I'm back on Ometepe after a very enjoyable, if hectic, three and a half weeks away. Summer has finally settled in here, about two months late. The ground is less green and more brown than it was, buses are less pleasant to be crowded in, and the tourist season is in full swing. Sweating up to Finca Magdalena at dusk, I was further warmed by the sight and greetings of familiar friends. It was hard to leave home again, but the people, places, and routines of my life here also feel good to return to.
I expect to be gone roughly six months this time around. I intend for much more of that time to be spent off-island than was my practice during my previous stay. Though it's now time to get cracking on the repeaters, more of my attention will go to organizational matters than before. The Ambitious List of Objectives for this trip includes:
- build the repeaters at Altagracia and Sinacapa, connecting what sites I can to them;
- do the first installs at schools;
- network (socially) with more folks in Nicaragua doing related work, or interested in feeding off our project;
- find an Idealistic, Young (i.e. foolhardy, works for peanuts) Nicaraguan to take over as soon as possible many of the technical workings of the network, and begin to train local folks;
- get the ometepe.net email service up and running (David? Myles?); and
- make or have made a real website for the project, which we embarrassingly do not have yet...
... which is quite enough for six months, thanks. Also in the cards are a trip to the North-East of the country or to Cuba with a friend, a few smaller vacations around the country, and visits by some Spanish Engineers Without Borders.
On the social networking thread, I'm meeting in a couple weeks with a Suiss named Markus. Markus has been working in the North of the country in computer education. I'm looking forward to hearing how the project strikes him, and what suggestions he might have. He may also bring some folks from the Caribbean coast interested in doing something similar to our project.
Several people appear interested in reproducing at least in part the model I guess we're producing. I'm a little nervous that they should do that while I can sense so many lessons yet to come. Still, going from place to place, playing a more facilitative or advisory role while locals take initiative for the project, appeals to me.
Tomorrow will be taken easily, but construction on the Altagracia repeater starts Very Soon Now.
Cheers, Peter
