Empty Nesters on a Green Global Trek

Aside from a variety of performances in the street such as mime, juggling, acrobats, music, the festival will culminate in a large costume party with our friend Warren in the role of DJ. Of course it’s a themed party, and because the festival highlights recycling and environmental issues, the theme for this party is “The Enchanted Forest”. While at the beach with Warren and Jens we all decide that we are going to have our own small group costume theme, not to be disclosed before the party. However, I do need to have long blonde hair for my costume. Warren asks if I would go blonde for this event – effort for authentic costumes is always a plus. Two seconds later I decide that its a yes, and that actually having always been a brunette, I would be interested in experiencing life as a blonde, at least for a week.

So off I go to Letty, my trusted hair salon person. I tell her my request and ask to book an appointment for Saturday. She and one of her clients immediately protest my request saying that it will totally ruin my hair, and not only that on those grounds, she refuses to do it for me. I ask them if they sell wigs and she tells me, no you can only buy wigs in a special store in Managua, but here try this one on , and she gives me a short brown wig of her own. Now this is fun.

Instantly I am transformed into a swinging young chick and am tempted to cut my locks and go for the new do. Ben instills some sense into me and we leave contemplating whether or not we want to shlepp an hour each way to Mangua for a wig – that seems more challenging than dying my hair!

Instead of solving the wig puzzle, we head off to visit the French artist Jean Marc Calvet. We want to get to his studio before all his work gets shipped to Miami for a big exhibit. And of course he always wows us — this time with a floor to ceiling painting done on un-stretched canvas, same as the way I have been working. His work reflects his personality, dynamic, bold and tormented. The kind of work that each time you see it, you see more details, more symbols and images. We have a wonderful few hours hearing his life stories and the process and experience of being the subject of a feature length documentary film, which took four years to complete.

Ben and Jean Marc are both French and thus have an instant connection through language and culture. He is very comfortable and the ability to switch to French gives us the benefit of his hilariously good stories.

In addition to his artistic competency and huge personality, Jean Marc has a beautiful Nicaraguan wife. It occurs to me that she is probably going to know where I can buy a wig in Granada. Seconds later she is on the phone with their transvestite friends and it is arranged that one of the “girls” will loan me a blonde wig.