At the end of the town of Tola there is a 12 km gravel road
leading to Playa Gigante and Rancho Santana. Our beach house was in a gated
resort called Redonda Bay.
Many Nicas live along this road. Since we had to take this
road most days I took a lot of photos of their way of life which really makes
you wonder about how much "stuff" we really need.
They don't have much but they are happy and always willing
to help everyone out. The houses are
basic, no running water but they all have satellite dishes!!
Watching the children playing made me think of how much our
children have and they still moan about being bored. These kids were happy
running around or doing chores. The babies are all carried on their mothers'
hips. no strollers or baby chairs or swings.
No baby monitors, bottle sanitizers.
Everyone gets around by foot, bike or horse. They are some
motor scooters and beat up trucks. They farm using horses or oxen to haul their
carts.
The women do their washing by hand outside, no washers and
dryers. Sometimes there is a communal washing area where they can chat as they
scrub. Clothes are hung to dry on the fences. Everyday there is washing to be
done as it is so dusty along this road. Yet everyone is clean and freshly
ironed.
Most cooking is done outdoors in a wood oven. There are
small pulperias (corner stores) along the way where they can pick up some
basics.
The buses from the various towns run frequently along the gravel road.
You will see people getting off the buses with fifty pound bags of rice.
Fruits
grow in abundance, mangos, papayas, plaintain. It is plaintain harvest season
so there are many carts fully loaded with plaintains.
There are fishermen along here who you will see mending
their nets and then heading out into the bay to catch tuna, mackerel and
shrimp.
The main attraction along the way is the livestock who rule the road.
