Latin American Lifestyle and Art (LALA): San Juan de Oriente, Nicaragua

Today’s highlight has to be the bus ride from San Juan de Oriente back to Granada. The chicken bus is such an icon of central american travel that riding one is always a cool experience for me. I love the idea that a second-hand American school bus can have this fabulous second life barreling around rural back roads totally blinged out with extra chrome, custom paint job, carnival lights and her name (“Lupita”!) emblazoned across the front in glitter cursive.

Today’s bus (Guadeloupe!) does not disappoint. She appears on the horizon in a shimmer of heat and petrol fumes. I signal using the standard Central American gesture to flag down any kind of moving vehicle - extend arm horizontally in front, palm down, and move up and down vertically. Guadeloupe pulls to the edge of the road and slows down but doesn’t actually come to a complete stop. The ayudante (literally means “helper”) hangs out the door of the bus holding on with one hand. After assisting a couple of people to leap off, he fixes his eyes on me. “Venga! Venga!” he yells beckoning wildly with his free arm. I’m carrying about 10kgs of fragile pottery in plastic shopping bags which are already starting to split under the strain and am not feeling particularly speedy or agile. However Guadeloupe shows no sign of coming to a halt so I loop all the bags onto my left arm and with my right arm grab the door bar as the bus rolls past. The ayudante grabs my left arm just above the elbow and somehow hauls me up onto the bus which immediately picks up speed and pulls back out onto the road.

Trying to keep my balance I move down the centre aisle of the packed bus stepping over feet and trying not to land on someones lap. A young man about half way down is beckoning to me and gives up his seat. The lovely young girl I sit down next to offers to hold one of my shopping bags on her lap, giving me one free hand to hold on the seat as we take some corners at a high speed. Awesome! There are floral tapestry covers over the back of each seat (just like at your Nanna’s house), gauzy curtains flapping at each window, multi-coloured flashing lights running around the ceiling, and mariachi music blaring over the sound system. Every seat is taken and we are flying down the road creating a beautiful cool breeze, passing alternately through villages, farmland and lush jungle blazing with tropical flowers. All for the price of 12 cordobas (about 50 US cents).

Oh, and about the pottery. San Juan de Oriente, (small village known as the pueblo blanco because all buildings, including the church are painted white) is quaint, picturesque, friendly and a fabulous fabulous treasure hunt. Many artisans working form their home making a very special unique pottery in the traditions of the Nahuatl people. I purchased some beautiful pieces for the gallery. Im very happy that I was able to track down Juan Carlos Jiminez. I found some of his ceramics in a gallery in Antigua about a year ago and have been determined since then to track him down. And I did! Will go back on Monday to pick up the pieces he is finishing for me. A wonderful day but long and hot - temperature reached 38 degree centigrade! Am very happy to finish the day pool-side in the oasis which is Casa Silas. Disappointingly all my pictures turned out kind of crap today but I am posting least worst ones.