Our Tortuga Guest of the Week
Greta from Knoxville, TN, doesn‘t like to talk about her age. Estoy tan vieja como el pinol she says, quoting a Nicaraguan saying. The Spanish language is one of the reasons she keeps coming to Nicaragua and León and La Tortuga specifically. She first came in March 2012. The idea then was to travel on to Colombia and Guatemala but things didn‘t quite go as planned. While she did eventually make it to Guatemala, Nicaragua remained her favourite country and she has returned several times since that first visit with her son. When she decided to travel to Nicaragua by herself, there were some very dramatic farewells. Do you have to go to Africa and There‘s a war there were some of the reactions. Greta returned home safe and sound and has been coming and going ever since.
5 years have passed since Greta‘s first visit. Has the country changed in that time? Oh yes, Greta says. There are more cars now and fewer men riding their bikes with their señoras sidesaddle. And there were more horses, too. Easy credit came and now everyone seems to own a motorbike or car.
The main reason she keeps coming back is the people. But she also enjoys going to cultural events. One night, she invited the Tortuga staff to a concert by Katia Cardenal, one of the country‘s most famous singers. On another occasion, she participated in a procession during la gritería chiquita. The festival has its origin in the eruption of Cerro Negro volcano in 1947 when the city of León was covered in volcanic ash and the eruptions did not seem to stop. The bishop of the diocese promised the Virgin Mary a religious holiday if she stopped the eruptions. As you might have guessed, eruptions subsided and in León the gritería chiquita was born. It was fun, she says, and involved lots of singing.
Her favourite place in León is el Fortín, the old fort that served as a prison during the Somoza regime. The dichotomy of the place fascinates her. So violent then and so peaceful now.
What I like best when I‘m here is the fact that I‘m at peace with myself. People assume the best here. That‘s probably the biggest difference with the US.
Her plan for this visit is to learn German at Casa de Cultura – perhaps not the most obvious choice for something to do in Nicaragua!