DAY 10

The road to Loma Panda is steep and rocky and runs through a river bed but we were lucky because it was not washed out so we were able to ride all the way there, although we had to do it in the back of a pickup truck.

Later the potters of Loma Panda demonstrated their handbuilding techniques and gave us a chance to try out their techniques. Their clay is difficult to work with and to smooth the surface they make the surface quite wet and then rub it with various pieces of plastic of different shapes. My usual method of smoothing clay when handbuilding is to use as little water as possible but this didn't work well at Loma Panda.

Maritza, who hadn't been able to show us much of her work (when we visited her pueblo we were busy building a kiln), went on a creative frenzy and, in a couple of hours, made these:

Back at our hotel in Somoto, we piled out of the truck and as we walked into the lobby we passed a group of newly-arrived Americans who had come to Nicaragua to build a church. Compared to our sweaty, dusty, wise-cracking selves they seemed way too clean and naive to survive in this country, although give them a few days and they'd probably be dirty and sweaty at least.