Nicaragua day 15-25 - fieldwork

I am back in Managua and have access to internet. Yay.

Since my last post, I have spent pretty much the entire time doing fieldwork on the shores of a crater lake outside of Managua. I love my job.

We (a colleague, my student and I) have been based in a highly fortified house only a few meters by the edge of the lake. The house is guarded by two American pitbulls – and an unknown crossbreed dog that would surely lick to death any thief who manages to scale the high concrete walls that surround the property.

We have a cook (the mother of the neighbor) who has been feeding us tropical fruits for breakfast, soupy things for lunch (usually delicious) and either left overs or gallo pinto for dinner.

Our daily routine involves getting to the water by 7am to collect data, followed by breakfast a few hours later, and then more fieldwork before lunch.

I tend to spend a lot of time trying to take in the beautiful surroundings (whilst trying not to take too much notice of all the rubbish that people leave behind on the shores of the lake).

There is a TV in the house but I quickly learnt that the evening news is not really meal-time viewing. It is far more graphic compared to Australian news. Basically, if there is a gory road accident, you can expect to see it all (unpixelated) on the evening news (hosted by an anchorwoman in a too short skirt). I am usually in bed by 8pm.

The birdlife has been amazing but fortunately I have been spared many of the other wild animals that manage to find their way (by either creeping or flying) into my colleague’s room (e.g. whip spiders, bats). The worst I have seen in my bedroom so far (touch wood) has been a ‘barking’ gecko. It was very cute.

We stayed in Managua last night. My colleague’s girlfriend is visiting with us for a few days. We will be heading back to the lake today. My trip is almost nearing an end. I’ll be back in Oz late next week.