Nicaragua Travelers Return

After an eventful 10 or 11 days, 8 of us returned safely to Pittsburgh. Sara and Chris were staying over until the 30th to attend an anniversary celebration in Sara's family. Due to a 2 1/2 hour delay leaving Managua on Friday, June 25, we missed our connecting flight from Miami to Chicago. The American Airline agent worked diligently to arrange flight for us back to Pittsburgh. As it worked out, Fred was able to get a flight in the afternoon; Pam, Carol, and I were booked on an evening flight thorough Charlotte, and Cliff, Nora, Al, and Brenda were put up in Miami for the night before returning on Saturday. This was only the last of a series of adventures that we experienced on our trip. I will start the narration and others will take up the tales later.

Even our flight to Managua foretold of the adventures to come. Our flight from Miami to Managua was delayed about 75 minutes before takeoff due to a malfunctioning light. Then, as we were about to land we had to circle for about 15 minutes while a thunderstorm in Managua dissipated a bit. We landed hard in rain and, we thought, hydroplaned down the runway. Sara, Chris and a van were there to meet us. A wonderful dinner, mush appreciated, was waiting for us at the Aloha Hotel, run by Sara's sister, Nora and husband Andrea (Andrew).

I will leave the events of our day in Managua for others to tell and move on to our trip on Thursday to El Porvenir. We left Managua late morning with a pickup truck and a large van and stopped in Leon to have lunch. Then a series of events (some might say miraculous) began to occur. Someone at the restuarant told Chris and Sara that the road they intended to take was washed out by the previous night's thunderstorm and was impassable. An alternative route was suggested, so off we went along this other route, not fully sure of ourselves. At what turned out to be the correct turnoff, we stopped to get additional directions at a small store. A bus pulled in behind us and a man got off and wanderer over to the conversation. When he heard what was being said, he announced that he knew Renne, our El Porvenir contact, and knew how to get to El Porvenir. He, Marvin by name, volunteered to ride with us to direct us to the right place. Off we went again along a dirt road for some time before coming to a turnoff. By now the daily thunderstorm was beginning to roll in. Fearing the storm and the fact that part of the road from hereon was the bed of a river, our van driver, William, and Sara decided to stop there. Chris, along with Al and Fred, went on ahead in the truck to find the tractor and wagon that we hoped was waiting for us somewhere up the road. We had not been able to make any communication with El Porvenir for several days, so were not sure where or when the wagon would be.

Moments after Chris left in the truck, the storm hit and within minutes the river bed was a raging torrent. After a half hour, the rain subsided and suddenly a motorcycle came up the road. The cyclist told us that he had seen Chris and the wagon. The wagon arrived, we piled in and endured a bouncy trip up the mountain, taking about 2 hours to do so. We arrived in El Porvenir at just about dusk, which was good because the tractor had no lights. We set up our cots and mosquito nets, had dinner and settled in for the night in an open air, bur covered by a roof, veranda. Thus, ended our first day in El Porvenir.

Others will tell you about roosters, coffee plant, school, roadwork, a trip to repair to a truck, and trips to the hospital in future postings. Stay tuned, the adventures are just beginning.

Bill