Coming to the Corn Islands
In the morning, with the sun just coming up over the water, I boarded a tiny panga at the dock in Bluefields and we motored out across the lagoon to El Bluff, where a small crowd awaited the arrival of the cargo ship. No one seemed surprised when the boat was two, then three hours late, and as the sun climbed higher into the sky I sought refuge in the shade of a gigantic, rusted boat propeller resting on its side. I struck up a conversation with a Dutch traveler laden with diving equipment, obviously intent on exploring the underwater environs surrounding the islands. He also boasted a nasty scrape that covered much of his left knee and shin, and recounted to me how he earned it-he was pushed to the ground and robbed by a group of kids in Managua’s Mercado Roberto Huembes while waiting for his bus. Fortunately, he escaped serious injury, and even managed to hold on to most of his stuff until the kids were scared off by some locals. “After that,” he said, “I bought this, so no more problems,” pointing to the machete strapped outside the pack.
Eventually the faded, lime-green cargo ship arrived, belching and sputtering its way up to the dock and coughing out tufts of black smog. Already laden with livestock and supplies, the boat visibly sank lower in the water with each passenger that stepped aboard. The back deck was dominated by ten or fifteen cows and two dozen pigs who had covered the ground with layer upon layer of their own excrement, packed down by their hooves. The tiny interior of the cabin had a cramped sitting room, whose salient characteristic was the odor emanating from the adjacent doorless toilet.
Carnival in Cadiz, Spain
The Andalusian port city of Cadiz may have imported Carnival from Venetian traders passing through town, but those looking for masquerade charm and lots of Old World pomp and circumstance should stick to the original. No place in Europe is better known for sherry-guzzling, pre-Lenten thrills than Cadiz, where most of the fun is centered around the Parque Genrives and its rollicking (if slightly rickety) carnival rides. The week leading up to Shrove Tuesday is filled with endless street parties, parades, local music concerts, and lots of children dancing in native costumes. While in Cadiz, take some time out from the sidewalk revelry to sample the toros embolaos, a local specialty that has to be tasted to be believed.
