Wednesday in Nicaragua

Here´s today´s update:

We started today at Diriamba, the new orphanage location, a little of this a little of that. We only worked until lunch, then went south to the Pacific. It was pretty cool. The was was nice and salty, and really nice to cool off in after the 90 degree heat. After the swim, we ate a a restaurant on the beach. Really good food, very affordable. My full meal was $8 American. Nicaragua seems like a good place for an inexpensive tropical vacation spot. Just pay for a guide like Fernando. He´s the only one I´d trust to drive on these roads, let alone find where to go. Anyway, while at the restaurant, Fernando ordered Red Snapper, as it turns out it´s customary to eat the eyes and brain. The rest of the table was a little grossed out, naturally, but Fernando offered me an eye, so I tried it. It was interesting, the lens was rock hard, but the vitrious fluid was like a warm gross flavored jelly. Not as appealing as it sounds. They half a brain I was offered was actually quite good though. Very soft, almost like butter, but with a pleasant salty flavor. I´d recommend eating the brain, not so much the eyes.

Tomorrow (Thursday) is a big day though. We visit La Chureca, the ¨town¨within the Managua garbage dump. I´ve been mentally preparing myself for it, but I´m sure I´ll still be shocked by it. I hear it also smells pretty bad.

Today's note from the factbook: only 3.3% of the Nicaraguan population is 65 or older. The median age there is 21.7 years. In the US, 12.7% of the population is 65 or older, and the median age is 36.7.