Hello from Leon, Nicaragua. It is hot but we are trying to continue to explore Nicaragua. We will try to throw a few photos up sometime soon.
We got an email from Helms with some good questions, so we figured we would answer them here just for fun:
When's the next farm? No more farms. It has been odd to look back on our original plan. We planned to spend several weeks at about 8 or 9 different farms and we left the USA with a list of over 50 farms in Latin America. Now, 7 months in, we have visited 4 farms and no longer have any plans for any farms. This has been a combination of multiple problems. The main one is that farms have just not responded back to us. The farms sign up to host volunteers and provide their information, but for whatever reason, they dont write us back. A couple have written back and have wanted us to pay them to work on their farm, which was not all that appealing. One of the farms was missing a farm (see Colombia posts) and the further north we get, the less farms are on the list. At first we were stressed and upset over this as this was the plan, however, we learned a lot and got some great ideas from our farms and have found we have learned many other important things by just travelling in these beautiful places. We still see farming as a big part of our plans and look forward to figuring out ways to learn more and start doing some farming little by little once we are settled back in in the states. So to answer the question, next farm is when we return, hopefully soon, and more than likely in or around Boone while Tracy is doing school.
What good things have you eaten lately?We had a long spell from Panama to souther Nicaragua of lots of chicken, rice and beans. It is good and we have no complaints, but variety is the spice of life, so we always appreciate it when things are mixed up a bit. Here in northern Nicaragua, a common dish is jalapeño chicken. It is chicken covered in a white jalapeño sauce that is really delicious. It comes with the usual rice and beans and cabbage salad, but we still enjoy rice and beans, so it is OK. There is also more local pizza in Nicaragua, so we do take advantage of that.
Especially breakfast food...I'm interested.Breakfast food tends to be the same as lunch and dinner food in most places. Some places offer an "American breakfast," but that is not so interesting either and tends to be for an American price. One consistent part of our trip is our love for panaderias (bakery). We usually go to the panaderia in the morning and then grab a fresh fruit juice to go with some type of sweet or cheese bread.
Are you still glad you're there?Yes, we are still really enjoying our time here and have lots of things in Nicaragua, El Salvador, honduras, Guatemala, Belize and Mexico to look forward to.
Are you ready to come home, really?Yes. We are not wishing away any of our time here. We really are loving our travels, but at the same time, we miss seeing family, hanging out with friends, going to church, participating in and being part of a community over a long period of time among other things that we just cannot do here while travelling about. Our April Fool´s joke was fun, but we have learned that there are some things we need and dont need personally. We dont need comfy beds, air conditioning, our own bathroom, personal transportation, more than a few pairs of clothes or even the ability to throw toilet paper in the toilet. However, we do need the things we said we miss and we think it would be very hard for us to have those things we need in another place.
When's the last time you took a long and hot shower?hmmm... maybe back in ecuador when it was still cold enough for there to be hot water, we dont really remember.
When's the last time you used a toilet that flushes?Almost all of the toilets flush. However, a good question is when is the last time you were able to put toilet paper in the toilet and not in the trashcan. We cannot remember the last time, but it must have been ages ago.
Have you seen a McDonald's lately? If you did, would you consider eating there?We last saw McDonalds in Panama. Luckily not since then. We really had absolutely no urge whatsoever to eat there. If we want an upset stomach, we will go drink some tap water. We were tempted by a Taco Bell in Costa Rica, but we stayed strong and managed to eat at a local joint, as we have done 99.8% of the time on our trip.
Can one person eat too many deviled eggs at Easter?Heck no. Pickeld deviled eggs are all the better.
If you had been at home for Easter, what would have been the perfect celebration/meal? It would be the same meal we plan to request when we get home: Brocolli casserole, black eyed peas, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, squash and onions, tomato sandwich, deviled eggs (pickled?), macaroni and cheese and sweet potato pie. And sweet tea!
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6 comments:
I can handle those food requests!!!
We forgot one of the most important food items.....yeast rolls!!
The table is set and I'm waiting to start the food......what time will you be here?? (Also, Grandaddy Jarrell has your Christmas sweet potato pie in the freezer!) Tricia
Adam weighed himself today and he will be ready to eat this meal on multiple ocassions!!
Re eating McDonald's/drinking tap water/eating local food--
Have you had much difficulty because of eating local food? I dislike advice cautioning against it. Someday, when I get to travel to wonderful places, my plan is to eat what local people eat. This interests me much more than touristy sight-seeing.
What sorts of precautions do you take, or felt you ought to be taking? Any dire consequences?
We take very few precautions. We drink tap water when the locals say it is OK, but otherwise we stay clear of it. It most of South America and Panama it was fine to drink. But we do get drinks with ice and brush our teeth with it. We also eat street food, which can be delicious, but is also a bit more risky for a stomach problem. However, we have been very luicky and have had almost no problems and the ones we have are minor and short lived. We think it helps that we started in the "safer" region for food and our stomachs have worked their way up to handling what may have made us sick. We feel the benefits of eating local food far outweighs the risks.
Oh, I thought of one... ceviche is a popular dish of fish soaked in lime juice. So it never touches heat and while this is a safe method of cooking, it can be a bit risky, so we only will eat ceviche when we are really sure of how it was prepared.
I think there is a show on travel channel with a guy who just travels to eat. He eats everything from the fanciest food to the strangest things he can find. Dont know the name, but you would enjoy it.
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