Not sure if we are relaxing yet?

El Don:
We try to visit our rental home on Laguna de Apoyo when it is not rented...and Maria does not have school.
A mineral-water lake, nature reserve, 82 degree water..and this was an exceptionally calm day on the lake
 
A bird, a plane....a starfish? Hmmmm?

Maybe a starfish...?

Nope...El Don, escaping the heat....and thinking that this might be a nice place to be :)

Travel from Nicaragua to Costa Rica By Car....?

Should you travel from Nicaragua to Costa Rica by car?  NOT!

Should you travel from Nicaragua to Costa Rica by car, in a car owned by someone
else? NOT!

Should you travel from Nicaragua to Costa Rica by car, in a car owned by someone else, especially a Cuban?  NOT!

Should you travel from Nicaragua to Costa Rica by car, in a car owned by a
Cuban, and rely on a Nicaraguan attorney to prepare a power of attorney?  NOT!

Should you travel from Nicaragua to Costa Rica by car, in a car owned by a Cuban, and rely on a Nicaraguan attorney to prepare a power of attorney, and let the Nicaraguan police keep your original? NOT!

If you do...should it take you 7 hours and mucho dinero to complete the crossing?  That would be a YES!

If you did this...would you need an ice cold Nicaraguan beer...followed  by a large rum drink?  Absolutely!

Was it worth it?  You bet....and an "unforgetable" experience...I guess :)

El Don+

RUNNING? with the Bulls...Nicaraguan Style

In pure Central American style, we heard of this event….confirmed at a Sunday market day at one of the hotels.  The market is designed as an opportunity for all the “Gringos” (United States people), to be exposed to local businesses and entrepreneurs.  Everything from charity events , Coconut oils, Sausages,  Seafood distributors…to Bloody Mary’s….don’t mind if I do.

Next, a local celebration...The Running of the Bulls, Granada-Style:

It was scheduled ….best we could tell, to start between 1 and 5pm.

Tamara and her sister Lori took to the high ground….Hotel Gran Fracia’s balcony, Maria stayed at home...not wanting to see the cruelty to the bull…and el Don, of course, took to the streets(no, not to run with the bull)...just to get the bird's-eye view

 

The bull continued later to run around the town, ending up at the front door of our house....with people climbing our wrought-iron door to escape the horns of the bull.  Tamara and Maria were watching from behind the door...I was, of course, out with the crowd.
 

The end result...a long day of fun and excitement...but it did not come without some COST.

El Don was in the crowd with several hundreds of Nicaraguans and other tourists...thinking he was the invincible Gringo...and...believe it or not, was a victim of one of the oldest professions in the world(no not that one!).  El Don was pick-pocketed...Yes, it is true...even Don.  We had been warned that all the expert Pick-Pocketers were going to be out....Don thought a well buttened-up pocket would suffice....NOT>>>

They did a very good job, unbuttoning the pocket that I can hardly open...and out went my wallet and its' contents.   Congratulations for a job well done, outsmarting El Gran Blanco Gringo.  Thinking ahead, I only had 100 cordobas (a little over $4 US, a credit card(inconvenient), a less-than standard driver's license, and the biggest loss....my favorite Cougar wallet.  Well, lesson learned...and there is now someone with a great Cougar wallet in the neighborhood!  Go Coug's!

More to come….

DP+

Fun Filled Week...winds down

Saturday already…after a heavy rain last night (yes, I know it was heavy cuz I was out at 10pm walking ButterCup), a nice cooler morning, sunny and nice…Welcome to Granada, Nicaragua.  Tomorrow, Sunday, we will have been gone 1 week.  Can’t say that it has blown by…but it did not go slowly.  

And …for a little recap of our week:

Thursday

We decided to spend a day of luxury up at our rental house, Casa de Sol, on Laguna de Apoyo…as it was a day in-between rentals.  We ordered a couple of Taxi’s ….visited the grocery store…and we were off with the Lewis Family (Tamara’s adopted family from Hotel La Islita) for a very nice day in the sun …swimming in Laguna de Apoyo, paddle boarding, canoeing and enjoying a day out of the city.

The Philip Phriday Phestivities at our home, Casa Blanca.

Leisurely morning wrapping up loose ends…sitting outside watching a heavy morning rain shower…with a cool breeze…A very nice interlude prior to the day’s activities.

Tamara continued to unpack and get things in order.

Our Nicaraguan friend Marbelly came by, late morning, to get some help with her laptop. 

Tamara was off to finalize some paperwork for Maria’s school, and Maris and I went to take a tour of a potential health club, Pure.  Pure is 4 blocks from our house…a great center of activity as well as a good facility for workout, yoga, and Kick Boxing workout that Maria is interested in.

Of course, on the way home, Maria and I stopped off at, yet another, Pizza place.  I think this might be the best yet…or maybe a tie with Monna Lisa.

Then the first BIG event for Friday:  Aunt Lori is visiting from Dallas…and yes, she is bringing her maximum (2) 70lb bags of our “stuff”….that brings our total to (12) 70lb bags…though much of it is for our Laguna Rental, Casa de Sol.  Aunt Lori’s visit is a big deal, as she is the favorite aunt of Maria’s.  We waited outside on the street and surprised her when she arrived.

We are officially a fully unemployed family.  Friday was Tamara’s official “Last Day” at Attachmate.   And, of course in true Nicaraguan style, it happened to be another holiday…and we happened to have Bill and Penny over to celebrate.  And….Yes, Bill brought along his 100 year old sabre to open a celebratory bottle of Champagne.   So, out in the street in front of our house we all went….a sight to see,  Bill with his sabre and me with (6) champagne glasses.  Fortunately only a few people got poked with the sabre.  Some Champagne…a little celebration, then off to dinner with Aunt Lori and the Ashman’s  to a restaurant a couple blocks away…Margarita’s.  Bill had heard that the cook from another restaurant  moved to Margarita’s so we had to hunt him down.  His forte is Ribs, and other favorites.   A HUGE rack of ribs for me and Bill, smaller rack for Maria, steak and lobster for Tamara and Lori, and a nice chicken dish for Bill’s wife Penny.  A bit of a late dinner as we were entertaining all afternoon…so a great Nicaraguan appetizer for Maria, Papa’s Fritas…we call them French Fries.  They were actually pretty darn good….something to prevent a Maria Melt-down and temper our Beer-Champagne-Rum indulgences.

Earlier , in the day, the Lewis’s(Tamara’s adopted family from Hotel La Islita, came over after their long day of being tourists….Hot and tired and ready for a swim….so they joined Maria for a late afternoon in the pool….and of course we had to have a beer(Victoria) with them.  Maria had picked up her uniform from the seamstress earlier in the day, so she had fun modeling it for the (5) kids we now had in the house….explaining that she is starting school on Monday.

The Cougar’s Arrive after only 2 days: 

We leave our front door open so air passes through the house to help us keep cool.  While he door is open, people in the street can look into our house, so we need to install some sort of a privacy screen.  As I like to travel prepared, I happened to have a Washington State Cougar flag with me, so we hung the flag as a “privacy” screen.  I explained to Maria that there are Cougar’s everywhere in the world and that it would take (3) days or less for a Coug to yell into our house to say hello.  Well, (2) days later, Friday, the Cougar family yelled in the door…and we, of course, had them in for a beer and conversation.  A family of (4) from Seattle….teachers at Roosevelt High School on a 30 day adventure around Nicaragua.   Very fun time….and yes, the flag continues to hang in our entryway …. Go Coug’s!!

A fun-filled few days….and then off to a good night sleep.

Daily Routine ?

Sitting having our morning coffee…sunny, but a little rain shower in the courtyard…at the "office":

Yes...it is finally starting to sink in...wondering as I type, what day it is (Wed) and how many days we have been here (3).

The first day was a blur...lack of sleep, heat, hangover from packing, unpacking,...

The second day was spent trying to figure out our technology footprint and the house intricacies and some sort of daily routine. Cell phones (Maria now has her own Nicaragua cell phone), Wi-Fi, Tamara's work connection, US phone calling (Yeah, Skype to any US phone, $5 per month)...sounds simple, but managed to occupy the entire day+.  The house functionality was simpler, just little things like air-conditioning, soap, towels, maid, pool-boy, and gardener…all the important stuff :) .  With regard to technology...seems like any time you touch technology, each slice takes an hour for the typical person...but more like an hour and 1/2 for Don.

Discovered a wonderful new restaurant,  The Garden Cafe.   Ate dinner there our first night, had three wonderful salads, a great sangria and a wonderful Rum & Coke…Maria had a quick bite then crashed in the hammock next to our table and had no recollection of the return home that night  on Don's back. The food was so good, we were back the next night with a family Tamara met at our friends hotel La Isletes.  You know how Tamara has a knack of bumping in to people, becoming good friends...and bringing them home for a swim and a meal.   We have met many great people this way…and apparently will continue to do so.

Made our first meal in-house last night...Taco Bar...Well, Tamara and Maria made them....I stemmed the cilantro while drinking my favorite Nicaraguan beer, Victoria (the last one in the fridge...but we have Toña as a backup).   Alberto (our General Manager at Casa de Sol) stopped by and joined us for dinner...fortunately he offered to make his famous Cubana Mojito's.  The Tacos were great.  Turned out, that tortillas were never available in Cuba...and Alberto grew up with a "yuca" type tortilla which had a less than desirable flavor.  He had eaten tacos in the past,…but the Maria-Tamara tacos were his favorite J.

Between swims in the pool, lunch at the bakery across the street and her painting lessons…Maria seems to be keeping busy:

Tamara and Maria visited the seamstress and Maria now has her school uniform on order…they are making for her, to be done of Friday…

Looks like the first day of school might be Monday.

Lots of activity outside our home (Casa Blanca), a mix of vehicle technology...as well as continued construction to rejuvenate the city...the guys working across the street, ripping out a wall...as well as the restoration of the cathedral next door.  Notice, no army of sign-holders...no red cones...no street barriers...Hmmmmm, and nobody gets hurt.  Or, maybe it is all part of the natural selection process.  The ones that don't have the common sense NOT to walk under construction sites are maybe NO longer walking....and maybe the ones that do travel under the construction, do it with a bit of strategy in mind...whether it is an umbrella, horse and "carriage", motorcylce...or other other... :).

....and to wrap this entry up...

Living outdoors...especially the morning...Great Garden, Sun, light Breeze and maybe a short Rain Shower...seems like it might grow on us.

A couple of photos Maria took in our garden:

Life continues to treat us all well… a Karma thing from my viewpoint.

PEACE!

DP (TP,MP,BC)

The Travel Day

Lots of last minute items …trying to get out of town…but we made it.

Racing to catch a redeye late Saturday.

Packing our nine 75 pound bags/bins….oh wait a minute….the  attendant at the United Airlines guys counts “ten” bags.  Ouch, so much for basic math…that is a $150 lesson, the upcharge for the extra bag.

Probably did not help that our first (2) bags were 72 lbs….(2) lbs overweight.  He was not too excited about that.

And Buttercup?   She travels like a veteran.  A veteran squeezed into a little travel bag so she can ride in the cabin with us.  I think ButterCup and Tamara were the only family members that slept on the airplane.

A 3 hour layover in Houston, then on to Managua Nicaragua, arriving at 11:30am (1 hour earlier than PST).  Three Nicaraguans help us with our 750 lbs of bags…squeezing into our “big” van.  It all fit – to our surprise!  Barely enough room for the luggage, the driver, his helper, the three of us….and of course, the cooler full of ice cold beer!  Awesome.

We were met at Casa Blanca (our home we are renting) by our friends Alberto, Bill and Penny.  Wow!  Alberto had his signature Mojito in hand for us…delicious.  Bill supplied some homemade pizzas from the “Frenchman”.  A well needed, well deserved culinary refueling.

Lunch and some conversation…the guests leave,  swimming in our pool…then Tamara and Maria take of for the combo Buttercup- walking…and visit to the Gelato shop!   Don?...he takes a nap.

Dinner for the first night was at  The Garden Cafe.   Three salads, while Maria CRASHED in the hammock (waking up this morning …”Daddy, how did I get home last night”…a big travel day)

The day ended with Don walking Buttercup down Calle la Calzada with all the tourists….Good Buttercup, she did a nice job of relieving herself amongst all the partying (Buttercup has officially adapted to city life) J

That’s the day in a nutshell.

More to come.