gangs dkar ti si - Mt. Kailash, Gang Tisey Mountains [RY]

gangs dkar ti se - The White Snow Mountain, Kangkar Tisey, Mt Kailash (lit. Silver Mountain), is one of the world's great holy mountains, sacred to Hindus and Buddhists alike. It is one of the so-called "Three Holy Places of Tibet," associated with the body, speech, and mind aspects of Chakrasamvara and Vajra Varahi. The other two are Labchi (la phyi) and Tsari (tsa ri). These three are also listed among the "twenty-four sacred places" (Skt. pitha) of the world, Kailash being identified as Himavat, Labchi as Godavari, and Tsari as both Charitra and Devikoti. There are several descriptions of and guides to Mt. Kailash, including one written by K?nchok Tendzin Ch?kyi Lodr?, the sixth Drigung Chungtsang ('bri gung chung tshang dkon mchog bstan 'dzin chos kyi blo gros, 1829-1906), and a recent one composed by Ch?ying Dorje (1990). [MR] [RY]

gangs dkar ti se - White Glacier, Tisey, a name for Mount Kailash [RY]

gangs ti se - Mount Tisey [RY]

gangs te se'i ri rgyud - the mountain range of Mount Tisey [RY]

ti se - Tisey / - Sacred mountain in western Tibet; also known as Kailash [RY]

So much to describe, so little time. Let's start out on Thursday night, when we went to a restaurant to meet friends of a friend, and then off to karaoke bar called Swing. We sang so many random songs in English and Spanish and sounded horrible, but it was actually pretty fun. We didn't get back until 5 a.m. WHOOPS... I had class at 7 a.m. Totally absurd....It really did not even feel like we were there for that long. But even more bizarre was that when we got back, our host father was sweeping leaves in the courtyard in near darkness. Buenos días indeed.

Needless to say, on Friday I was super tired, so I went to bed early on Friday night so that I could wake up early and depart for our trip to Estelí in northwestern Nicaragua. Ana and Nerea's friend/boss from work took us halfway to Estelí since he was going home to Jinotega for the weekend, so we took the bus the rest of the way. (They were playing the best of the 80s during the ride, so it was enjoyable.) There was time to kill before the bus to Miraflor Nature Preserve, where we were planning to stay the weekend, so we walked around the streets of Estelí a bit.

HOWEVER, we discovered there was no bus to Miraflor because instead it took people from Estelí to Managua for a Sandinista rally. (Apparently 1,200 buses full of people made their way to the capital for the rally. There was also a counter rally for those not so keen on Ortega's unconstitutional reelection bid. We thought we were smart by leaving Managua and choosing Miraflor, but nope, Ortega ruined our plans.) While we were waiting at the bus station (before we discovered the bus would not be coming), we met a man who has been a Sandinista for 36 years who was also going to Miraflor. He asked us if we like peace (no, sir, we love wars), and he kept telling me I looked sad, even though I was visibly smiling the whole time.

Anyway, we made a Plan B: We looked in my guide book for a closer nature preserve, found one called Tisey, and arranged to have a taxi (pick-up truck) driver take us there. It turned out he was BFFs with the owner and he goes there like everyday... he still made us pay 600 córdobas (nearly $30) for the ride though.

We stayed at a lodge called Eco Posada. The cabin was very rustic but nice, costing 150 córdobas (about $7) per person; we had our own bathroom so it was perfect. The lodge is in a really beautiful spot, and at night it was cool enough that we had to wear sweatshirts. Saturday afternoon, we hiked to a mirador that overlooks the mountainside; the view extends all the way to El Salvador, although it was a little foggy for us to see that far. That night we went to bad early, after playing cards and a game of password/charades.

The next day, a guide from the inn (who was a sculptor in a former life) took us to see the rock sculptures by a man named Alberto Gutierrez. It was literally one of the most amazing and unique things I've ever seen. Gutierrez (who looks somewhat like a gaunt, hispanic Albert Einstein with only two teeth) has dedicated years to carving figures into the mountainside and the stones of the preserve. He was more than happy to share the story of each sculpture and to have us take pictures of him and his work. When we got to the top, there was an incredible view, so we sat for a few minutes to soak it in. He then proceeded to tell us how he doesn't want to die on the preserve since he wants the site to be full of life forever and not be marked by death. But then he started to contemplate where he would place his tomb (yes, tomb) if he did die there. He also told us that he is starting to learn to read and write, since he's currently illiterate. On our way out, we signed a visitor's book, adding our names to the (allegedly) 14,000 other visitors who have been there before us.

We had to wait until 3:30 until the bus arrived to take us back to Estelí, and then to Managua, so we finished the day by lazing around and reading. (I started and nearly finished Los cachorros by Luis Vargas Llosa for my literature class...I only have 10 pages left....success.) I bought some rosquillas (cookie-like biscuits made of cheese, cornmeal, lard and sugar) at the bus station in Estelí because they are apparently the best in the country. It was a nice snack for the ride. On the bus back to Managua, some woman was holding a parakeet in her hands; it seemed slightly unsafe for all involved. Finally, we took a taxi back to our house from the bus station at Mercado Huembes, ate dinner and then I finished up some homework.

Even though going to Tisey was not our original plan, everything came together in a very fun and satisfying weekend.