Pedro, or Tona from the internet cafe La Chispa, Matagalpa

So I met this super cool dude on one of the first days I was here, mainly cause I needed to use the internet. He speaks really good English so that was also a bonus for me. Also he is very interested in learning about computer programming, so I have been trialling my lessons on programming to him, tweaking them a bit and getting him to help me with complex translations into Spanish. He has been amazing. I can go in there and use the internet for free now (I buy a lot of coffee and cakes) and he even just made me lunch one day. This is what I mean about people from this area they are so nice, very different to down town, which like any city, is more insular and less neighbourly, even if the quality of living is better.

Pedro also has his own small coffee plantation. He just showed me the beans they have just roasted and put into huge 55lb bags. His elderly father was out the back separating the good beans from the old ones. When all the coffee is ready they ship it off to America and sell each bag for about $500. Out of that though they have to pay shipping and all their other costs, although the whole family gets involved in picking the beans so they don't have to pay pickers. I would like to do some picking one day just to have the experience of that, he offered to arrange a trip for me to his farm.