Going native in Miraflor

By Oliver Grayer

Alpha 7, pooled from the four corners of Britain and beyond, arrived in Esteli, Nicaragua, after a colourful journey from Costa Rica with Alpha 1 and Alpha 6. As we watched their bus pull away and leave us to wait the arrival of what would turn out to be a nicely jazzed up, but none the less, ancient American school bus, there was a hum of excitement about what was awaiting us. Two hours later our bus, which throughout the course of the journey had been literally held together with chain and rope, dropped us in the community of El Rodeo in the Mountains of the Miraflor reserve. 

Things were only to get more gloriously surreal as we met a congregation of our community and then bedded down to our first night in houses with only minimal comforts. We awoke to our new diet of tortillas, rice and beans, - it met various receptions – before we collected beside an unassuming boulder and tree riddled field that happened to be the site for the community centre we were tasked with laying the foundations for. With a fire as red as Will’s (our Grand Hombre) beard, we set to work and over the first week set about smashing boulders to pebbles and yanking trees from their rooting even if we didn’t always manage to get out of the way first. 

By our first weekend the site had began to take form and we had become established in our new home. Unanimous disapproval was found for the frankly, overly organic chickens who laid eggs in our beds and awoke us at unearthly hours with cockledoodledoos. Thankfully the animal farm nature of El Rodeo was heavily overshadowed  by the array of colourful individuals in the community. Long mornings were spent with the men and the foreman who apparently were often as confused as us, whilst evenings where spent in fun and games with the children. Don Gario was the key protagonist with an array of wacky games that kept the kids going long into the night! Others spent time teaching English and learning Spanish with varying degrees of success; I will be eternally proud for acting as a translator, if only for a brief moment. 

Special mention has to go to our PMs. Don Piero, Donas Vicki and Rachael, whose combined attributes of practicality, humour and ditziness lent to a thoroughly great group dynamic. Don Piero’s insistence that “no glove no love” was a work site term.

Persia provided particular entertainment one afternoon with screeches that grew from a quiet whisper to full blown howls (as she regained her senses) all due to her being cornered by a fence hurdling bullock. Felix’s dismay after being approached by the local spinster who asked, in French, “voulez vous coucher avec moi, se soir?” was equally humorous for many. 

The second week had seen a change in our work pattern after we established that not all of us could always be on site all the time. We decided to diversify activities to include trekking and mucking in with the locals in domestic tasks and on the farms. I took particular satisfaction in taking revenge on an unfortunate cock, ultimately cooking and eating the blighter. Others trekked to the mystical Laguna de Miraflor which is rumoured to be the sight of a hidden underwater flowery paradise. On trek, Vicki took particular pleasure in the trees that looked to have long white beards, we all enjoyed the amazing landscapes.
 

As our second week came to an end we consolidated as a group and really felt settled in our wildly different new village. Our time was great and we’re wishing the next venturers all the best in El Rodeo!

All the Best,

Ollie and the gang.