All locked up!

  Tipitapa, Nicaragua
Saturday, June 9, 2007

Milking the cow.

We woke up at Finca Kilimanjaro on  June 9, 2007.  Michael was again treated to complimentary coffee as soon as he stepped out of the van.  The first order of the day was to rig up something to hold the stabilizer bar in place, to allow us to limp back to San Rafael del Norte to get the bracket welded back together.  While under the front end, Michael took this time to tighten any loose bolts or screws.  There was not much to be done and he was finished up in under half an hour.  The windows were washed and 'Nilla was ready to roll.  Geraldine had worked zealously to clean up the inside of the van.  We made a few more salads for the road, packed the refrigerator and were ready to head out.  Just as we planned to fire 'Nilla up, Francisco came by to ask if we had any interest in milking the cows.  While Michael hesitated, Geraldine nearly ripped a hole in the side of the van to get out and yell an emphatic YES!  Michael and Francisco laughed heartily.  Francisco asked us to get ready and he quickly jutted into the house to grab a few glasses.

Mmmmm....fresh chocolate milk.

  When he neared we noticed that the glasses were filled with powder and sugar.  Questioning him we learned that he had added cocoa and sugar to sweeten the cows milk.  We always thought chocolate milk came from brown cows.   Kidding.  We were both wearing flip-flops, which is not the usual barnyard attire so we were very careful with our footwork in and around the cows.  There was cow dung everywhere.  It was difficult to find a dry patch to step on.  Francisco instructed one of the ranch hands to demonstrate the milking process and after a few minutes, Geraldine was right in there.  She did not possess the same hand and forearm strength as the rancher, but she fared just fine.  The hardest part was holding back the calf that was anxious to get a teat of some morning milk.  Every stroke produced milk in the bucket, which was the only goal after all.  Geraldine milked the cow for what seemed like an eternity before she was outright pooped.  It was then that Francisco filled our glasses and we toasted the moment and drank down the tasty morning treat.  It was the creamiest chocolate milk we have ever had.
 
 
Across the corral we spotted a rather odd looking creature climbing on the fence.  It was a cross between a racoon and a monkey.  Francisco was all to eager to show us the Pizote monkey that the ranch keeps as a pet.  Apparently, they live in the mountain forests and feed on fruits, plants and insects.  The Pizote was brought out of the barn enclosure so we could get a better look.  There was actually a line strung from two poles that they hooked him onto for daily exercise.  He was a cute little thing.  Near the van the Pizote found a patch of mint and he immediately leapt into the middle of the greenery to roll around.  Next, the monkey would pull out handfuls of the mint and rub it feverishly on its fur before discarding the used stuff and grabbing handfuls of new mint.  It was bizarre.  Francisco was not able to tell us why the Pizote did this, so your guess is as good as ours.
 
 
After playtime at the farm, Francisco's wife served us up a wonderful breakfast of grilled tortillas and fresh farm cheese.  Of course a fresh carafe of coffee was on the table.  Michael's hands were now shaking from all the coffee consumed, however he did manage to take down another cup as to not appear ungrateful.  We actually bought a pound of the coffee from Finca Kilimanjaro, which cost about $2.  Not a bad deal.  To show our gratitude for all the extras that Francisco gave us, we departed by giving him a Canadian ball cap to remember us by.  The one he was wearing was well soiled and a new ranch hat is always needed.  Francisco was honoured that we provided him with a gift. Signing the guest book, we bid farewell to the finca and got ready to take a slow and steady drive back out the hazardous ranch road.
 
 

Whoa...'Nilla.

On the way out, we did not get more that ten metres before coming to a stop.  The entire flock of sheep decided to enter the road and they were not bothered in the least by the massive vehicle approaching them.  Since 'Nilla's horn was disabled months ago, we resorted to leaning out the windows and yelling "Honk!"  It worked to some degree.  The sheep started to move, however not off the road, just further ahead.  As we rolled forward constantly yelling out the window, we made baby steps out of the finca.  Nearing a fence line, the sheep swiftly jumped off the road and followed a narrow path up into the hills.  Phew!  At least now we could get steadily moving.  We made the trek back to San Rafael without much hassle, however we did stop on numerous occasions to document the scenery and road on which we had to drive.
 
 
Back in San Rafael del Norte, we once again attempted to visit the San Rafael Archangel Cathedral.  Today we were in luck as the church was open.  The venerable priest, Odorico de Andrea, placed much effort into restoring the old cathedral and his inspiration infected the parishioners and other locals alike. 

San Rafael Archangel Church.

Everyone in the town of San Rafael had a hand in the improvements.  The work began in 1954, when Odorico first arrived in San Rafael and continued into the l960's.  Odorico commissioned a Swiss artist to create the radiant frescoes that adorn the interior walls.  We were most impressed by the three dimensional wall painting that we believe depicted angels saving souls from hellfire.  The photograph does not entirely do justice to the artwork, but at least we tried.  The frescoes in the Cathedral were all beautiful and painted with vibrant colours.  We were interested in the 'Temptation of Christ' wall mural that depicted the devil making an offering to Jesus.  On the advice of Professor Harvey Wells, we examined the painting in detail as the face of the devil is said to closely resemble that of Daniel Ortega, infamous secondary leader of the FSLN.  The eerie part is that the painting was completed in the mid 1960's and Ortega was not a player in political scene until after the 1979 Revolution.  Foreshadowing or what?  The impressive Cathedral was declared a 'National Historic Monument' in 2000.
 
 
After touring the Cathedral, we headed down Main Street in search of the welder.  Asking some of the locals we were sent down the street to 'Julio's'.  We finally found the unsigned welding shop, which was actually a second hand clothing shop with a welding area in the back.  Within seconds of arriving, a young man came out to greet us.  We explained the problem and showed him the broken pieces of the stabilizer bracket.  Off he ran, with the parts in hand to the backyard.  We sat on the street and were a novelty sight for the locals.  Everyone in the nearby homes stepped onto their front walks to have a look at us and 'Nilla.  Four young kids showed up and sat on a concrete pad right next to the van to watch us.  Geraldine bought them all a ice pop and they sat around conversing in a mix of Spanish and English.  The boys had just finished a soccer match and enjoyed the cool treat immensely.   The welding work was completed in under 30 minutes for a C$100 charge, or about $5.50 USD.  It was a decent deal to get back up and running so quickly.
 
 
Waving goodbye to San Rafael del Norte we headed back to Jinotega.  As we neared the town limits of Jinotega our progress was halted by cattle that seemed to have the right of way on the road. 

Jinotegan Mountains.

Thankfully, there were only 30 or so cows and our wait was mere minutes.  In Jinotega, we parked and walked around the market.  It included the standard fare of fruits, vegetables, bread and meats along with a mix of retailers selling everything under one roof.  Each retailer had a small shack that had a variety of items from toilet plungers to hand woven blankets.  There did not seem to be any rhyme or reason behind the layout of the shops.  We picked up a few fruits and vegetables and moved on.  Set on reaching Matagalpa, we decided to hit the road as 'Nilla generally moves quite slow in the mountains.   The scenery along the highway was amazing.  There are magnificent panoramic views at the peak of the mountain drive up from Jinotega.  Up close from one of the many passes, one is able to see the lush green vegetation covering the mountainous landscape and valleys; however staring into the distance, the massive hills fade into shades of blue and grey as they get further away.
 
 
We reached Matagalpa early afternoon and searched out the Tourist Information office.  Unfortunately for us, it was Saturday and places either close early or are rarely open at all.  With nothing to do in Matagalpa and nowhere to get information until Monday, we opted to head back on the road and see where the wind would take us.  We had parked 'Nilla right out front of the grocery store and ducked in to get a few essentials.  Along with bags filled with groceries, we nabbed a bottle of vodka for the low, low price of $2.75.  It was deal we could not pass up.  Surprisingly, the vodka actually tasted decent despite the bargain basement price tag.  Leaving Matagalpa, we had made a few snacks and set out on the dusty construction laden road.  With constant stops to allow for single lane traffic and the slow travel to weave amongst the potholes the size of small cars, it took much longer than expected to get to Sebaco.   It was pushing late afternoon, however we did not much want to sleep at the roadside nestled between the sounds of loud honking buses and the thunderous roar of transport trucks hammering on their engine brakes.  With storm clouds adding to the darkness of the sky at dusk, we crossed our fingers and pushed on toward Managua. 
 

Perfectly timed, we hit the Managua suburb of Tipitapa right as night was closing in.  Tired and hungry we pulled into Pollo Frit to get some dinner.  Michael could not resist the cartoon chicken on the sign and swears he was waving us into the parking lot.  We planned on camping at the gas station, so cooking and cleaning up dishses is a bit harder to pull off.  Reluctantly, Geraldine agreed to hit the restaurant for take out.  The best deal offered was the family meal deal, which seemed similar to the Mega Bucket from Kentucky Fried Chicken, including the side salads.  The only difference is that  Pollo Frit has an option for rotisserie chicken that we chose instead of the deep fried variety.  The dinner was rather cheap and we realized why once we received our bag of food.  The salads were about two small spoon servings each and the delightful salad that appeared in the menu was nothing more that chopped tomatoes with a dash of oregano.  At least we got a full size chicken and all the rest of the goodies promised.  After getting rejected by the security guards from Pollo Frit to our request to sleep in their parking lot, we were directed across the road to Hospedaje Lazo.
 
 
Pulling out of one parking lot and into another was rather easy, however 'Nilla had another plan.  In the driveway of Hospedaje Lazo we tried to turn off the engine and the key would not budge.  The ignition cylinder was locked and sad for us the van was still running.  Michael tried everything shy of hitting the key with a hammer to try and turn it off, but nothing worked.  Everyone at Hospedaje Lazo was either poking their heads under the hood or pulling out wiring from under the dash.  We believe that they also had no clue as to how to turn 'Nilla off.  One person remarked that it was simple to just pull a wire here and there and the car would go off.  So, with that idea planted in a few heads, a few hands started grabbing and disconnecting wires.  Our words were useless to stop them.  We just crossed our fingers and hoped they did not screw anything up too badly.  Someone from Hospedaje Lazo had called a friend to come help.  Enter Manuel the taxi driver.  Manual simply checked the same things that had already been examined.  He looked under the hood briefly before shaking his head and heading to the interior where he looked at bundles of wires with a blank expression on his face.  Geraldine and Michael had taken to reading the Haynes Repair Guide that we brought along for this trip.  The repair manual has come in handy on a few occasions.  Geraldine found a page showing wiring harnesses and Michael set out to disconnect 'Nilla's lifeline...albeit only for a second or two in order to get her engine turned off.  Within seconds, Michael had found a wiring plug under the hood and crossing his fingers and toes, he pulled it out.  Voila! 'Nilla's engine chugged to a halt.  Phew!  One problem averted, now at least we would still have gasoline in the morning.
 

We made arrangements with Manuel, for him to return in the morning with a mechanic friend of his.  Finally, we climbed into 'Nilla to sit down to our now cold chicken dinner and get some nutrients into our bodies.  To say the least, it had been a long day.  It was hot and humid in the van as we tried all night, to no avail, to get some decent sleep.


Check out our photos... http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=16xvaj2z.3goyebpz&Uy=-r078tm&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0