Nicaragua's Pasttime

We went to a baseball game in Sahsa, the second I've seen in Nicaragua. Interestingly enough, the leader of the local health center, Sergio, is also the starting pitcher for the Sahsa baseball team. Baseball is one of the most important events around town, as evidenced by the fact that the baseball jerseys were completely spotless and clean before the game. Players walk around town in their jerseys sometimes, even when there isn't a game (or at least one that I know of). On this particular day, Sahsa was engaged in a heated battle against Kukalaya, a nearby village.

Boys of Summer:


Boys in Blue, keeping the peace.


Actually, while we were there, one guy got into a fracas with the police. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but the guilty party basically got embarrassed in front of most of the town. Then as the police walked away, the guy grabbed a log and started chasing after the police. The towns people shouted to the police, who turned around and re-disciplined him. There are 6 police officers in Sahsa, all of whom are voluntary.

Safety is probably a bigger issue out here than back in Leon. I wouldn't have felt particularly comfortable walking around alone at night around Sahsa. Even while we were in Rosita, I didn't feel completely safe. I was never threatened or anything, but I did see a street fight on the main drag there during my brief stay.

Bulges in the Pants

Speaking of buses, on the first bus ride, from Rosita to Sahsa, the guy in front of me stood up to put something in the overhead rack. As he did this, his shirt lifted up, and I could plainly see that he had a handgun stuffed into his pants. This discovery was a little unsettling because I had heard of buses being robbed in Peru. The bus system there is a little different in that they have buses owned by private companies, so the buses are pretty nice. Nonetheless, bus robberies in Peru had gotten so bad that most companies have all passengers go through a metal detector screening before getting on board. These public buses in Nicaragua are mostly beaten up former school buses from the United States. Sometimes people ride on the roof. Animals sometimes ride inside along with possessions, food, crops, desks, and almost anything that can fit. As far as I can tell, there aren't any security measures whatsoever, much less metal detectors. And once you're out in the middle of the campo, ain't nobody coming to rescue you.

The discovery of the gun caused some concern and I began scanning other passengers for unusual bulges in their pants, as well as trying to determine whether this situation might be dangerous. Fortunately, this guy didn't appear to be sketchy. He had just bought a snow-cone like treat for a young girl who was apparently his daughter. Just to be safe, I asked Edgar about it. Edgar says that it's pretty common for people to carry guns in rural Nicaragua. A lot of people were involved in the wars in the 1970s and 1980s and still carry guns for protection. After all, many of these folks live in very rural areas where they don't have any police protection. That made me feel better. I guess that if no one has guns, that makes you feel safe. Or if lots of people do, then you feel a little safe too because anyone would have to be crazy to try to rob a bus full of people with guns.

We didn't have any problems. On the way back, as a matter of fact, another guy had a gun in a holster that wasn't concealed at all.

The dog on the bus goes "Bark Bark Bark"

Actually this dog didn't bark, he was just a cute puppy that rode quietly on the bus with us on the way back from Sahsa to Rosita. He belonged to one of the families riding the bus, but he thought the floors were too uncomfortable, so he took over one of the empty seats.

Ambulance

At about 2:30 in the afternoon while we were at the health center in Sahsa waiting to catch a bus back to Rosita, a patient arrived. At about 8 am, while he was cutting grass, he accidentally sliced open his knee, breaking his patella. Since he lived far off, it took 6 and a half hours for him to come in to Sahsa. He arrived to the center in a pick up truck, but many rural areas are accessible only by foot trail or house. After his wound was cleaned up a little at the health center, an ambulance arrived to take him to a hospital in Puerto Cabeza, the capital city, which is a few hours away.

Los Centros

Here are some pictures of the Centros de Salud in Sahsa. The first one is actually no longer a health center, but it houses various visitors like us. In this picture, there are some engineering and architecture students repairing the roof. The building is pretty old and needs some basics, like lighting in the rooms, so the volunteer students are appreciated.

Here is the new health center in Sahsa. You can see the radio tower on the left, which was put in by UNAN in order to communicate with Rosita since Sahsa is so isolated. There is also a sign on the left which says "Made by the people for the people!" It also says that it cost C$ 1,067,184. In US dollars, that's about $56, 167. Sometimes the government likes to put up signs, especially at health centers, that say how much the government is doing for the people of Nicaragua. I noticed this too in Mexico, where the government would have signs that tout the pavement of a road or relief work in an area destroyed by hurricanes.

Sahsa Tour

Andrew, Edgar and I did a little tour of Sahsa to get a better idea of what it is like and who lives there. Accompanied by a 10 year old kid as our guide, we went to houses and asked the residents about their lives and if they were aware of what the University of Nicaragua at Leon (UNAN Leon) is doing in Sahsa.

Andrew and our guide approaching a house.
Here is a picture of Andrew standing next to a tarp of beans. It's my understanding that the Misquito culture strongly emphasizes community. Many residents walk 2-3 hours to communal farms daily to harvest crops and bring food back to eat. Yes, they travel 2-3 hours each way, every day. They'll often do this for several weeks at a time until they've collected enough food to last a while. The residents we talked to don't harvest food to sell it; it is only used for personal consumption. Many of the families have no income whatsoever; their work is providing their own food.

Here is Andrew with our tour guide (the tall kid in the middle) and two of his friends. This is at the water purification well at the top of the big hill in Sahsa. If I remember correctly, it was built by Canadians in the early 1990s. This well is crucial for providing water to Sahsa. Unlike many places in Nicaragua, including Leon and Managua, the health center in Sahsa has water 24 hours a day thanks to this well.

Radio Radio

Sahsa has a radio station, but no phone lines or cell phone tower.
Notice the outhouse on the left. I didn't get a chance to listen to it, so I'm not sure what exactly they're sending out on the airwaves.

Housing in the Atlantic Coast

Here are what some typical houses look like in the Rosita and Sahsa areas. The houses in Sahsa have been rebuilt since Hurricane Felix in September 2007 and according to Edgar it looks much better now than then.
This first house is on the way from Rosita to Sahsa.
This is a house in Sahsa.
Another house in Sahsa.

Outline of Sahsa Trip

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