Initially I had apprehensions on the situation in Nicaragua. I thought once I'm there I should abstain from making controversial statements, since memories may still be fresh. Well, once I got to "Chepe" (San José), I signed up at the hotel, and being about 9:00 or 10:00 PM I "gravitated" towards the famous "El Boulevard", Radio Monumental and the Manolo's Café, a favorite with tourists. There I sipped my cappuccino and breathed my first air of "Chepe" in a very long time. The last time I was there was over a year ago. I had gotten there in my own car then. This time I was travelling by Tracopa bus.

While in the café sipping my cappuccino I couldn't help but notice this fellow tourist, writing on loose sheets of paper, while sipping coffee and puffing an occasional cigarette. He seemed to be writing an essay or a book. I felt curious now. Our friend was thin, sharply clipped moustache, and wore a long sleeve khaki shirt, which included a leather shoulder strap, just like Indiana Jones or some type of explorer. I finally mustered the audacity and asked him if he was writing a book. He told me he was just writing brief outlines and sketches, which who knows, could become that same book someday.

He said he came from England, where he went to school at Cambridge and was presently travelling through the Americas, and expected his following tour be through the former USSR. He also mentioned he was associated with conservationist groups throughout Europe, America and around the world and he had just arrived from Nicaragua (just what I wanted to hear). There he would go around pasting peace slogans all over the place, quite an "activist" the chap. Well anyway I thought, if my friend could safely go around the place and even pull stunts like this, then so could I. He told me all they really needed to do was to reforestate the banks of the lake, to really achieve its natural and pristine conditions. I simply had no idea how the lake looked like, is sheer majesty! I just had to see it with my own eyes. I exchanged addresses with my friend and wished him good luck in his book and future endeavors.