Matagalpa y más

Wow - it's hard to believe that I have already been back in the country for over a month!  Before I know it, I will have to start thinking about scary things like med school electives and residency interviewing...but until then there is still a lot to be done and seen here in Central America.  The last few weeks have brought some fun adventures, both here in Sauce and out and about in Nicaragua.  

As the next phase in my study here in Sauce commences I have had the opportunity to track down numerous patients with asthma in order to chat with them about their disease, its maintenance and how it affects their lives.  It is quite interesting (did you know that oil derived from foxes, sharks or even monkeys will cure asthma?) it is also quite challenging as addresses as we know them in the States do not exist and no one is ever really willing to simply say "I don't know them or where they live".  So, it's time intensive but fun.

Two weekends ago I took the opportunity to visit Matagalpa, a city in the northern and more mountainous region of Nica.  As such it is both beautiful and has a wonderfully fresh climate - I was actually chilly at night!  It is known for its coffee and has a local chocolate 'factory' - 2 things that I love and don't get enough of here in the Sauce.

Nica is full of volcanoes.  This is taken maybe 30k from Sauce where I got off the bus in the middle of nowhere to wait for a bus going the other direction.  Love travelling here!

Cacao beans at the Castillo de Cacao - the chocolate factory in Matagalpa.  It is  a small outfit with a mixture of machine and hand-labor.  For example, the beans here are ground by hand, but the shell and the actual meat are separated with the help of a machine.  The chocolate is very different from what I am accustomed to - 75% cacao signifies 75% cacao and 25% sugar - nothing else!  Turns out to be quite tasty - and melted it tastes even better.

It's done by hand - from making the aluminum sleeves to putting on the colored wrappers!

Matagalpa's pretty!

Went to a coffee plantation that was amazing not just for its coffee but for its self-sustaining policies.  It's called Selva Negra and is now renowned for it's hotel and beautiful locale, but what interested me the most was how they have found a way to re-use just about everything - from egg shells of the hotel to the casings of the coffee beans.  They even generate about 50% of their own energy!  Super cool.

Of the coffee plantation where they research ways to improve the soil quality  to improve the life of the coffee trees.

The chapel at Selva Negra.  Apparently a very popular wedding location.

This past weekend I hung out here in El Sauce and survived a 10.5 mile run with this  beast of a man.  He's 50+ and runs all the time and is known by everyone and their mother in El Sauce and all the surrounding communities.  Every house we passed along the way gave us a friendly and personalized salutation.  Down side is that he is hard to understand normally and when running it's even worse...

A main reason for staying in the Sauce was an invitation to a quince años - for which i received the invitation in November.   It's a big deal here and was very impressive.  It all starts out with a procession to the church, a mass and then a feast followed by dancing and copious amounts of rum.  Sure is a shame that we don't have this excuse for a party in the states!