Laguna de Apoyo Spanish School and Cultural Center

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the schools in the beautiful area of Nicaragua known as Lake Apoyo. Although this is just one of many perspectives on the controversy, I wanted to explain the situation from my point of view. The two Spanish schools in question are the Lake Apoyo Spanish School, also home to Estacion Biologica, and the Apoyo Cultural Center. The Apoyo Cultural Center in its current facility did not come into existence until January 2011. It is run by Dr. Ken McKaye. I stayed at this facility in December 2010. At that time the property was run by Dr. Jeffrey McCrary who is the director of the Lake Apoyo Spanish School/Estacion Biologica. Dr. McCrary has run a successful Spanish school for a number of years employing the services of top notch teachers like Aura Cruz and Lorenzo Lopez. These teachers are very skilled in Spanish instruction. I have received lessons from Aura personally and find her to be an excellent teacher. In December 2010 I was staying on the property run by Dr. McCrary (that is now called the Apoyo Cultural Center) when it was suddenly invaded by Dr. McKaye along with a group of brutish individuals from Managua who carried machetes and chains. Dr. McKaye was quite forceful regarding his takeover of this property. He acted quickly and refused to allow Dr. McCrary, myself and others sufficient time for us to collect our belongings and exit the property. From my perspective Dr. McKaye was not open to peaceful measures to come to a resolution about the matter or discuss the issue in a mature fashion. At the time of the invasion, there was a house full of Spanish students studying at Estacion Biologica, volunteers working on research projects and even a small group from Gaia University in Tennessee holding an orientation session on site. This violent event started by Dr. McKaye was very unsettling for everyone present. Dr. McCrary and I remained on the property for four days in sort of a hostage situation because we were not permitted to collect all of our belongings and leave. Dr. McKaye said we could leave, and his group of thug-like individuals would bring out our stuff. However, this was a less than desirable situation. So we remained on the property with no access to food, electricity or running water for four days. Dr. McKaye planted individuals with weapons outside of our room and played very loud music outside our window to force us out. At the time I was 18 weeks pregnant. The stress of the situation caused premature contractions. The U.S. embassy was called by my parents to provide assistance. The outcome of this event was an injury sustained by Dr. McCrary caused by Dr. McKaye’s actions and my early departure back to the United States. Sadly I delivered my baby girl two weeks later early due to the contractions caused by this event, and she died. There is a long standing dispute between Dr. McKaye and Dr. McCrary over ownership of these two properties. I will admit that I was Dr. McCrary’s girlfriend; however, the legal tensions between these individuals put so much stress on my relationship that it dissolved. I would like to make a few statements that might be helpful to individuals looking to stay in this area. First of all, I am a counselor by profession and believe in peaceful resolution to issues. I am very much opposed to violence, and think there are better ways to solve issues. I abhor the tactics used by Dr. McKaye to take over the property inhabited by Dr. McCrary. Dr. McCrary never used any violent retaliation. Second, there is a lot of good research being conducted at Estacion Biologica. I have observed studies on bats, rodents, butterflies, moths and cichlids actively taking place by a very friendly group of volunteer students from various European countries and the United States. These are students who are pursuing research to help Lake Apoyo remain a natural place for many generations to come. Third the Spanish school at Lake Apoyo Spanish school is excellent. The teachers work one-on-one with students and help students overcome their weaknesses so they can become more fluent speakers. The entire staff at Estacion Biologica is very friendly. Pablo who runs the operational side of the facility is accommodating and Juana, the cook, prepares delicious meals made from organic ingredients. Finally Dr. McCrary is very passionate about the research being conducted on his property and maintaining a quality school. He works extremely hard to achieve all of the goals set forth by the station. The time commitment that he makes to Estacion Biologica was one of the contributing factors to the demise of our relationship. He is very devoted on working to ensure that research goes on for years to come and that Lake Apoyo remains as unpolluted and natural so people can enjoy its beauty. If you are considering your options on where to stay and study Spanish at Lake Apoyo, please just remember that Estacion Biologica is run by a non-profit group, and your money is entirely put into conservation efforts. If anyone has any questions or comments, please feel free to send me a message. I am simply a person who was caught in the middle of a legal dispute and the unfortunate victim of a non-peaceful act committed by Dr. McKaye who has now opened the Apoyo Cultural Center on the property he took from Dr. McKaye through violent means. This is my opinion, and I would entertain any questions. Dr. Anne Monaco Sutton