It’s been over week since we last posted and we have received some threatening emails from a certain friend that thinks we need to post more often. So here you go...
After a long Spanish exam, a filling rice and beans lunch and a reviving nap, Kevin and I headed out on mountain bikes with David, the school director, and another Spanish teacher. At first we were kind of nervous about what it would be like navigating through busy Leon streets, but we’re still alive so I don’t think it was too bad. On top of that it has been about a year since we have been on bikes and we weren’t sure if we would be able to keep up to David, a former 3 time Nicaraguan mountain bike national champion...(his brother is currently the reigning champion and Kevin got to use his bike designed for clip in bike shoes, needless to say Kevin didn’t have those nifty shoes).
Anywho, David took us to the outskirts of the current Leon to see where the original colonial city of Leon existed until the revolutionary war against the Somoza dictatorship. During the war Somoza destroyed the city with canons and guns forcing the city to rebuild at its current location. There are many legendary tails of the old colonial city even that of buried treasure and a loaded Spanish man that protected his wealth riding through the city on his white horse, killing all those who stood in his way.
There is a stark contrast between the rich and poor of Leon. Until yesterday we were in a bubble living among the lower to lower middle class Nicaraguans, then to cycle through the streets on the outskirts of Leon where the rich have built their sanctuaries, it was a jolt into reality. Some of these homes could rival the beautiful homes on the lakeshore in Burlington/Oakville. Then on the other side of a wall is a community of people who do not live in concrete homes, who do not have tile floors, who do not have iron fences.
The other Spanish teacher cycling with us is involved in a community program that works to sustain the social/educational aspect of children to give them support, supplies and hope as they grow up. We were welcomed into one of the homes to meet a family who designs and creates children’s toys among other items and travels to surrounding towns to sell them in the marketplace. I was riveted by the experiences of this family and the lives that so many Nicaraguans live.
We ended our excursion with a jaunt on the Pan-American Highway and entering back into the busy, central core of Leon cycling down streets we had not yet walked, but now plan to in the next few days. Every day we find out something new. Every day we explore a new place and try to talk to new people...although our Spanish is still excruciatingly limited. Hmmmm...today sounds like a good day to find someone else to suffer at the other end of our conversation.
After a long Spanish exam, a filling rice and beans lunch and a reviving nap, Kevin and I headed out on mountain bikes with David, the school director, and another Spanish teacher. At first we were kind of nervous about what it would be like navigating through busy Leon streets, but we’re still alive so I don’t think it was too bad. On top of that it has been about a year since we have been on bikes and we weren’t sure if we would be able to keep up to David, a former 3 time Nicaraguan mountain bike national champion...(his brother is currently the reigning champion and Kevin got to use his bike designed for clip in bike shoes, needless to say Kevin didn’t have those nifty shoes).
Anywho, David took us to the outskirts of the current Leon to see where the original colonial city of Leon existed until the revolutionary war against the Somoza dictatorship. During the war Somoza destroyed the city with canons and guns forcing the city to rebuild at its current location. There are many legendary tails of the old colonial city even that of buried treasure and a loaded Spanish man that protected his wealth riding through the city on his white horse, killing all those who stood in his way.
There is a stark contrast between the rich and poor of Leon. Until yesterday we were in a bubble living among the lower to lower middle class Nicaraguans, then to cycle through the streets on the outskirts of Leon where the rich have built their sanctuaries, it was a jolt into reality. Some of these homes could rival the beautiful homes on the lakeshore in Burlington/Oakville. Then on the other side of a wall is a community of people who do not live in concrete homes, who do not have tile floors, who do not have iron fences.
The other Spanish teacher cycling with us is involved in a community program that works to sustain the social/educational aspect of children to give them support, supplies and hope as they grow up. We were welcomed into one of the homes to meet a family who designs and creates children’s toys among other items and travels to surrounding towns to sell them in the marketplace. I was riveted by the experiences of this family and the lives that so many Nicaraguans live.
We ended our excursion with a jaunt on the Pan-American Highway and entering back into the busy, central core of Leon cycling down streets we had not yet walked, but now plan to in the next few days. Every day we find out something new. Every day we explore a new place and try to talk to new people...although our Spanish is still excruciatingly limited. Hmmmm...today sounds like a good day to find someone else to suffer at the other end of our conversation.
2 comments:
Where's the new blog post?
I can only read Leon on a Bike so many times, you know!
Get to bloggin'!
Blog it up!
Show that blog who's boss!
Blog like you've never blogged before!
Blog like it's not a catchy short form for web-log!
Bloggingly,
Jesse Hook
I would love to be there toi go biking with you.
Maybe someday you can show me around the area on bikes.
Love you both,
Roy V
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