Hello Friends,

Central America has been good to me. I spent a week in the center of

Tegucigalpa with few close contacts to help me navigate the city.

But, after just a few interviews, a former governmental official and

his family took me under their wing, helping me set up and get to

interviews. I was truly lucky to have their help since central Tegus

(the nickname for the capital) is not very safe at night or frequented

by tourists.

Within a few days in Honduras, I was able to set up a few site visits

to see microhydro projects in an area east of the capital called

Olancho. When I stepped off the bus in Olancho, two armed guards

(with machine guns!) and two engineers met me. I quickly found out

that everyone in this area packs a gun. Hiring bodyguards (guarda

espaldas) is just a regular work expense that must be budgeted into

the plans for any project in the area.

We traveled two hours even farther into the "campo" or countryside on

dirt roads. Then, we headed out up a mountain to the hydrosite. No

one had told me a thing about the projects I would see or what to

bring. I assumed we would drive right up to the power houses and dams.

When I saw mules waiting for us, I realized that this project was a

little different from those in the US. We climbed 530 meters and 4 km

to the top of the project with only Coke-a-cola as a means to hydrate

ourselves. (The addiction to this soft drink in the region is

incredible.) Only a small trail and cable car that covered half the

distance helped the locals construct this project. They had to carry

piping for the water to run through, cement for the dam, and all

equipment on their backs or on mules to the site. This was especially

impressive when I saw a huge compressor used for constructing a 90

meter tunnel near the top of the project. So, I quickly learned about

the barriers to these types of projects as we slogged through mud and

my butt grew sore on the mule ride. These projects also face

challenges being in the path of hurricnaes. I saw a tree that had

become uprooted after 24 hours of rain from Hurricane Felix and

crushed part of the project piping.

Later, after these visits, I talked with the local leader of the

village about their opinion of the project and discovered that there

had been controversy over the dam after a nearby village learned that

the closest inhabitants would get electricity and a bridge from the

project. The mayor who could make the final decision about the

project lives in the opposing village and wanted a bribe in exchange

for construction permission. This rural area really was like the

"Wild West" and the lack of clear laws and isolated nature of the

projects will prevent much of the Honduran hydro potential from being

developed.

My next stop was Nicaragua for a week. After a week in a $5/night

hostel in Tegus, my stay in Nica with a US diplomat and his wife was a

refreshing change. While navigating the city in Nica, I made some

interesting observations about the culture. The American t}trend of

managing the political scene in the country has infused the sport of

baseball in the country. Soccer takes second place to baseball and

every village has its own baseball stadium. Carefully constructed

road overpasses that are meant to allow pedestrians to cross busy

streets were a totally wasted governmental effort. People continue to

play frogger in the traffic even when the overpass is directly

overhead. Waiting in line seems to have no significance to locals;

they will freely and unabashedly move right into the counter in front

of you as if you were not there. The city is at sea level and beastly

hot compared to the cooler mountainous capitals I had visited. And,

the coffee is dirt cheap and the same beans served at Starbucks. So,

I have reacquired my caffeine addiction with a vengeance by ordering

iced coffee concoctions to ward off the heat. I hope I can later wean

myself off it with coca tea and mate as I move down the Andes.

In Nica I got to see my first geothermal power plant, one of two in

the country. The construction is costly at $1000/meter. This cost

adds up quickly when drilling holes 2500 m deep to access the Earth's

natural steam resource. But, the lack of pollution and relatively

small amount of land disturbance was impressive. I think Nica will

see more of these in the future given its volcanic landscape and

potential.

Another highlight from Nica was a visit to La Chureca, Managua's 52

square acre landfill. I was interested in looking at the potential

for methane capture from the landfill, but when I got there realized

that is would be nearly impossible to retrofit the massive, sprawling

dump with pipes and infrastructure to complete the project. Also, the

nearly 500 people who live in tents and shacks around the dump and

make a living collecting items for reuse and recycle there are like a

minimafia that would block the development since it would threaten

their livelihood. Many of these families were offered houses in other

parts of the country after Hurricane Mitch of '98 hit the country

hard. They accepted and then sold the houses in order to return to

the work they know in La Chureca. So, there they make a living among

mounds of garbage and spontaneous fires that start from the methane

released from the trash.

After these adventures at the geothermal plant and landfill, I headed

to Masachapa with my friends from the Embassy for the weekend. We did

one night of an all-inclusive resort called Montelimar. It was the

former residence of Samoza dynasty, the famous Nicaraguan family that

ruled the country for almost 40 years. While the all-you-can-eat

buffets, watered-down cocktails in plastic cups, and show that

included a lip-synced version of "Phantom of the Opera" was a little

too Carnival cruise lineish for me, the surfing was awesome and

enormous pool with a bar in the middle was a nice reprieve from the

crowded, polluted capitals I have been having scavenger hunts in.

I just got into San Jose, Costa Rica on the bus and glad to be on

familiar turf for a week.

Ciao chicos,

--

Elizabeth Lokey

Ph.D. Candidate in Environmental Studies

University of Colorado

lokey@colorado.edu

(303) 898-5558