An incident in La Concha

Well, I have just returned from a walk to La Concha where I witnessed a local incident. A very angry and drunk local, was being arrested by the police! One of the policeman had a near empty but very large bottle of spirits in his hand and three policeman were manhandling him into the back of a little camionetta. Then it looked as if they sat on him, whilst two more policemen got in the front and drove him away. I imagine he will wake up with a sore head tomorrow, and possibly in a cell. I am sure the locals would rather I had not seen it, but these things happen the world over.
It was interesting, as I had just visited the local church where I had seen the devout locals praying peacefully amongst the beautifully adorned statues of Christ  and the Virgin Mary. I am always full of admiration for people who can be so devout and in places such as this I wonder if they are praying for some improvement in their lives or giving thanks for small mercies. Either would be appropriate!
So that was Sunday afternoon in La Concha. This morning I spent reading and doing homework on the patio in the shade of the trees and banana plants, in the sunshine. 

I forewent the opportunity to walk, as I needed some catching up space, before more lessons tomorrow. It can be full on if you join all the activities. It is a bit difficult to read in the rooms in the evenings, as the light is poor other than the reading lamp over the bed. LED lights have not reached here although they are low energy. There is often a dip morning and evening and I think it is when the power switches from solar to the grid.
One of the students who is renting a house locally, a house that has been modernised, mentioned that he often has no running water for three days of the week and has to draw from the tank that is filled periodically by a tanker. He is very accustomed to cold showers as there is no way to heat water. In fact he described how he had bought a fridge so he could have cold beer. Well you have to get your priorities right.

Yesterday we had a good day out visiting the Volcán Mombacho. It is a national park and therefore foreign visitors pay a higher entry fee. The 20$ seemed a lot but then why shouldn't we pay more for the privilege, as tourists can clearly afford it, and it will contribute to the maintenance and protection of an important habitat. The biggest problem was that the receptionist had to fill in by hand a complex form for each one of us. At least she didn't want our passport number which is a common requirement, but I have been told before that they do nothing with it so just make it up! I suppose it looks official.......
The fee included a ride to the top in a truck, just as well as it was very steep. At the top I joined Allison for the shortest of the walks around the crater. We had been lucky in getting the last two seats on the minbus, the others not arriving until we had nearly finished the walk.
The summit was shrouded in cloud, quite normal, and was clothed in cloud forest. This is an old and inactive crater, unlike Masaya which is bare and full of bubbling magma. The trees were laden with bromeliads and orchids, it was very rich flora. 

The views were interesting!

I got the bus down to the half way point where I visited the shop and restaurant of the coffee finca, situated there. It was a good move as I had one of the best coffees of my trip and a pleasant lunch. Whilst there, we were surrounded by an influx of youngsters who started chatting with us. They were US college students who were on a volunteering visit with an organisation called Medi Life. They had been going to clinics and hospitals assisting the doctors and finding out more about the local health issues, the young lady who chatted most was planning to study medicine. What a wonderful opportunity and contribution. I sat in the sun with lovely views, reading and watched a coffee worker raking the beans to dry them, in the sun. 

From here I walked down the bottom half of the trail, where I got a cold drink and was invited to join a group of Japanese for their lunch. I declined as I had already eaten but they had a little packable stove and had prepared a meal of sushi and noodles and all of the trimmings, it looked and smelt delicious!

In the evening we also saw a possum that was eating from the bañas that had been out in the tree for the birds. The cats and dogs also eat the bananas!

What a lot of wonderful experiences this weekend has offered. So now to my final week, where we have many new students joining us and a number have left for home or to continue their travels.