Another Lazy Monday

9pm Monday 17^th

 Tonight a cloudy sky shielded the moon and the normally impressive nightscape was barely visible. In the central park the vendors were packing up their food supplies, loading them into the backs of carts while horses and mules patiently waited for the command to head home.

  To the left of the Cathedral a ceramic baby Jesus continued to smile at the world, surrounded by his ceramic parents and a collection of wise men, shepherds and a small wooden fence. Adjacent stood a large “Christmas Tree” (mostly wires and framing) adorned with dozens of red “Claro” logos. [Moviestar and Claro are the major competitors in the local cellphone market]

  On Calle La Calzada (the avenue often referred to as Gringo Gulch!) tourists wandered looking for food and/or drink while various musicians (using that term loosely) competed for attention and tips with a variety of street performers, fire jugglers, break dancers, acrobats and panhandlers.

  While I had dinner tonight at Centralito, a typical Nica restaurant, I said no a dozen times. A steady stream of pottery vendors, cigar and cigarette sellers, palm leaf origami folders, painters, hammock makers, musical trios and kids begging for change rolled past my table. “I have no change, I don’t smoke, I have one already, I don’t need it, no thank you.” They probably hear the same thing 9 times out of 10, but once in a while some sucker or rather someone with a soft heart will bite and hand over some currency.

 Reflecting on Monday as a whole, I cant believe how busy I was doing nothing all day.

 Starting with a light breakfast of fruit and coffee at 7:30am, I then made my way to the Museo de Cacao for an omelette with the works. After waiting a half hour to determine that they had lost my order, I waited another half hour before giving up and heading for the Garden Café where I normally go for a real breakfast fix.

 After a sizeable “vegetarian” omelette, I headed to the bank to use the ATM. Punching in a request for 5000 cordoba (about $230) I was less than impressed to see it spit out as 500 C bills. [Picture the reaction of trying to buy a newspaper at a 7/11 with a $100 bill]

 After that I went back to the hotel for shower #2 and then spent an hour studying the Spanish lessons on my computer. Then a siesta, then a bike ride across town to the cemetery to capture some shots of the sunset.

 The roads from the cemetery to the hotel were a minefield of “road apples” Seemed like every horse in town had Taco Bell for lunch. On the way I encountered a crowd surrounding an unconscious rider- 30 people watching, one administering first aid, to the side a bike with a buckled wheel and handlebars askew. In the distance an ambulance could be heard approaching. I snapped a couple of photos and went on my way.

  So far, I have managed to stay out of trouble on the roads. Most Nica’s appear to think no more than 3 seconds head when negotiating intersections, approaching pedestrians or other vehicles. They also have no concept of where the road ends and the curb begins as I found out today when a driver ran me into a bush by the side of the road because he couldn’t fit his 5-foot wide car through the middle of a 10-foot opening! Idiot!

  Tomorrow I have a packed agenda, which includes a visit to the Palacio National (museum) in Managua and perhaps a visit to a real Chinese restaurant. Hopefully, it won’t include food poisoning or a mugging from a taxi driver [The latter being an optional extra in some parts of the city!!]