Hola from Granada Nicaragua

I've been away from home for three weeks now, starting off in Costa Rica and spending the past 9 days in Granada. I am in school four hours every morning trying to learn Spanish. My mind is a mess, sometimes I can't remember the words in English any more, and I am trying to form sentences like I would in Spanish. It's a little easier here because I am surrounded by the language but still I feel lost a lot of the time.

The school arranged for a homestay for me. I am living in the house of Doña Thelma, a retired school teacher. The house is shared by two guests, one a South African man who lives in Calgary the rest of the year, and one a traveler from the USA who is here indefinitely. Both are very interesting men and I enjoy our conversations, which are often about history and politics and travel. They've been very helpful in showing me the ropes (the Salvadorian pupasas at Parque Central aren't as tasty as the Nica ones...where to go to use the washroom if you are out walking, which money changer gives the best rates etc). I am sleeping in Doña Thelma's room, and she shares with her sister. Her cousin Roger lives here as well. The guests share a bathroom, and we're all respectful of each other, it works out fine. I was a little apprehensive at first but it is a wonderful place. Thelma is an amazing cook and she is happy to accommodate my not eating meat. She can make the simplest meal taste so great. I am lucky to have been placed here.

I've met a woman in my class who is from Oregon, travelling alone. She and I plan to take off for the upcoming weekend to San Juan del Sur. I'll be sure to take lots of photos.

Granada is a busy, noisy, active city with lots to do and see. The Calzada is aka Gringoland where there are lots of restaurants with outdoor patios and tourists and ex pats flock there after dark. On the weekends you'll see fire eaters, dancers, musicians and plenty of venders. The Parque Central is the main square, beside which the horse and carts line up during the day to take tourists on tours of the city. There are many churches to see inside and out, as well as a tower you can climb for a great view. Granada is situated on a large lake, and you can go on a boat tour of the islands in the area. One island is called Monkey Island due to the monkeys that live there. You'll get a great view of the monkeys from the boat. Laguna de Apoyo is a wonderful crater lake inside a (non active) volcano - great way to spend an afternoon, swimming and paddling. Masaya is an active volcano where you can go right up and see the lava below, not to be missed, go at night time. Pueblos Blancos are villages where there are artisans, witches, ceramics and while you're there you can go to El Mirador where there is a great view of Laguna de Apoyo.

How do I spend my days? I wake up to the sounds of birds and church bells. I start off with a breakfast served by Thelma, of fresh fruit, yogurt and granola. Then I head to school for the morning. At lunch I return and Thelma has another lovely meal prepared for me, often fish, sometimes salad, plantain, rice, vegetables, cheese etc. Then I do my homework, and then a siesta. By around 3-4 pm it has cooled off enough to head out for a walk, a yoga class or else I just sit on the patio with the other house guests or with Thelma and we chat. Dinner is a little less heavy than lunch, often pasta, rice and beans, veggies, more salad. I am always really satisfied and happy with the meals. In the evenings there might be a gathering of the school students that I'll attend, or I just hang out at the house, watch some TV and relax.

The cost of living here is unbelievably cheap by Canadian standards. A meal out in a restaurant will cost around $5-$10 most of the time. Beer is $1, a smoothie might be $2, a cab ride to and from town is $1.50. Yoga classes are $5 or $6 if you use their mat. For $15 you can get a private class. Room and board is $110 a week, but you can find hostels and hotels for $10-$30 a night that are comfortable. If you want the fancy hotel, the fanciest I have found is still only $120 a night!

There is so much history here, a lot for me to learn. I am interested in finding out more about the Sandinistas and the Contras. Both flags are flying in Parque Central, the Sandinista and the Nicaraguan flags.

Well it's time for my siesta now,  I'll try to write more often. Ha I always say that!

February 2017 Update

Has it really been nearly a year since I last wrote? Well, I hope to do better than that in the future. Let me start where I left off! I applied for the job at Census Canada, and three times they called me to start and I had to decline as I was always busy with something. Eventually they trained me as a back up but didn't end up needing me. Oh well, I was paid for the training and who knows, I might try again for the next Census!

We held a Celebration of Life for Dave at the end of May, near his birthday. We planned it to coincide with my brother Toby's monthly gig at Grossmans with his band Frankie Foo and the Yoyo Smugglers. Dave loved the Foo. John's Doghouse Studio band played some of Dave's favourites, Trina's choir sang some songs, and Trina sang a lovely Tears in Heaven with piano accompaniment. I gave my third ever funeral speech, and realized that hard as it is, it is important to me to vocalize my feelings and share my experiences publicly. I know that as I age I will lose more friends and family, it's sad but inevitable. I can only try to enjoy what we have while we have it.

We arranged through the City of Toronto to have a tree planted in the park close to where Dave lived. It has a plaque on it commemorating his life as a bike courier. I visit it regularly, and it helps me to stay connected to him.

I travelled to Winnipeg with my brother Ivan in late May. I really enjoyed connecting with Ivan and his family. Since Dave is gone, and Ivan is my next youngest brother,  I think I felt a real need to bond more with him. I was able to attend the premiere of Ivan's film "Concerto" where I learned so much about how the orchestra works and developed a further admiration for the performers as well as for Ivan! I visited the Canadian Museum for Human Rights; here my eyes were opened to so many atrocities, I ended up in tears. I had always felt proud to be Canadian, but we are not innocent, our history has its blemishes and I hope we've learned from the past. I believe Justin Trudeau is a great leader though, and I have faith in him and his principals.

During the summer I had two jobs happening. I was working for a customer service contractor for the TTC, standing in stations directing customers. It paid minimum wage but it was an easy job, in my comfort zone and no stress or responsibility..exactly what I wanted after my years of stressful working conditions. I also signed up for a couple of film extra firms. I ended up on episodes of Suits and Designated Survivors! Again, minimum wage but fun!

In July my best friend and I went to Estonia. Linda's family is from there and all of our lives I said I'd love to go. So as soon as I retired we started planning our trip. It is a magical place. We started off in Tallinn, the capital, where we stayed at Linda's aunt's house. Auntie was a fabulous tour guide, walked us all around the old town explaining the history. I was a little jet lagged but tried to take it all in. Other than Great Britain and Holland this was my first European visit, and it didn't disappoint. Narrow streets, flower markets, patios on cobblestone roads, old old buildings, history everywhere. We also visited two of the many islands of Estonia. Gorgeous beaches, lovely guest houses, saunas, fresh air and really friendly people. We stayed with another aunt in the countryside, where the air was sweeter than you can imagine, such a pretty country. Linda's son was in Estonia participating in a music camp where kids from all over the world joined to learn each other's music. When camp ended the kids participated in a three day music festival that we attended daily. The festival was held in a ruin, it was surreal sitting in the remains of a castle listening to music from all over the world. We hope to make it a yearly trip.

John and I made it to two folk festivals; Mariposa in July and Kingsville in August where we were joined by my sisters Katrina and Mair, and Mair's husband John. We camped with our tent trailer for each. There's really nothing like an open air venue, even if Trina and I ended up dancing in the rain!

Fall has become a difficult time for me. My dad passed away on Labour Day weekend, my mum on October 24th. Now that I anticipate the change in feelings I am no longer blind sighted by the sadness. I'm still sad though. I miss them both so much and being an "orphan" even at my age made me feel less grounded somehow. It also made me feel lucky to have had them for so long.
I took up knitting again, and took a sewing class, bought a sewing machine, started pilates classes...mostly I was trying to stay active and fight the depression that seemed to be settling in. I gained weight, I used food to fill the gap. As winter approached it got worse. I knew I needed to shake myself up.

I enrolled in doula school, being trained for three days in early December for the role of birth doula. Birth is something I had been interested since I had Matt, my son, at home with a midwife. No sooner was I trained and I contacted a community service group that connected me with three women whose births I attended. Such a privilege, and such an experience. I had to put the business on hold as I am now away but when I return to Toronto I am enrolled in postpartum training as well as a program affiliate with the local hospital to provide doula care. I am hoping to supplement my pension somewhat but I also really enjoy helping women with low income and little familial support.

Meanwhile as December rolled in, so did the anniversary of Dave's death. We visited the tree and decorated it for Christmas. I miss him terribly but when I think of the pain that cancer gave him and the way he felt before he died and his body had shut down I know he is better off wherever he is now. My heart aches for my niece Lindsay who lost her dad so young and it is my promise to Dave that I will watch over her, as he did.

At Christmas I was on call for a birth so we stayed in Toronto. My brother Jan and his wife welcomed us to their home and we had a fun night of food and games and laughter. I am lucky that spending time with my family is a joy, not a chore as it is for some!

Luckily January was a mild month in Toronto. I hate winter as you may know. I got through it by getting out to pilates twice a week, yoga once or twice a week, reading and watching Netflix! I knew I only had to get through January and then I was away for the rest of winter.

February 1st I flew into Liberia Costa Rica. My friends Linda and Paul were arriving that night in San Jose. I rented a car and drove across CR for the first time alone. I checked into our airbnb and picked up Linda and Paul. We then hung out for a couple of days in the area of Quepos. We visited Manuel Antonio Park and the area before heading over to Nosara, my happy place, where my niece has lived for 15 years and my son is currently living. Nosara is a beach town, full of ex pats, surfers and yogis. After a few days at Beach Break Bungalows with Paul's sister Michele, we headed off to Rincon de la Vieja. Here we hiked a bit, and visited hot springs and mud baths. After saying goodbye to Michele I drove Linda and Pal back to San Jose where they flew home. I drove back to Nosara feeling quite confident about driving all over Costa Rica!

Two days later my son Matt and I took off for Granada, Nicaragua. Matt came to help me get settled in and get oriented. Granada is a fairly big town of about 123,000. The markets and main square are bustling, it has such an incredible vibe, with venders calling out their wares, narrow roads where bicycles, motos, cars, trucks and buses vie with pedestrians. I am still learning how to get through, you need  certain amount of confidence or you will stand there forever. The sidewalks are on and off, and where there is one, it might be very narrow or not in great shape. This is all part of the ambience, the excitement and the fun! Matt and I had four days of exploring, we went at night to see the inside of Masaya, an active volcano. Matt climbed up to Mombasa volcano while I toured the Pueblos Blancos where I was given a personal demonstration of pottery making, and visited El Mirador de Laguna Apoyo. We've had incredible meals for as little as $10 USD (including beer for Matt!), and our little hotel room in Hotel Barcelona is basic but lovely, they are super friendly and helpful. We have our $5 breakfast each morning on the patio while enjoying the sounds of birds in the trees. It is set a little bit away from the main streets so it's quiet at night and feels very safe. I'm staying one more night here before I move to my homestay family and start four weeks of Spanish school.

Today I am off to practice yoga and explore some more, so I will close off now and update you soon!