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| On Sunday we headed to Acoyapa so my wife could vote. My wife is registered at the polling place for where she lived growing up. There are no roads and the only way to get there is by horse. First, however, we had to drive for about 45 minutes just to get to the horses. |
Getting Ready To Vote |
Store In Acoyapa |
Going To Vote |
Campesinos Never Forget |
The Roads A Little Muddy |
Our Transportation |
Junietts Brother Milton |
Jungle Casa |
End Of The Line |
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After driving as far as we could we parked the car and started loading up the horses. I should note that I have absolutely no idea how to drive a horse so these adventures are always particularly interesting for me. This isn't a little walk through the park, it's a 2 hour trek through the Nicaraguan jungle featuring waist deep mud, steep hills, and lots of trees and brush with really sharp stuff on them. Add to that the fact that my horse was doing everything it could possibly do to get me off of it and it was a really unpleasant journey. By the time we got to my wifes brothers finca I had nearly been decapitated and my legs were shredded because the horse drove me through every jagger bush it could find along the way.
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Loading Up The Horses |
Lots To Carry |
My Wife Is Cold |
Juniett And Milton |
Juniett And Greber |
Why You Cant Drive Here |
Taking The Baby For A Walk |
A Little Soupy Here |
Heading Into The Jungle |
Crossing The Stream |
Grabbing A Drink |
We're Here |
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This was my first visit to my wifes brothers finca and I have to say it's an impressive place. The views are fantastic and it really feels like you've gone back in time. There are no cars, no electric, no running water, etc. It's true frontier living.
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The Front Yard |
Miltons Wife |
Miltons Son |
The Back Yard |
Giant Bamboo |
No Noisy Neighbors |
The Grass |
The Finca |
Miltons Other Son |
Living Room View |
I Found A Baby |
Mom Taking The Kids For A Drive |
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Since my wife and I had no desire to get back on a horse at this point we decided to walk the rest of the way to the polling place. It's about an hours walk through the jungle but it's a fairly easy journey. I did manage at one point, however, to slip off a log and fall in the mud. Since I was already covered in mud anyway for riding the horse it didn't really seem to matter much at that point.
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Adios |
I Got A Bit Muddy |
Then I Got Really Muddy |
Greber Laughing At Me |
Trekking Through The Jungle |
We Need A Lawn Mower |
Helping Junior |
Mountain In The Distance |
The Local School |
| After about an hour we finally arrived at the polling place which is a small school in the middle of nowhere. This is where my wife went to school when she was a child. The process for voting in Nicaragua is that they check your cedula to make sure you're supposed to vote there, you vote, then they coat your thumb in indelible ink so you can't vote again. |
Lets Go Chicas |
Election Day |
It Was A Long Walk |
Voting Instructions |
The Election Police |
Junietts Old School |
I Voted |
Baseball Game |
Theres A Long Drive |
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Outside the school some kids were playing an impromptu game of baseball. Baseball is the national pastime in Nicaragua and it's surprising that they don't produce more major league players. The fields they play on are terrible yet they still seem to field the ball. Since they don't have gloves they use their hats instead.
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Swinging For The Palms |
The Polls |
Registered Voters |
Playing Cards |
Hello |
Happy Baby |
Cute Kid |
Saying Goodbye |
Nice Horsey |
Get Out Of My House |
Get This Lard Ass Off Me |
Happy Were Leaving |
| The sad part of this story is that after going through all that effort to vote the election turned out to be a massive sham that was riddled with fraud. The Sandinistas were bound and determined to make this an election a "mandate" for their rule in Nicaragua and when it became obvious they were going to lose at the ballot box they did the next best thing and stole the election. In Managua, for example, they closed the polling places in opposition areas 4 to 6 hours early. In Leon thousands of ballots marked for the opposition were found in the city dump. Many of the tally sheets turned in show the Sandinista's winning certain precincts by tallies like 500-0. The result is that no one believes the election results and MASSIVE civil unrest has resulted. It's clear Nicaragua has entered a new era of dictatorship under Daniel Ortega. The only question is what are Nicaraguans going to do about it? |
Adios |
Interesting Tree |
Leaving The Jungle |
Following The Cows |
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