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back from nicaragua weekender january 17 1987 p17 markhamite glad to be back by paula crowell staff reporter a trip to wartorn nicaragua was an eyeopener that made markhams scot magnish glad to come home the 20yearold local resident spent the month of december in the latin american country on a coffeebeanpicking excursion but the experience left him with more than just memories of tro pical scenery and a tan scot found the poverty disorga nization and filth to be far beyond his expectations one of the reasons he travelled there was to learn firsthand the roles of the counterrevolutionary contra rebels and the sandinista government the impression he received is that the majority of nicaraguans are against the contras he explained saying the con tras are mercenaries originally a few of the somoza guard militia men from the prerevolutionary government were in it but most of them were old and are probably dead now they used to be aimed at reli gious figures doctors teachers and government figures but theyve got less selective now it doesnt matter they go into a vil lage and kill everybody scot says the sandinista gov ernment is not communist de spite claims to that effect by the american government he de scribes it as a socialist demo cracy a communist party exists there but theyre in canada and the us too he said but political comparisons aside nicaragua is a world away from north america during their fourweek stay scot and his friend from markham jim con- lin were able to tour the urban and rural areas of the country scot described the capitol city managua as disorganized the re mains of buildings destroyed dur ing the countrys revolution are left untouched although he and his friend were supposed to be guided around te city they were left alone by their native guide reuben lopez at one point mr lopez came to their hostel and told them he would get their money exchanged into local currency cordobas he didnt return for two days after almost two weeks in man agua scot and jim prepared to travel to the mountains where the coffee plantations are found they awoke early to ensure they wouldnt miss the military truck which was to take them to the plantation but they neednt have worried the truck arrived at noon the coffee picking brigade con sisted of 25 to 30 people including eight canadians they were parti cipating in a student christian movement to show solidarity with third- world countries when they reached the planta tion and saw the barracks they were to sleep in scot said he was appalled they were the worst condi tions ive ever seen he said the buildings had dirt floors and were also home to insects like scorpions the workers ate beans and rice at all three meals scot described one meal he had serious reservations about eat ing tuna was added to the regu lar fare of beans and rice i looked in the garbage can and it was starkist tuna remem ber the tainted tuna scandal i heard that stuff contaminated cans was sold to third world coun tries he commented the life of a coffee bean picker is far from easy as he and the other volunteers discovered each picker had a wicker bas ket strapped to his waist by 630 am then they set out on the 30- minute hike downhill to the coffee plants we walked from the road into the jungle on inclines of 75 de grees we had to hike back uphill at lunch and then returned to work until 4 we had to climb the hill through the jungle with 20 to 50 pounds of coffee beans on our backs i thought id die he said after several days on the plantation the supervisor called in the pickers to tell them produc tion was down and that if it didnt improve they would be punished scot and his friends were sur prised at the supervisors attitude considering that they came to the plantation as volunteers he jim and a volunteer from winnipeg left the plantation to see more of the country they toured around until it was time to return to canada and were thomson court anxious to come home ive never been so glad to get back to canada we talked to different people about other coun tries where they live i dont think people realize how lucky we are here he said coping with cold by ada allen wheres the cold say im begining to wonder ab out that old reliable almanac forecasting very cold weather but before we disparage the almanac let us see what febru ary and march have up their sleeves at times canadian weather is unpredictable here are a few tips on keeping warm always start at the bottom the feet that is they are the furthest from your heart nd consequently have the poorest circulation which makes one vulnerable to frostbite but footwear today is excellent warm insulated waterproof a single pair of socks is preferable to the old idea more socks makes more warmth perspiration is the bugaboo so change your socks air your boots and avoid trouble signs of frostbite are chills pain tingling and redness of the toes thats an early warning that circulation is not adequate head for shelter or home change socks and shoes they say one should have two pair of boots and they should be good ones as we will not be on the slopes like many markhamites prob ably none of this will happen to thomson couriers as they will be so busy with all activities re sumed in january bowling euchre and bridge sing song night pot luck suppers exercise class and tenant meetings we are also forming a cribbage club and reorganizing the choir theres talk of a shuffleboard bri gade theres no end to the activi ties january 21 to 24 the merchants of the markham supercentre mall invite you and your family to their lets get acquainted sale january 21 to 24 you could win a getawav weekend for two at gytjtjjrjs hotel toflomto you could win a handymans encyclopedia see mall display for full details centre mall kennedy road and denison street markham