Dec 30 - A Social Night That Calls For Many Really Cold Toñas Done Up In The Style Honed In The Desperate March Heat Of Leon

First tacos, then beer
Iced glass, big cube, lots of lime
Paul's Nica Special 

Dec 29 - The Holiday Video Takes An Entire Day To Assemble 10 Mere Minutes, But Years From Now I Know I Will Be Happy That I Took The Time

In the moment, yuck
Fussing with all these pieces
Yet what captures more?

Dec 28 - Yet Another Store Clerk Notes That I Have Overpaid Him, And I Am Struck Again By How Honest People Are Here, Even Though Paul Did Get His Camera Stolen On The Bus

In a poor country
It's surprising how often
my money's returned

Dec 27 - In Which I Get To Wondering If I've Grown So Old That A Grandson Holiday Could Wear Me Out Or If I'm Just Having A Lazy Day

I am in sloth mode
Shuffling back from La Union
Dragging my red bag

Dec 26 - My Accordion And I Send French Musettes Out Into The Hot Managua Night

Sometimes I hit notes
so sweet they make my heart hurt
Ce soir on danse

Dec 25 - The Sendoff, In Which We Taxi To The Airport For A Christmas-Day Premium Of 300 Cordobas Then Employ Our Growing Bus/Walk Skills To Get Back Home For 20

Last Nica breakfast
Wave for the movie, I ask
They won't. Posing's done

Dec 24 - Only In Nicaragua Would The Park Security Guy Come Over To The Lurking Strangers Offering A Lighter To Help Them Get Their Fireworks Going

Star Wars spectacle
Then fireworks in the park
as the trip winds down

Dec 23 - A Halting, Lurching, Bad-Transmission, Overly Packed, Inching-Progress Ride From San Carlos To Managua

The bus looks pretty
But we shouldn't have been fooled
Beauty is in speed

Dec 22 - An Easy Morning In El Castillo

The boys get haircuts
I walk graves, where twins lie dead
Boat rocks us to sleep

Dec 21 - Hiking With Our Guide Orlando Into The Reserva Indio Maiz, Although It's Me Who Spots The Monkey

Mud to our boot tops
We eat termites and chew sticks
that leave us drooling

Dec 20 - And Into The Jungle We Go On The Three-Hour Slow Boat To El Castillo

Currents take us east
Past egrets and startled ducks
To the hilltop fort

Dec 19 - On The Road From Leon To San Carlos, Which Makes For A Rather Unpleasant 12 Hours Of Travel

Elephant ankles
Bus. Taxi. Bus. Taxi. Bus
One tough little town 

Dec 18 - If Only The Camera Hadn't Been Locked In Our Hotel Room Too, I'd Have Had A Great Video Of Shirtless Ex-Pat Dave Booting Our Door In

All surf and sunshine
Until we're locked out again
Owner looks pissed

Dec 17 - We Rest Our Post-Volcano Legs At Las Penitas With A Late Afternoon Trip Into Juan Venado Reserve To Release Newly Hatched Sea Turtles

Swim, baby turtles!
Though odds are stacked against you
We place you with care

Dec 16 - In Which I Am Reminded That Sleeping On The Ground On An Old Piece Of Rolled-Up Carpet That Smells Like Cat Pee Is Not Conducive To A Good Night's Rest

Sunrise is perfect
But our bruised bodies lack sleep
Stinking stumble down

Dec 15 - We Keep Telling Ourselves That You Just Don't Get A View Like This Unless You Work For It, But It's Small Comfort As We Stagger To The Top Of El Hoyo

Oh, our throbbing feet
Four volcanoes? No one's plan
Smudged by steam billows

Dec 14 - North To Leon For Volcanoes, Beaches And Turtles

A roof view so pure
That even those greying socks
are transformed to white 

Dec 13 - Kicking Off The Grandson Vacation With A Whole Lot Of Walking And Masaya At Night, Followed By The Most Crowded Bus Ride Home Ever

Off to the market
Then a glimpse of the abyss
Sleep when you're dead, boys

Dec 12 - Off To Mayoreo To Prepare For Our San Carlos Leg Now That The Boys Are Closing In On Managua

Million-block bus ride
In theory, advance tickets
mean we can sit down

Dec 11 - The Alianza Frances Christmas Show Is Not Much, So We Follow Our Cuso Pals Home

So starts vacation:
Hot tostones with ice cream
Lost in Hippo zone

Dec 10 - One Of The Haikus That Taught Me A Painful Lesson

A haiku was here
But I should have stayed silent
This day forgotten

Dec 9 - It Dawns On Me Why Piecing Together Video Segments Makes My Neck Hurt

Upper back tensed up
Hundreds of tiny motions
Hunched forward, pecking

Dec 8 - Spend Vast Amounts Of Time Organizing The Angelitos Post. Write Heartfelt Christmas Messages For People I Don't Know. Tweet For People Who Pay Me For It. Brainstorm With Random Strangers About Fundraising. Post Gritaria Photos. Eat A Good Lunch With Ysabel

Yes, things did get done
Though not as I'd imagined
Best-laid plans: Awry

Dec 7 - While I Like Managua's Gritaria Experience, I Do Wonder What Mary Would Have To Say About It And If She Would Want Quite So Many Firecrackers

Are we to presume
The Virgin likes high-pitched songs
Fried chicken, old toys?

Dec 6 - A Very Long Day Of Long Walks And Even Longer Bus Rides Searching For The Perfect Gift For Yet Another Secret Santa Undertaking

Oh, my aching feet
Huembes, then Mayoreo
In the end, the mall

Dec 5 - Damn, I Hate A Hangover

Just let me lie here
Regretting my excesses
This day a lost cause

Dec 4 - Two Hours To Get To Pilar's House. Two Minutes To Get Started On The Festive Drinking, Which Definitely Livens Up The Secret Santa Exchange

Every Managuan
Must be fleeing the city
The party bus crawls

Dec 3 - The Problem With Being A Pragmatic Realist At Workshops That Are Almost Always Based On Idealism

I would rather not
play the role of wet blanket
But let's get real here

Dec 2 - A Vanload Of Cuso Volunteers Heads Out Of Town For A Workshop, But Mostly I'll Remember This Day For 14 Dead In San Bernardino

Stop for guiriles
Then it's north to Esteli
For a gender day

Dec 1 - In Which The Fact Of No One Adhering To A Schedule Or Anything Resembling A Meaningful Plan Becomes A Self-Perpetuating Cycle Of Lurching From One Crisis To The Next

You can plan your day
But it rarely goes as planned
This is Panic Land

Nov 30 - How Great That My Daily Late-Afternoon Bus Ride Takes Me Past An Odd Little Spot Where Flocks Of Scissor-Tailed Flycatchers Like To Hunt

Just a drainage ditch
Yet because the bugs breed here
Beauty's in the air

Nov 29 - I Chat With A Young Traveller At The Pool Who Is There Recovering From An Illness I Really Hope I Never Get

Peace Corps volunteer
Felled by chikungunya. Yikes.
In two weeks, eight sick

Nov 28 - The Mural-Painting Event, In Which No Mural Gets Painted, Brings Home The Discomfort Of Being An Enthusiastic Extranjero When The Locals Don't Show Up

Shamed face behind sign
White guy on the boulevard
Protesting catcalls

Nov 27 - At Any Rate, I Had Always Planned On Walking Home, Especially Because I Saw Avocados For Sale On The Next Block Over

Is that your sixth beer?
Too many to drive me home
Though no one seems fazed

Nov 26 - I Use My Charm To Send Money To Honduras With Nothing For ID Except My B.C. Driver's Licence (Scandalous)

Bank Lady doubts me
No passport. No cedula
I just smile, hoping

Nov 25 - A Bit Of A Hot Walk Home All The Way From Plaza Inter, But It's Worth It To Not Be The Only One Who Doesn't Have A Birthday Gift For Matilde On Friday

Nice dish in my pack
Three strange stick-spirals in hand
Birthday gifts for all

Nov 24 - Sometimes The Canadian Has To Be The Bridge Between Two People Reluctant To Speak Of Unpleasant Things

Cultural learning:
They say, 'Oh no, don't tell her.'
But they mean, 'Please do.'

Nov 23 - On The Need To Identify What You Want Before You Go

So many photos
Though she has imagined more
Next time, a clear plan

Nov 22 - Here I Am Again Assembling The Eighth Annual Family Christmas Calendar, But I Feel More Festive Once It's Done And We Head To The Cuban Restaurant For Roast Pig

Eight freakin' hours
Labour of love, Paul tells me,
then buys me lechon

Nov 21 - I Give Up On Metro Centro When It Turns Out To Have Nothing I Need And Catch The Bus For Mercado Israel

First stop: Copy guy
Umbrella. Broom. A sheet set
The locals' Wal-Mart

Nov 20 - And The Feria Is On, Albeit Nearly Flooded Out By A Torrential Rain That Has Never Been Seen In 18 Years And Makes Me Worried That The Big Tent Will Collapse Again

Apio, she says
No, broccoli. I feel cheered
by the muddy crowds

Nov 19 - In Which I Am Overwhelmed With Longing For My Own Car So I Could Drive The Hell Away From Our Northern Stop At A Normal Hour Instead Of 10:30 PM

Waiting, but for what?
Sandals soaked, tall guy bleeding
Nothing goes as planned

Nov 18 - Rosetta Likes Our Skype Calls But Draws The Line When They Drag On

She's a patient girl
Until she's not. No fussing
Just the cold shoulder

Nov 17 - The Reason For The Work-At-Home Day Falls Apart, But I'm OK With That

Landlord at the door
The fan-fixing man can't come
Oh, well. Home is nice

Nov 16 - Row F At Ruben Dario Theatre For Shuichi Hidano And His Amazing Masters Of Taiko

Big drums, sparkly suits
Small crowd; blame the embassy
Though our seats are great

Nov 15 - Mostly You Should Know Better Than To Believe A Bus Tout, But When It's That Or Continue Standing By The Side Of The Highway, You Just Ignore Those Inner Voices And Climb In

No worries, he says
The bus will empty out soon
He's lying. But nice

Nov 14 - A Weekend Getaway To Paradiso Has Me Wondering If TripAdvisor Would Consider Haiku-Style Reviews

Icy mojitos
Turquoise water, good burgers
Free stays past check-out

Nov 13 - I Don't Know What Has Changed But The Love Is Missing Here

They were all good pals
just a few months back. No more.
Time together: Tense

Nov 12 - A Quiet Office After A Retreat To The North Gives Me Time To Log Hours Of Photo Uploading

All these memories
Are at risk of being lost
Google Drive, save us

Nov 11 - The Standard Wednesday Protests Outside The Courthouse Are Disrupting My Walk To Work

I'd have been scared once
Police dressed in riot gear
Now, I'm just annoyed