Our Man in Granada

More Strummer, Sandinistas, Granada and Nicaragua

Following the post below I did some more digging around....

Strummer quoted from an interview here:

What are your feelings about filming in Nicaragua?

"For me, it was a long winter in Britain and pretty depressing, right? So I was feeling generally fed up, and I came down here and it was just what I needed to see people who�ve really got nothing, but are coping and laughing and still enjoying life. On the back-lot here in Granada, I was walking along with another actor, Jack Slater, and we saw these kids playing baseball with homemade balls and hand-carved bats, and basketball with a cardboard box attached to a telegraph pole, and there was this little girl with a plastic bag filled with air, which she was throwing up and catching. And even though they had nothing, they were all having a really good time. 

"I've been here about two months, and just in that time you realize that this is just a normal country that happens to have a leftist government that is trying to sort its problems out. Things aren't so black and white here as I've found from looking from far away with a pro- or anti-Reagan or Thatcher stance. When you get here, all that hardly seems to make any sense. It just seems like that the country's a helluva lot better off than it was under Somoza, when there wasn't any education or medical care and half the population was kept illiterate. Compared to those days, they've made vast progress any human being would surely be in favor of that."

Punk Rock Warlord: Joe Strummer

A film I just have to see.

The Nicaragua link?

Well there's The Clash album Sandinista!

There's also Strummer's appearance in the Alex Cox film Walker filmed right here in beautiful Granada, Nicaragua.

Oh and his soundtrack to the very same film included tunes entitled Ometepe and Nica Libre.

I also found out this little snippet about his time living here:

"Strummer lived in Nicaragua for six months while we shot and edited 'Walker'. He was the guy who named his album "Sandinista", and he was a happy man composing music there.

"Richard Beggs recalled how, as he mixed his effects and dialogue with Joe's music, Strummer took up residence in a cupboard in the corridor outside the mixing room. It was something to keep the vacuum cleaner in, but Strummer made it his office, inhabited it, and kept his rolling papers, lighter, notebook, guitar, and other essentials there. It was the same in Nicaragua. No matter where we were, or what the difficulties, Strummer would always establish a little niche somewhere, in which to plot, and smoke, and dream."

The same place also has the following line which tickle me mainly because it mentions both my home and my current home.

"Joe was prepared to fight for workers rights from Nicaragua to Newcastle. It's a fitting tribute to him that one of his last UK shows was a firefighters benefit that he financed out of his own pocket."

Both lines from here.

Film link from here.

Volcan Mobacho puts my head in the clouds

It's testimony to the pulling power of Volcano Mombacho that we headed back for a second look.

Last time we nipped up and down and, in between, we zoomed around the Crater Trail.

We returned, specifically for two attractions: spending the night on top of the volcano and doing the Puma Trail.

Firstly that night in the clouds.  Earlier we'd taken a short walk in the darkness - our torches like light sabers in the darkness.  Later it was just so good to sleep when you're just about, very nearly, almost, a little cold. 

So good to be snuggling in your blanket as opposed to bemoaning the fan's limited power. 

We asked the guide in the morning how he slept, he replied bueno, es fresco y tranquilo.  Quiet and cool - a duo you can long for at times in steamy Granada.  I also wondered, in my room at the top of the biological station, was I the highest sleeping person in Nicaragua?  Maybe. 

A Song for Today

Thank You Tony Blair

So Tony Blair is finally going. 

It's strange to be away during such a momentus occasion with only the internet for news.  It's hard to gauge the mood back home.

But 'll say thank you to him for one thing only:

Thank you Tony Blair, you made me so ashamed to be British that I left my country and, for the last two and a half years, have had the time of my life overseas.

During that time I have met many other Brits, Americans and Australians who were also part of the "shamed drain".

Bloggerheads says it best with the film below.

The Joy of Nica Buses

The absolute best part of travelling is having the time of your life in what might otherwise be described as hellish situations.

As an example, take a bus, fill it to overflowing with people, crank the music up so loud it's deafening, add in absolutely sweltering heat and what do you get?

For some reason, just sometimes, you get a mood of pure joy.  I call it the "if they could see me now" moment.

Suddenly I want everyone, who has ever met me, to be able to see me in these bizarre circumstances.  I want them to shake their heads and chuckle along with me.

I feel so out of place it's hilarious and I wonder just how did that bloke who wore a suit for his entire twenties get here?  All those colleagues, mostly still in suits, if only they could see me now.

For the record I love Nica buses.  Most of all I like their somewhat foreign urgency - they always seem to be pulling out of the bus station as I jump on with seconds to spare.  The conductor, all the time, advertising his bus's destination with an urgent "GranadaGranadaGRANADA!" cry.

While it's fair to say that, less than an hour after the film was taken, I was bored, sweaty and my head was throbbing, in that particular moment I was very very happy.

How the Axis of Evil made my lights work

"Managua, Jun 22 (Prensa Latina) Nicaragua´s energy service will stabilized by the first trimester of next year, President Daniel Ortega affirmed, and reiterated the country will resort to thermal plants to face the current power deficit.

According to the president, along with the generators to be supplied by Cuba, Venezuela, and Taiwan, the country is likely to receive others by Iran, where he traveled last week.

Cuba and Venezuela already provided 32 generators with capacity to produce 60 megabytes per hour, and promised to supply a similar amount early next year.

Power generation deficit in Nicaragua worsened in the last few days, after interruptions in several generating units, resulting in up to ten-hour blackouts.

Ortega denounced the energy crisis is due to lack of management in the last 16 years of neoliberal governments which privatized the sector and cut off investments."

From here.

Compliments, controversies, volunteering and voluntourism

First off my pic above was enough to prompt Nicaragua Moon Handbook co-writer Joshua Berman to say nice things about me on his blog. 

Apparently the shot's subject took him back a bit and he was: "...washed in white-light Peace Corps nostalgia".

Ahhhh Nica buses - would it surprise you if I said that so far they have been a comparative delight?  Really, maybe it's just compared to my former post in Vietnam, but they're pretty good. More on that soon.

Anyway Joshua was good enough to comment favourably on my Nicaragua Flickr sets.  Link to Josh's post is here.

Here's to small mercies

I moved to Nicaragua,
And I was disappointed to find no hot water, only cold.

I moved to Nicaragua,
And I was disappointed to find no baths, only showers.

I moved to Nicaragua,
And I was disappointed to find no air con, only fans.

Then for a long time,
I had no water. 

And for a long time,
I had no electricity.

They just come back.
Who knows how long for.

And I am happy,
I have cold water.

And I am happy,
I can have a shower.

And I am happy,
The fan is once more cooling me down.

It's good to be clean and cool again.

You have to be careful who you grumble too

I found this in Vietnam, there's a fine line between voicing realism and being a whining expat. 

But going round thinking "everything is wonderful" can be somewhat naive and it's only fair you should get to let out your frustrations occasionally. 

The only question is, who to?

From Picasso Dreams:

"The retirees are definitely more Nica – laid back and easy going quick to stop on the street and chat for long periods. They tend to bristle when the working crowd vents their frustrations about the inefficiencies of the government and the culture and how hard it is to make a profit.

"Retirees and travelers passing through do not want to hear anything negative about their destination of choice. They have the time to enjoy the peculiarities of the culture."

The full, rather good, post is here

The blogger is Kelly, owner of El Gato Negro bookstore in beach town San Juan Del Sur.  Coincidentally ourwoman and I are planning to head that way this weekend.  I'll have to drop by and share a grumble.

My current Granada-based whinge is this:  why the hell has there been virtually no water during weekday daylight hours for weeks and weeks?  There seems to be various theories but everyone seems to agree that it's more to do with efficiency than availability.