Mental Compost

Thoughts while waiting for cargo...

I went to a little reunion of sorts with Erlinda. She and a woman who had taught at the same school years ago got together with a few other friends for some chat and a meal. An appetizer was tamal (not to be confused with the same word meaning a mess, or a muddle), which is basically the corn mush part of a tamale, the little meat and mush pie, wrapped in banana leaf and simmered in water. This tamal looks like greyish-yellow clay, cut into strips. It is firm enough to pick up with fingers and eat with a little soft cheese. It has almost no flavor, lacking any appeal in appearance or taste. Yet when it was served, all remarked on how it was real Nicaraguan food.  It wasn't horrible, but in a country with such piquant and luscious flavors for the table, its attraction mystifies me. I suppose it is like Scottish haggis, a cheap source of nutrition that travels well without refrigeration.

The road from Diriamba to La Boquita is a study in contrasts. It passes through some attractive farmlands where goats and cows are grazing, and past a stone quarry that is being worked today much as when it was started nearly a hundred years ago by some Italian immigrant stone cutters. It produces vast numbers of stone blocks for building fences, walls, paving roads. Doubtless, the saw wheel is electric, and the output today far exceeds that of yesteryear, but the simple stone block remains a reliable source of strength and durability in building materials.  Further down the road, a sizeable solar array turns some of that hot Nicaraguan sun into precious energia. And beyond lie fields of sugar cane that is about knee-high at this time of year.

PriceSmart is a Costco or Sam's Club sort of enterprise that has cropped up all over the Caribbean and Central and South America. I went there with Erlinda's son to buy a couple of bed pillows. Many American products are available--I was thrilled to see Hellman's Mayonnaise on offer--and in addition to electronics and booze, power tools and baby clothes, laundry soap and frying pans, the place has a large fresh foods department. I bought a membership, although I am not sure how much I'll be able to shop there without a car to help transport my purchases. And the prices were not especially fabulous on many things. A plastic patio table and four chairs ran nearly $400! Not many Nicaraguans can afford that price, and for cheap plastic? No bargain.

Just received word that the cargo is in Managua. Once I pay the overland bill, it can be released to me, with one probable obstacle: import tax. Retirees who receive residence visas are granted tax-free import of household goods up to $25,000. I will not have my residence visa for some months, likely, so I must rely on a customs agent to plead my case and try to get the lowest rate possible. Fingers are crossed, as funds are not unlimited, and I still have furniture to buy.