Nicaragua Update 4 May 2/2018

all photos are mine taken with a Sony Cybershot sent to me by @debralee
Thank You, @debralee!

Everyone hears about what happens in the capital Managua, but very little about the outlying areas. We may be a little safer than the larger cities, but we still have our moments of excitement.

On Monday, I needed to go to our nearest city, Leon to visit the post office if it was open. My son and I went with a friend. He thought it would be safer for us to be with him in his car. A lessor target if you know what I mean.

As we were coming into the city we noticed less traffic and the small market at the bus terminal in Sutiava was almost empty. Very unusual.

Few buses and no taxis on the street. Many shops are closed. As we pass the gas station, we noticed the prices have been removed and there is only one car fueling up.

Our favourite little pharmacy, owned by a cute elderly couple is now closed and boarded up. Schools are all closed.
The central market has a few stalls open and no cars parked in front and no trucks unloading produce. Very strange. The central park is vacant and city hall is closed as well.

Then we pass the block that used to house a private radio station, several restaurants, a pool hall, a hostel, a tattoo parlour, and a cellular vendor. The whole block was burned down. Rumours say it was to destroy the radio station. We know of one person died in the fire.

We passed the corner where there are three banks. They are all boarded up with only one with ATMs open for business. Military and private guards out front and I would presume inside as well.

The post office is open but only until noon. I send off my papers for Canada Revenue Service (the last ever, I hope) and I am escorted out of the building. Really weird feeling.

We stop at a friend’s café for a cappuccino and a pastry. There are only him and his wife today. They will likely close for the rest of the week. Tuesday is a holiday here, the day of the worker. More trouble is expected and folks are preparing for the worst.

We stop at the supermarket. Hopefully, they have a newspaper. Nope. No nada. Here are no fresh veggies and 4 slightly bruised bananas on the shelves. No eggs, cheese milk or butter. Half a dozen old loaves of bread grace one shelf. We go home empty-handed.

On the way home, we stop at a hardware store for some nails and screws. We manage 4 pounds of nails and 24 screws. That will have to do.

We notice 8 new navy blue police (Hilux 4x4) trucks coming down the street towards us. The backs are filled with special ops police dressed in black carrying AK-47s. They pass us and turn onto the street where the Sandinistas have their headquarters in Leon. They begin to barricade the streets. Time to head back to Poneloya.

My son from Managua called and said he had received word from a friend in the military not to leave the house for the next few days. Said he couldn’t give more information.

Managua is gearing up for more protests Tuesday. Leon will likely have some too.

Yesterday (Tuesday) we have a visit from another farmer. Leon has no buses, taxis or emergency services. Everyone is marching to Managua (200 km away) to join in a protest.

We settle in for the duration. Our neighbour arrives to say his water system has been cut off and he needs water for the family to drink. We arrange for 4 – 18-litre bottles to be taken to his house.

Around noon we smell smoke. 10 minutes later we can’t see our hands in front our faces for an acrid smelling smoke. We could hear the fire crackling and it was getting hotter. The wall at the back was hot to touch. We immediately went to search for our neighbours who have small children and an infant.

The fire was directly behind our two properties. There is a salt flat and scrub brush area that extends about 300 meters to the salt flat. This is what was on fire. The flames were licking at the wall and were being fanned in the direction of our neighbours.

I tried calling the fire department and got no answer. I called the number for Managua ad also got nothing. I called the local police thinking they may have a different number. Nothing there either. The conclusion was there are no emergency services period. Is it because they haven’t been paid or because it is a national holiday? Your guess is as good as mine.

We have a 4 inch gas driven irrigation pump that we set up in our salt water well. It worked well to douse the flames and protect both places. Problem solved for the moment. On to the next crisis.

The kids are frightened of the fire and also hearing the adults discuss a possiblity of war. They don’t know what it is and they are afraid they will lose their parents and grandparents.

So we had a big sleep over with all the kids last night. We had homemade pizzas (kids helped) and chocolate chip cookies. Later we sang songs, told stories and ate popcorn. This morning they had pancakes before they left for home. Alexa, a 6 year old cutie slept with Fergie (a Great Dane) all night.

This morning I had a meeting with my neighbours. Three families have agreed to unite with my family and move on to my homestead (better protection) and pool our resources. There will be 7 children under the age of eight and 2 infants. There is enough room for everyone to spread out and not be on top of one another.

It may come to this sooner than we anticipate. My son called this afternoon to say the riot police are out in force carrying AK-47s and assault rifles with silencers. I didn’t even know that assault rifles came with silencers. Why would they need silencers?