I promise this is the last beach entry for a while
Trip Start
Sep 16, 2007
1
78
87
Trip End
Ongoing
Playa Popoyo,
Nicaragua
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Well, while I'm here I ought to mention the Flor De Mayo dispute. The local community of Las Salinas is locked in a land dispute with a gringo developer, Mr. Phil Christopher. I'm not going to go into the details of the dispute a) because I don't know them all and b) because when it comes to a dispute between someone who wants to build a multi-million dollar resort with condos and luxury hotels and a group of locals who need the land to make their living producing salt, I'll side with the locals. Whatever the legal ins and outs are, there is less need for luxury condos than salt in this world. Condos don't contribute to the local economy. Condos are a blight on a beautiful coastline. Condos are another way of bringing rich Americans to Nicaragua, without these people ever seeing Nicaragua as it really is, thus reinforcing the existing prejudices that most US citizens have of Central America.
So, a couple of friends of mine down here have been in touch with community leaders and have set up a solidarity camp on the disputed land. They hope to spread the word about what is happening and would like to encourage anyone who is going to Popoyo to surf to get involved with them. If you are reading this and want to stop gringo development in front of classic waves, get in touch and I'll pass you on to those involved.
