| This info / Blog page was started in October 2007. It will show the day to day happenings. It will be updated when there is an internet connection available and it allows FTP. Most of the internet cafes use wireless technology and when a number of users are logged on it can become very slow and often time out. Jump 2 2008 News |
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Comments: Netman: Preparations are going well with our planned visit to Nicaragua. I have collected over 120 cuddly toys, 30 colouring books and colouring
pencils for the young children of ------------------------------------------------- Netman: Aida the lady who runs the CVC ( ------------------------------------------------- Netman: The final arrangements have now been made for the forthcoming trip to
------------------------------------------------- Netman: Looking at the weather reports today, hurricane Felix is battering the
east coast of ------------------------------------------------- Netman: Felix hit the north east corner of ------------------------------------------------- Netman: Felix left a some destruction in the north east region of ------------------------------------------------- Netman: Aida's trip to the ------------------------------------------------- Netman: My Canadian trip is coming to a conclusion and soon I will be back in
the throws of planning ------------------------------------------------- Netman: Aida landed safely in the ------------------------------------------------- Netman:
This week saw the packing of the toys
and school equipment that is being taken out to ------------------------------------------------- Netman: All the team have now packed and
are ready to leave. However one member or the team 'HAS' decided to
leg it to ------------------------------------------------- Netman: The trip to ------------------------------------------------- Netman Yesterday Paul, Tony and
I made it to ------------------------------------------------- Netman Tony is now feeling a lot
better… On Saturday night we decided to have our evening meal
at the hotel. The only problems was is that it was in utter darkness
so you couldn’t see what you were eating. Couldn’t be
all that bad as we are still around to tell the tail. Sunday saw a
trip to the Church at Verbo – A happy-clappy sort of affair
but the 1 ½ hour lecture left a bit to be desired! Sunday afternoon
we took the panga around Bluefields“s bay along with Mr. Jerry“s family.
Excellent trip! In the evening we went to the ------------------------------------------------- Netman Tony was put to work sorting
out the workshop in the CVC and producing an inventory. The teachers
have been hard at work sorting out equipment and visiting the local
school / teaching / drama / play and communication. Paul and I have
been busy fixing the data projector to the ceiling of the computer
room and repairing several computers. The weather is very hot and
muggy with the bugs doing overtime in the evenings. Yesterday after
supper we came upon a small snake of the adder variety which was interesting
to say the least. The spiders in the shower look on with curiosity
at some white man trying to sort his life out under cold icy water
in the mornings. Together with the cold water and the size of the
spiders it certainly wakes one up in the morning. Nevertheless it“s
hard work but great out here… ------------------------------------------------- Netman So much has happened since the last note. Paul and I managed to get the
computer room at the CVC sorted out and the data projector mounted
on the ceiling. The teachers have had their work cut out with the
children at Urmbeite school. The weather is very hot and humid which
makes anything you do hard work. We all took the 2 pickups on the
ferry boat and headed for the mainland with a short drive to San Juan
Del Sur for our weekend off. The road from Rivas to San Juan was and
still is very challenging which gives off roading a whole new meaning.
The sunset in San Juan is magic and very dramatic to watch. All of
us apart from Tony and David went off to CoCo beach for the day for
a play in the surf and general lay around.Then today (Sunday) we catch
the ferry boat back to Ometepe. ------------------------------------------------- Netman The team has now arrived back from Nicaragua fully exhausted. Mind you
the travel back didn't go without incedent. We all checked in to Managua
airport after our wonderful last night in Las Mercedes Hotel. All
was going fine until Netman was summoned to security. They were very
keen to know what a removable hard drive is. After unpacking the bag
displaying the equipment - repacking it only left a few minuets to
catch the flight to Houston. From then on all was well - Oh! apart
from the food on both legs of the flight. Still a nice Sunday Roast
Dinner to look forward to and the planning of the next trip. ------------------------------------------------- Netman Mr. Jeremy Summerell
and myself have had to make an impromptue trip to Nicaragua to sort
some problems out and spend sometime with Aida the lady who runs the
CVC center. We also have taken the oppertunity to buy some school
equipment that we can deliver to the schools we support on the island
of Ometepe. Jeremy has been quite poorly for the last few days and
with the offer of “Eskimo“Nicaraguan ice cream he“s soon on the mend
We have taken a drive around the south volcanic island which has proven
quite interesting. The north side of the island is green where as
the south side is brown and dusty. The contrast in such a small area
is quite amazing. ------------------------------------------------- Netman Good News! on 2
accounts. Mr Jeremy has made a full recovery and secondly I have managed
to carry-out all my objectives for this trip. Jeremy and I took a
walk trough a banana plantation and became uttely lost. Fortunate
for us a chap popped up from no where and put us back on track for
a village called Las Pillas. We visited 5 schools yesterday morning
and they were very pleased to see us which was a massive boost for
moral. There was a power cut on the island yesterday so we just had
to pop into an Eskimo shop and eat some ice cream before it all melted
J Today is our last day on Ometepe and we head up to Managua for
2 days tomorrow. -------------------------------------------------
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Netman We are now a team
of 8 made up of teachers & engineers. The filghts are booked from
the UK to Nicaragua and the internal flights are booked from Managua
to Bluefields. Our first task is to link up with a Nicaraguan builder
and offer our skills and manpower to replace a Church roof in the remote
village of La Barra Rio Grande on the east coast of Nicaragua.
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Netman The eve of the 2008
November trip is now upon us. We leave at 03:30 and head off down to
London Heathrow. More to follow...
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Netman Arrived @ Houston.
Didn't go without incedent. James was detained at customs as there was
warrent out for the arrest of someone in the UK with the same name.
A quick call to someone in London put a swift end to the matter. The
ride in the taxi from home to London Heathrow seemed long. The driver
took the long way round and across country I'm sure. Still the flight
was good. Hazel felt a little unwell but now back to normal. The kitty
is now fully stocked. Roll on Managua. 3 1/2 hours away on the second
leg of the day.
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Netman Well. Where do I
start? We landed in Managua very tired after a long journey from the
UK. The hotel Las Mercedes was very full and there were lots of people
beeing checked in. The checking in process is very long and tiresome.
The night soon passed and we were up and ready for the flight to Bluefields.
The aircraft a Cessna Caravan was small but fun. in Bluefields the Builder
'Stamford' came to meet up at the airstrip and we were soon at the World
Relief Center where we were staying the night. We met there with Dick
Bell the leader of the Charity SIFT and other team members who were
looking after their own interest. In the evening we went to Bluefields
Bay Hotel were we met our Panaga Pilot from last years trip called Jerry.
After a lovely meal we hit the sack and the next day we packed the panga
with Paint, Gas bottle, food, water, luggage, school items, ourselves
and a eldery lady who we were taking to La Barra. The first part of
the trip was uneventful making for the small settlement of the Pearl
Lagoon. After a short stopover there we carried on our journey. Then
disaster struck. In the middle of the Lagoon the engine cut out and
we were stranded. To cut a long story we made a sail out of a plastic
sheet and used the small oras to try and get back to the township. Light
was failing fast and we were rescued by 3 men in a boat. Thank God!
We stayed at a hotel in Pearl Lagoon and decided to pull the La Barra
visit due to safety of the team. The kit was sent up with the repaired
Panga and we decided to make back to Bluefields and to cap it all there
was a tropical storm approaching. Sadly the panga to take us back also
broke down! After several attempts we were on our way to Bluefields.
Then we found that 'J' had lost his passport. We did all the good things
as stated by the UK FCO.gov website and hopefully 'J' will get a replacement
in a weeks time.... Watch this space. We plan to go to Ometepe on Sunday.......
Moments before the Panga STOPPED ---------------------------------------- Netman Back in Managua we are ready for the epic journey to Ometepe. -----------------------------------
Netman Netman Sorry for
the delay in updating the Blog. The Internet connection on the island
of Ometepe was a little dicky to say the least. That´s what
you get when you let the Internet cafes be run by kids! Oh Well. The
journey to Ometepe was uneventful however the minibús that
we hired was a little overloaded. The ferry crossing was interesting
too as the dock on the island was flooded and we were not sure if
the minibús world make it through the water. Alas it did. We
sorted out the kit that was destined for the 5 schools that we support
and made our first prelim visits. We found that the head teacher in
one of the schools was so ungrateful we
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Netman Friday 14th. We went to a Church school in Managua where the teachers on this trip talked to teachers in the school. The morning went very well with talks about the Ethos of a British Church school and James did a talk on Toxic Childhood. There were other group activities that were held which were well received. Later in the day we visited the Cathedral in Managua which is a strangely interesting building and a visit to the Managua museum where we had a guided tour for the grand sum of $2. It was a very hot day with temperatures reaching 38 degrees C in the shade. We also got to meet Pastor Alberto, the pastor of the Church school at his house in Managua. A well earned dip in the hotel pool was in order later in the evening. I checked the Continental Airlines reservations this morning and we all appear to be seated on the same seat 11A on the leg from Managua to Houston on Sunday. I guess the airlines servers are playing up. Watch this space!
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