Information Blackout; Nicaraguan Style
By Mike Danna
Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation Public Relations Director
The blog blackout over the last two nights comes to an end with our arrival in Costa Rica Wednesday night.
The hotel in Jinotego, Selva Negra, Nicaragua, was something out of a Hemingway novel; pre-War German-influence architecture, small rooms and rustic, lush green courtyards and sitting areas. The most reliable thing in the hotel was the laundry service and the bar. For most on this tour that’s all that was really needed.
Bobby Skeen dropped off a load of laundry on Monday, which included three pairs of pants, four shirts, five pairs of underwear and four pairs of socks. (Bobby wants me to remind you that all those items were 100 percent cotton) The total was $145 Cordobas, or $5.80 U.S.
“They even folded them for me,” Skeen said.
But the Internet connection? Free but non-existent. It seemed to work a little in the lobby, but in the room you were better off kicking back and watching “Forrest Gump” in Spanish. “Correr, Forrest! Correr!”
Tonight I’ve uploaded a story and photos from our visit to a Nicaraguan cigar factory on Tuesday, as well as photos from our other farm visits and events. (Check out Drew Wiggers and his iguana.) There are also some video vignette greetings from the class members who were on my mini-bus on the drive to Esteli.
This has really been an eye-opener for first-timers abroad. Lisa Register said it should be mandatory for all Americans to visit a Third World country during their formative years.
“That way they’ll really know just how lucky they are to live in America,” she said.
Amen.
The net should be much more reliable in Costa Rica, the top tourist destination in all of Central America; that means business folks vacationing who can’t really leave the office behind. “Can I get two Corona’s and the Wi-Fi code? Thanks.”
So far the trip has been outstanding, with few glitches. The cigar factory tour was amazing. Picture 400 women hand-rolling some of the world’s finest cigars. Class member and TWILA reporter A.J. Sabine was presented with a box of A.J. Fernandez premium cigars by production manager Enrique Somoza as a thank you for profiling his plant on the show. In the photo A.J.’s smile was so wide it nearly knocked the guy down.
On the way to the ranch visit Wednesday morning the Coasters (that’s what they call a mini-bus here in Nicaragua) drove right in the middle of a cattle drive, a cattle drive that featured rancheros and caballeros herding cattle on both horseback and motorcycles.
On the way to the airport in Managua today we did a bit of shopping. The luggage is getting heavier as Class 13 stimulates the Central American economy.
Be sure to read the labor story below this post and check out the photos and videos. Leave a post or two so I’ll know you’re following us. I’ll have a trivia question posted tomorrow night. The first poster with the correct answer will win a souvenir from our trip.
Until next time…