished just before sunset, which gave us time to make it back to Walpa before dark where we spent another night.

Sandy Bay Sirpi

The beach in Sandy Bay

Our next stop the following day was Karawala, the biggest and central community in the area. Karawala is notably clean and the houses although being basic (Board houses on posts, with some concrete) are well maintained. From what we could tell Karawala did not have municipal water, but it did have electricity (but not today, because they had the same problem as Walpa). I was forced to use all the Miskito I knew during this trip, and it was exciting to see the results. One older man told the brother I was working with that he could understand some creole, but could not understand foreigner English (referring to me). I started my presentation in Miskito and his jaw hit the floor. He excitedly accepted literature after I mumbled through my sentences explaining the good news brochure (Gad Sturka Yamni nani ba).

Karawala

Miskito people have a custom similar to what we read about in bible times, that when someone waits in the town square in the evening, people will invite them to stay in their homes. This way, most of our group arranged to stay with a family near the wharf. Me and another brother volunteered to stay with the boat however. Because we were leaving all our supplies and fuel in the boat so that we could leave early in the morning, we wanted to have two people guarding it in the night instead of just one. The sand flies and mosquitos were a bit harsh, however the stars were magnificent. Consider how far out in the jungle we were, no cities within a days travel, and what communities were here had no electricity, and you can get an idea how bright the stars were. One could see without a flashlight even though it was a new moon.

The next morning we left early on to go back to Pearl Lagoon. We were eager to get back to our own beds, but it was a fantastic service experience to witness in these communities.

The Crew