Morning in Managua AGAIN

We spent a very restful weekend in Matagalpa.  A few of you may remember that town, as our delegation of 2004 - Jude and mine's first trip - spent a few days up there.  It's in the mountains, a very fertile valley and surrounding hills.  Beautiful spot.  We stayed with Giovanni - an Italian immigrant, who runs the Italian restaurant where we ate way back then.  The restaurant is closed for renovation and expansion!  But we visited a couple of other interesting locales, and had naco-tamales for breakfast / brunch one day - made by Elena and Julieta. It's basically corn meal, rice, pork and vegetables, cooked in a banana leaf.  You don't eat the leaf, they tell me!!

We also experienced a tropical downpour!  We were at a restaurant a little further up the hills, when the thunder and lightening unleashed a major storm.  The road back to the house look somewhat like a river!  Going down toward us!  But we made it, thanks to some highly experienced driving by Julieta.

And NOT TO WORRY about the cold showers.  They had one of those shower heaters - except I didn't realize you really need to turn it on full.  I was trying to save water and the thing kept cycling off and on.  I'm sure I woke up the whole house.  I mention this because the first time we were in Matagalpa, you could hear screams from the shower room the first morning!  You could chill beer in that water!

I've never done pictures in this thing - but here's a first one.  This is my breakfast spot - warm and beautiful:

Elena has put me to work, rewriting some English text.  It feels like correcting homework!  But I do feel somewhat useful!  It is the ultimate goal of this whole enterprise and AKF.  I understand the goal - very clear - but the means to get there is still a major undertaking.

Your thoughts on that would always be appreciated.  An old friend told me of a similar venture he had undertaken in Africa some 30 year