The Easter Pilgrims Of Popoyuapa
So much of travel is about serendipity; the unanticipated, the unknown and the totally unexpected. And so, imagine our smiling astonishment as we rounded a curve on the Pan American Highway south of Granada, Nicaragua, last week and found motorized traffic halted and waiting for a long line of at least one hundred and fifty carts being pulled by oxen and horses. 
Families with young children and the elderly passed by, either walking alongside the carts or riding inside. Many of the carts were in the process of pulling off the road to rest and water their animals. And, of course not able to resist an opportunity for a closer look, we hopped out of car and started walking down the road to find out what we could.
The two-wheeled carts were built with a wooden base, many with aged and gray boards but others were gaily painted. They had arched frameworks that were mostly covered in sugarcane stalks and leaves to shade the occupants within from the hot sun shining overhead. Hanging from the roofs and along the carts’ sides were buckets filled with food, straw baskets, coolers, hammocks and cheap, plastic chairs and bunches of bananas or plantains. 
Perched upon the top of several of the carts we spied hens and roosters clinging to roof coverings for (perhaps?) their last ride. Many carts displayed yellow flags which signify the Catholic Church and the blue and white national flag of Nicaragua. Some were draped with a large purple cloth representing the upcoming Holy Week and stamped across with the name of the city from which they ventured.
Nicaragua is a Catholic country and the culture is rich in religious beliefs and folkloric traditions that may vary from region to region; many are prominently on display during Lent and Semana Santa or Holy Week, the week preceding Easter Sunday. We found out later that the caravan that we had seen formed the return trip of devout pilgrims visiting Popoyuapa, a small village of 4,000 near San Jorge, Rivas and Lake Nicaragua where a four-day festival occurs each year before Santa Semana. The Sanctuary of Popoyuapa is the home for the Shrine of Jesus the Redeemer, a life-size Christ figure wearing a traditional crown of thorns. The image is also known as Jesus the Rescued, possibly named so after the floating statue was retrieved from Lake Nicaragua or, according to another story, after being pieced back together following an earthquake in 1844.
In addition to those making the symbolic pilgrimage by oxcart, thousands more of the faithful visit the shrine during Semana Santa to show their devotion and express their thankfulness for what they’ve received, for favors divinely granted or to ask for miraculous intervention in their needs.
The pilgrimage by oxcart to Popoyuapa is a tradition passed down through the generations and has occurred for at least a century with the faithful traveling from as far away as Masaya and Granada in a journey that may take as long as four days and cover up to 150 miles round trip. Except for a chance encounter on the Pan-American Highway we might never have seen this astounding caravan of oxcarts plodding down the road nor learned of this religious pilgrimage of the deeply faithful. 
By Anita and Richard, April, 2014
No Particular Place To Go 
What an interesting tradition. Isn’t that what makes travel so interesting…the unexpected?
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We love coming across the unexpected and you’re right, that’s one of our favorite things about travel. It’s fun to start out with an idea or a rough plan and then just kind of see where the day will take us. So different from our former lives which seemed to be planned down to the minute…And a lot more gratifying!
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Such great pics! We are so fortunate to be able to travel the world and enjoy such abnormalities as ox carts!
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Thanks Doreen. There are so many sights and opportunities that present themselves for our cameras – like ox carts! The colors, the people and scenery in Nicaragua are so beautiful that we usually carry our pocket cameras with us. It’s a good thing our photos are digital because our travel budget would be blown with film processing!
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These are the experiences that make travel worthwhile – and make a wondere think. It’s certainly a different world out there.
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Sometimes I have to stop, absorb the moment and take a step back in time. People still use ox and horses to plow their plots of land. They chop wood with machetes and haul their goods around in carts pulled by a horse or, if they’re very poor, by themselves. Traveling gives us a view of how different the world can be and an appreciation for all we have.
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How wonderful! You can’t plan for experiences like this, but they are so special. Such wonderful photos too.
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Thank you. We felt really fortunate to happen upon this procession and so happy that cars and trucks had to stop so that we could walk about and really take a close look at the oxcarts, wave at the children and exchange smiles with the adults.
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Great story and photos. It looks like a modern day exodus. Hard to believe in our no hardship society that people will joyfully sacrifice. Ed
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Thanks Ed! We knew you’d like this one! Quite a contrast between deep devotion and the secular…Made us feel a little humble.
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Great story and photos. It looks like a modern day exodus
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What a fascinating experience you stumbled upon! I specialize in equestrian travel and have never heard of this Easter pilgrimage with horses and ox. If you have any interest in a guest post about this on Writing Horseback, I would be honored.
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Thanks, Nancy, for extending the offer of a guest post – what a lovely compliment! After reading your blog and seeing the beautiful horses pictured, the poor horses of Nicaragua truly seem to be a lesser species. While families may care for them and treasure them, horses are very much a part of the working force in the rural areas as well as the cities. Many are so sad to look at, skin over bones and riddled with parasites – it really spoiled the carriage ride we did around Granada as I almost wanted to pull the poor horse!
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What a wonderful thing to chance upon and give you a sense of Easter traditions in Nicaragua.
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It really was amazing to stumble upon this procession and have a chance to watch the oxcarts go by. Our driver supplied the name Popoyuapa but nothing else so we really had to do some digging to find out what the story was behind the caravan!
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The juxtaposition of the old carts and modern pavement are really eye-catching!
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Watching the caravan go by was a lesson in appreciating the contrast of past and present as well as a a riot of colors. Really amazing!
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Wonderful post! Life is so serendipitous in Nicaragua. 🙂
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Some days it’s so fun to just go with what the day presents – the opportunities that occur serendipitously (I couldn’t resist!). I love the “WOW factor” that’s become such a part of our life! Anita
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Really great post and very interesting!!
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Thanks, Hugh. It’s always fun to stumble upon something new and completely unexpected. That’s one of the things we like most about traveling and living in Central America.
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Wonderful! Such an interesting Easter experience. Meanwhile, in Utila, most of us were hidden in our houses, due to the hundreds of drunken, swimsuit clad revelers. Not exactly spiritual…
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So not fun, Lisa… Even though we visited during the low season I can picture the out-of-control hordes. But there is a bright side … at least they still had their swimsuits on! Nita
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