grand river lodge

12/03/05

There are 12 thatch huts. Each has a basic raised wood structure with a porch and a concrete room in the back for toilet and shower. The back wall of the bathroom is only 7 feet high. There is an open space to the roof letting in light, wind and rain from the hills.In the room are 2 beds, a single and a double with decent new mattresses. Electricity from 8 am to 2 am but no fan. She will bring a mosquito net for me.

There is an older French man staying here. He has been here for 3 days now. He is happy to speak French with me as his Spanish is poor and his English is non-existent. He was traveling with a French couple until they came to Ometepe last week and said they were not going further. They had been traveling together for 5 months and so it was a bit of a shock for him to find himself suddenly alone. He has no guide book and no language skills. Must be interesting.

The owner, Marvin, arrives with an older American man. Marvin is 30 years old and very talkative. He speaks English, French, Italian and German besides his Spanish. He tells me he has been working on the cruise ships for the past 10 years and slowly building this place over the past 2. He only offically opened 5 months ago and is not known yet. The American is a Catholic priest that Marvin knows from the cruise ship. He was the ship chaplain for 8 years. He is now 83 years old. Marvin finally convinced him to visit Nicaragua and he is here for a week. He seems a bit overwhelmed.

Marvin takes us around to see his fruit trees. He gives us unripe guavas to eat. Frather Frank has never seen a banana tree before. M shows us the cocoa, the mangos , the papayas. He gives us coconuts to drink.

I am sitting in the shade beside one of the huts, the wind blowing on my back. Lunch was a nice fresh fish with the classic rice and beans, plantain chips and salad. Then M suggested hot water in the ear to help remove the mosquito. He wanted to put the water in the opposite ear. I guess he figured there was a direct connection between the 2 and that pouring in one ear would push out the mosquito from the other.