Saturday, October 5, 2013

Nica Beaches - Playa Ostional

Next on our journey to find our own piece of paradise was Playa Ostional. It is to the south of SJDS, close to the Costa Rican border. For that reason, before we even got to the property, we were stopped by a soldier at a military outpost maybe a kilometer away still from the border. He was very angry with our landlord, for failing to stop at the imaginary line you weren't supposed to cross... (There was some sort of a painted pole on the side of the road that should've told him to stop...)

Anyway, we finally got to continue the trip. Here you can see the coast of Costa Rica on the other side of the bay. Foreigners aren't allowed to buy land too close to the border, therefore one side of the beach was out of limits for us.


The only piece of land available there, was a parcel some 200 meters from the beach. There was a straight road to the beach, so nothing could be built on it, to obstruct the view or access, but it still wasn't ON the beach. The price was good tho, for being so close to the beach in this area: 30,000,00 USD for almost 1.7 acres.

It was late in the evening, and it was cloudy, as you can see.




Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Life on the Beach

Like many of you already know, we are looking for a lot by a beach to open a hotel on. The other day, some friends took us with them to show us some beaches to the North of San Juan del Sur to see if there was anything suitable for us out there.

Our first stop was Playa Jiquelite, where an international surfing competition for under 18-year -olds is held every year.

(by Bonnie Hayman)

The waves were a little too high for our taste, so after a little snack by a beach side bar, we moved on.

We heard from the locals, that Playa Brito was worth checking out. A yet undiscovered gem. I remembered hearing about it before, but couldn't quite place it. The trip through the jungle on a bumpy and at places knee-high muddy road was interesting, to say the least. No wonder the beach isn't more popular... This was the scene that greeted us upon our arrival:

(by Bonnie Hayman)

Our friend Bonnie was excited about the ruggedness of the beach, whereas I was ready to move on. We asked the locals living in their tin houses without electricity, what was the name of the beach. They said "Boca di Brito", Mouth of Brito. We didn't quite understand it then, but later found out that it is the area Brito River flows back into the ocean..

We waddled through the little stream, and finally arrived to this:


The beach was exactly what we'd been looking for! After a hot drive, the waves were destined to call our names and we all dipped into the warm water. Bonnie told us an interesting fact about the waters. She said that during the rainy season, the water is really warm, whereas come dry season, it gets colder. 

After our little bathing session, I wanted to walk down the beach (a looong beach) and see what was on the other side. We found a cool "Bat cave", which would fill with water during high tide. As would most of the beach.



After we came home, we told our landlord about out trip, and finally found out why I had heard of the beach before. They are planning to build the rival to Panama Canal, through this beautiful, unspoiled, perfect beach! 

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

New Life for School Buses

As this article describes, when old, yellow school buses are replaced in the US, they don't go to the junkyard, but retire to the tropics!

School Buses

Here are some more pictures of the buses in action here at home. They are called Chicken Buses, probably because the locals use them, if need be, for carrying their chickens to the market. They usually paint the buses in all sorts of colors and sometimes whimsical ways.



Sometimes they keep the same colors, and even the old "Stop" sign.


And some of the buses are the usual kind, but packed to the brim. And if there's a lot of luggage on the roof, there are sometimes handlers that travel on top of the buses. Just don't leave anything of value in the roof luggage, that is if you want to see them again.


Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Souvenir Shopping

As our trip home to Finland is fast approaching, it was time to do some shopping for souvenirs to take home.  Fortunately, a friend of mine has the same dilemma, and we decided to take a girls' shopping day, leaving Chuck and Kaleb to spend quality bonding time at home.

Everyone knows Masaya's Handicraft market. It's a market created for tourists, and the prices are accordingly. However, less known is the handicrafts section at the Masaya Municipal Market, with much lower prices (maybe one fifth of the price).That's were these savvy shoppers were headed!

It's not as fancy and clean, as the tourist market, but that's part of its charm. (Picture by Hans Sterkendies)


I just had to share what I bought and at what price. I was amazed.



So, I got a wooden bowl, made of different local woods, a ceramic, decorative house, a t-shirt, wrist band, hair band, chandelier earrings and a woven bag for the total of $ 32! Oh, and if my folks are reading this... now you know what you'll be getting...

 After the exhaustive time shopping, we went for lunch at a "best, most authentic" Mexican restaurant in all of Nicaragua. We had yummy enchiladas and margaritas for lunch, and it only cost $ 17 for two, including a 10% tip. Oh, and best of all, we didn't have to pay any "gringo-taxes" to the local police on the way!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Glimpses of Ordinary Life

Here are some pictures of ordinary things around the house, things that are a little different than what we're used to back home, whether it be in the USA or Finland.

Here's our dishwasher. Well, that's mostly me, but there is a technique to it, that I have to admire. Requires a lot of water tho, and elbow grease :)


So, you have a sponge and a tub of dishwashing soap. You grab some soap on the sponge and wash the plates and all under the running water, at the same time rinsing them. We have a drying rack, so we don't have to towel dry them, at least. This method is fine when it's just a few plates and things, it'd be a lot more work for a whole family! Oh, and there is no hot water, everything is tepid.

Another tidbit about living in Nicaragua. Most of the plumbing here is so old and the pipes so small, that you can't throw your TP in the toilet, but put it in the wastebasket. Luckily here in San Juan del Sur, trash is collected everyday, where we live, many times a day.


The maroon toilet set was purchased by our landlord (editor's note).

With so much poverty in Nicaragua, it's important to keep your items and home safe.Therefore, even the poorest houses have wrought iron bars on the windows. 



Because there is no postal delivery in town, and the newspaper can only be bought in the store, advertising is done more creatively.


All sorts of cars, here's just one example, drive around town with loudspeakers on top, playing recorded messages from our advertisers. We don't understand much of it yet; what we thought was an animated, high-pitched political speech from a Hitler-wannabe, turned out to be an ad for a circus coming to town. The only ad we have understood was our friend Bonnie's for El Timón restaurant. It was in English.

Electricity is a little sketchy here as well. Sometimes you have it, sometimes you don't. Like with the rainy season upon us, and the thunderstorms we've been having, the power goes out more often than not, during those storms. Here is an example of a power pole in our 'hood.



Made you go "no wonder" huh? :) 

My life is a dream tho, especially when I found a local store that actually carries Diet Pepsi, or Pepsi Light, as it is called here! Party on!


Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Visa Extension

It's already been almost 3 months since we moved here! All we can say, is that time moves real fast, although not sure we've accomplished much... Well, since our 3 months here drew to an end, it means that it was time to get an extension to our visas. You don't need to apply for a visa when you come to Nicaragua (from USA). When you enter with your passport, you can stay here for 3 months (90 days) as a tourist. After those 90 days you have to either go to another country that stamps your passports, or get a visa extension from a "migration" office.

We'd heard stories that having migracion stamp your extension isn't too complicated, and we needed to go shopping in Managua anyway. There are Migracion offices closer to us, like in Granada and Rivas, but they take your passport and you have to come back to get it in 3 days (or more, who knows). So, we called our friend Bladimyr for a ride. He's got a company with some other drivers and they are pretty cheap, helpful, and a lot of them know English. Bladimyr couldn't make it himself, so he sent Camillo, who spoke great English and was ready to take us where we needed to go.



Now, I decided, in my infinite wisdom, of course, to take the route less traveled; go to Multicentro Las Americas Mall for the renewal. That location wasn't much talked about, so I figured it would be faster than other, more popular locations. First we had to take copies of our passports. We had heard stories about copies costing $1 per page, so we decided to go to a photo shop away from the migracion office. It paid off: the copies only cost 2 cordobas a page (8 cents). Next we went to the migracion office. A guard on the door let us in, after we showed and somehow kinda explained what we were there for. He told us which line to go to, and get the forms. The forms cost $5 each (we needed 2).


(Pic from Wikipedia)

Our lawyer had said the forms were easy to fill out. Bollocks! We called our trusty Camillo to come help us out, and he translated the things needed. Altho, the form seemed to be the same for applying a Nicaraguan passport, cedula or whatever, and the extension. So we probably filled out a lot of unnecessary information anyways. Like I don't think they need to know the names of my Mom and Dad, but oh well...

Next, us and Camillo went to queue up again, this time to the other line. It didn't take too long to get to the officer, and with Camillo's excellent help, we were able to get everything done. Here's the kick tho. Now I don't know if they just didn't know things, regulations had changed, or they decided to get some pocket money, but we had to pay 500 cordobas for each month we wanted to extend our stay. Because we wanted 3 extra months, we had to pay up 3,000 cordobas (for 2 people)  in total (ca. $120). That's not what I heard. In addition to this travesty, we also forfeited the 7 days we had left on the passport, also different from what I had heard. Needless to say, I wasn't a happy camper. At least it was quick. We got to the mall at around 10, and were out and done with everything by 11.30.

So, a visa run to Costra Rica would've been cheaper, especially when Chuck ended up buying a specifically built computer for $1,000 and we went to PriceSmart too, to spend even more of our money. You can't do that in Costa Rica border camps! When we got home, we let our neighbor's dog in the house, that was for the last time ever! He peed over some of the stuff we bought from PriceSmart!! Hosing them down might've been easier if the water was on... luckily we had spare water in bottles, and we were able to clean the packages.



In any case, next time we actually have to leave the country, but that will be to Finland in July.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Semana Santa in San Juan del Sur

Semana Santa, or the Holy Week is basically a week of Easter celebrations in Nicaragua. Every Friday, during the 40 days before Easter (lent) there is a procession depicting the 14 stations of the cross Jesus took on the way to the Calvary. Priests, singing parishioners, and a band playing joyous music travel around the city carrying a statue of Jesus, and stop at 14 pre-determined stations around the town. These stops are altars set up by different parishioners in front of their homes, and the procession stops there to give blessings. Here is a picture from Good Friday, where everyone was wearing purple.


This is the religious part of Semana Santa. Mostly, it's about taking a break and partying. San Juan del Sur has a normal population of ca. 20,000, but during the Holy Week, it increases to 80,000. There are beer tents set up on the beach promenade, music is blaring well though the early morning hours, there's a smell of urine everywhere, and people are mostly drunk all weekend long.

The beach is packed and the police, some in bullet-proof vests and a shotgun patrol the streets and the beach. There are also horse - and boat rides available for the less sinister activities.



All the houses and hotels are rented for this holiday, and people can make double the normal monthly rent just during this week. Same as Midsummer's in Finland, there is an "incident count" for the week of Semana Santa in Nicaragua.

20 people drowned, 21 murdered, 10 traffic accidents. The police confiscated 36 pistols, 51 revolvers, 12 rifles, 17 assault rifles and 2,521 edged weapons. We survived!

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Our Crib in San Juan del Sur


I must apologize for not getting to updates sooner. I considered our current accommodations temporary, but after over a month, we're still here, even tho our landlady is more than ready to move on. Not that we are bad renters, she just wants to finish the house to all the glory it is planned for, and we are paying too little for the amazement that is the house. 

Back to the train of thought... My computer was packed up, waiting for a move to a better house, but since it hasn't materialized yet, we just hooked up my computer and I'm using it on the countertop. What I was getting at, is now I can finally update the blog, since it was pretty impossible with the tablet. 

We like it here in San Juan del Sur. It's small enough to pretty much walk everywhere. And the great thing is, you can even take your dog with you to most places, even restaurants. Although some restaurants now make you sit on the side, which is not too bad, I guess. 

But more from San Juan del Sur later. Now, a picture cavalcade of our beautiful, exquisite, and luxurious house. 

The view is lovely. 



This is the view from the second floor loft.




These are the stairs to the rooftop terrace (they will eventually include steps), but from there, the view is unfortunately blocked by the tree you see in the front of the first picture.



Downstairs we go, where the bed and the kitchenette are. And the bathroom. The bathroom doesn't have a door. You can see straight into the bathroom from outside, if the door is open, not to mention anyone who's in the house. 



Since we are not exhibitionists by nature, we solved the outdoor bathroom problem by strategically placing our packing boxes in an angle so that they covered the door. 

The neighborhood (barrio)  the house is in, is not the best possible, but it is quite close to the beach. It's about a block from the beach, as a crow flies, but in reality you have to walk a maybe 3 blocks to the beach. Still, not bad. It's about a 5 minute walk to downtown where all the restaurants and little shops are. More about what San Juan del Sur has to offer later. 

We forgot Kaleb's food bowl on the floor once, and in a few minutes it was full of ants. The neighborhood wildlife got their treat for the day. 



Here's one of Kaleb's friends. Our neighbor has 3 dogs, this is the best one of them. The others are crazy and vicious. When the other 2 attack Kaleb, he tries to defend Kaleb instead. That's why we sometimes have the door open for him to step inside to cool down and have some water. 


The locals don't regard their dogs as pets. They're more there to scare away the bad guys (pretty much any guys that pass). They keep you awake most of the night, and we haven't gotten used to it yet. When Kaleb is not barking and howling with his friends, he likes his little cave under a bench.


Until next time! Adios!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Setting Up in Managua

Every now and then I've posted on Facebook about our frequent trips to Managua. This time, we were to meet up with a possible attorney to set up our business, and later on, residency. I had read about Dr. Paul Tiffer on Nica Living forums, where he was highly recommended. We also asked our customs agent, if she had heard about this attorney. She had, and only positive things. As a matter of fact, they worked together on a lot of things. Excellent!

So we hopped on the express bus, which was only 20 cords per head (about $1), and which was sufficiently fast. It beats the $60 one way price that taxis charge. The trip on the express bus takes about 45 minutes to over an hour, depending on the driver, but more about on a later posting. It's exotic!



Once we arrived at the university bus stop, a familiar taxi driver was ready to take us where we wanted. He knew he'd get good money out of those gringoes. Dr. Tiffer said that normally he didn't go to the office on a Saturday, but he would make an exception for us. He'd be there around 9:30 am, and we agreed we'd be there at 10 am. It was a couple of minutes after 10, when the attorney finally arrived. It wasn't like him at all to be late, but he had an excellent reason. He had to wait for an electrician to show up on an unexpected visit at his home that morning.

It was all good, it was a Saturday morning and it wasn't all that late at all. We agreed to start up an S.A., a Nicaraguan corporation, and then go on finding our piece of land, and then applying for a residency based on the investment. Just like that. Dr. Tiffer answered all the questions that we had, and we were very pleased with the meeting. He also spoke very good English, which was essential to us...

After we concluded our meeting, he took us to see the sights in his car!!



Can you imagine an American lawyer doing that? I can't. After seeing the sights, he drove us to Price Smart, which is like a local CostCo or Sam's Club. We had applied for a membership, but we hadn't heard back from them. Dr.Tiffer knew the local manager, and he said he could arrange the card for us!

So we went to Price Smart, Chuck found the back-up battery for our computers he needed, but the manager hadn't returned Dr. Tiffer's call by the time we were ready to leave. Well, the only thing to do was to use his card for our purchases!! Can you imagine an American lawyer doing that #2??

After everything he had done for us, we offered to take him out for lunch. He took us to a Nicaraguan steakhouse, and I actually got to eat a chicken covered in delicious BBQ sauce! Heaven I never thought I'd find in Nicaragua! Unfortunately, my gringo ways are still hard to get rid of, and I hurried to end the lunch before the dessert was even suggested! Boy did I feel dumb! I need to get into the laid-back attitude of locals, there's always mañana to get things done!



All in all, I would wholeheartedly recommend Dr. Paul Tiffer's services to anyone who asks. Not only is he a competent, bilingual attorney, he is also a great person! We felt very comfortable leaving everything in his hands.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Granada

So, we are staying at our landlady's house in Granada, until she gets the house in San Juan del Sur in a move-in condition. Her house in Granada is just outside the main Granada city. The address is a typical Nicaraguan one: 55 kilometers on Highway X to Y, pink house on the right. Needless to say, there aren't any mailmen around, not that I've seen any anyway... That's quite a mouthful to say to a taxi driver (mind you, in Spanish) every time you want a ride home.



The apartment is off the highway, up a little dirt drive. It's a gated complex, altho a very simple one. The tall fence is topped by a barbed wire all around. Behind the house, there is a cemetery, and between the cemetery and our house there is a dump site, a field really, where we take Kaleb out for a dump too. Sometimes you can here cows mooing right next to the gate. That drives Kaleb nuts and he's ready to go get whatever is making that noise. Fortunately we're smarter and keep him away from those hooves.



Our landlady moved here from Costa Rica, where she still has a house, but she will probably come here to stay, as a lot of other expats. They just prefer Nicaragua to Costa Rica these days. The apartment is converted from a storage area to a comfortable enough studio. There is a gas stove and a fridge, and she even has a washing machine. I don't have to do the laundry the old fashioned way a lot of the locals still do it.



The washing machine doesn't even have a setting for cold/hot, because the water from the tank up on a pole will only comes in a range of temperatures from freezing cold to mildly tepid. The showers are a treat. It's not likely that you will want to linger under the ice-cold tickle very long, but at least it's not the infamous suicide-shower with open wiring susceptible to water.

Of course, you will have to throw the TP into a waste basket, or like we have at the moment; a plastic bag. It isn't as bad as it sounds: you'll get used to it, and they come pick up the trash 3 times a week. Besides, you'd rather do that than have water flowing inside the house from the toilet every now and then, because the old pipes just can't take the blockage.

The first couple of days were pretty intimidating, not knowing the language and it seemed we couldn't do anything. But little by little things improved and we got to know the city by the volcano better, and actually like it here now. Because we live outside the main city, taxes are important to us. And it's not like using taxes will bankrupt you. Taxi for 2 costs 80 cents for 2 people inside the city. Of course, you will have to share the taxi with anyone. The taxis stop for every person anywhere, until they are full. Sometimes you see a taxi crowded with at least 6 people, and it looks hilarious. You just tell them where you want to go, and you'll eventually get there, provided they know where it is.


Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Not such a Happy Landing- aka Never Use PetSafe


We arrived in Managua around 10:30 pm. The local freight rep who has called us earlier had taken Kaleb to either his home or office, away from the heat of the freight terminal. We agreed to meet up the following morning. I had made reservations to the nearby Best Western, and we'd just relax and wait until the morning. Well, as you probably have guessed by now, nothing is that easy when it comes to our luck.

The hotel rep ushered us through the passport check and helped us with your luggage, which there was plenty of. Next stop, the x-ray line and we were almost done. Well, computers apparently attracted the attention of the customs officers and we were pulled aside. We didn't understand what they were wanting, but the hotel rep tried his best to negotiate. All in all, they didn't want to give us the computers, we'd have to come back the following morning and talk to the actual customs officers on duty.

Next morning, after a nice breakfast in a beautiful setting we were ready to roll. The hotel rep said he would send a friend of his to help us out with the customs. We were to meet him between 8 and 8:30 am. Chuck started doubting if he was to meet us at the hotel or at the airport, so at 8:30 he decided to go to the airport, and I would stay in to see if the dude showed up.



Well, it was 8:45 and he hadn't showed up. So I loaded all my stuff on the hotel shuttle and asked them to take me to the airport. Finally we found Chuck and I had to wait outside the customs office with our luggage. The clock was ticking and we finally tossed all of the luggage inside the customs office and I went out on the hunt for Kaleb.

I had talked to a very nice lady working for United and luckily I found her again. She had called the freight people and they were anxiously waiting for me. Apparently they let Kaleb out of his kennel and now had difficulties putting him back in. He can be a little stubborn, our Kaleb. So, a worker for the airport took me to the cargo office a mile down the road, and I was finally united with my Kaleb!

He was running around the office, and the nice gentleman who had taken care of him so far was very relieved to see me there. He was afraid our little angel would bite him. After a few belly rubs I got him back to the kennel, it did take a gentle push... and we started the paperwork. First I had to go to the local bank to pay some sort of an entry tax, whatever to their account. Ok, there I am, freshly in the country and now I would have to go make a deposit in a bank?!?

Fortunately, a friend of the officer came by and the officer shoved the responsibility of me to him. He was to come with me to the bank and help me out. So, we took a taxi to the bank and he queued for me, and when it was our time, I just paid him and he handled the rest. Then back we went. A few signatures here and there and I was to proceed to the loading dock, where I might have to pay some taxes, but I would finally be able to pick up Kaleb. Once again, they sent someone to take me to the freight pickup.

At the loading dock, these old geezers didn't speak English, they were just basically laughing at me. Finally one of the younger people said it would take about an hour for Kaleb to arrive. The cargo officer told me he would go pick up some luggage from the flight that was coming in, and then he would bring Kaleb back. He didn't sound like it was going to take an hour. Just as I was thinking about going back to the airport to tell Chuck what I was doing, the nice officer came in with Kaleb. And it only took like 15 mins or so.

I thanked him and we said our goodbyes, and then the fun started! I spent the next 3 or so hours (no idea of the time) running from one building to another getting things copied, stamped, paid and whatnot. Finally, one of the customs people (a young guy with good English) came to me and said he was coming with me, because he didn't want to see me there again. I don't know what he said or did, but I finally got Kaleb out of there and off we went to find Chuck. Who didn't get his computers out.

In retrospect: #1 NEVER send your pets with PetSafe!!! Someone local actually told me it wasn't the first time a pet was sent by United before their owners. And you'll save yourself a lot of headache afterwords! #2 There are some people who want to make things more difficult for you, but there are others who are just wonderful. Not everyone in Nicaragua is our to get you.  

Flight of the Gringos


We got up at around 5:30 AM, skipped the lame breakfast, loaded up the car, and headed for the airport. Our flight was to leave at 8:59 AM and we were to drop Kaleb off at the Pet Safe cargo facility and have the paperwork completed 2 hours ahead of the flight.

The United Airlines PetSafe delivery instructions quoted Pallet Road as the facility where Kaleb needed to be dropped off. Chuck had googled the area the night before and was pretty sure how to get there. Well, we couldn't find it where it was supposed to be. Finally, after getting out of the airport and driving back in again, we thought we'd follow the sign to General Cargo. That's where we found Pallet Rd and PetSafe. Why they couldn't say “General Cargo” area in the first place, I don't know.



We had wasted time, and the person receiving the paperwork wasted even more time by slowly figuring out how to fill out the forms and get our money. It ended up costing $571 to ship Kaleb with the cargo, compared to $200 as checked-in luggage. We said goodbye to our dearest dog and were out at about 7:20 AM.

Chuck dropped me and the luggage off at the terminal, we paid $8 for 2 carts that I stood out with, while Chuck went to return the rental. Fortunately, it was Houston in a heatwave, and I was still wearing my sweater, because it was a long wait. I didn't have any idea of the time. I didn't have my wrist-watch, and I had either packed or tossed away my cellphone, so I was just hoping we'd be on time.

Finally Chuck showed up, being stuck in an airport bus for 20 minutes and we rushed to the check-in. Only to find out that the gates had closed on us 7:59 AM, a whole HOUR before the flight!! WTF? They booked us on the next flight out, which was at 7 pm. I wanted them to know that Kaleb would also need to wait, and they promised it would be taken care of, naturally.

So, we waited at the airport the whole day, and at about 2 PM we got a call from Nicaragua. Basically stating that they've got our dog, where are we? So, United tossed us out, but shipped our dog WITHOUT us!!!??? WTF #2.!! Boy, were we happy with United – NOT!!!

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

The Final Countdown - Part 2


Friday night we had a welcomed visit from Brandon and Olivia. They dropped in to see if there was anything they could help us with. It was really nice to see them one last time before we left, and they were gracious enough to promise to look after the house until it sold. You'll never know how much we appreciate that!!

So, there were some hectic preparations and last-minute packing going on that night, until we were just too tired to anything more for the night. There was always Saturday morning to get it all done. We'd only have to hit the road at noon. Well, it was a good plan, until life happened. Steve, our realtor had said he'd come by at 9 to finalize our paperwork. Which he did, on the hour. He was also going to take some pictures, but seeing as everything was still in disarray, he thought it best to come back later with the camera.

When Steve left, we realized there was no way we could hit the noon time-limit. Chuck would still need to make one final run to the storage, and there was still packing and cleaning to do. It must've been closer to 2 or 3 when we finally said Goodbye to our dear house, a home that we lovingly built for ourselves, for years to come. Nothing ever goes quite as planned.



Like all good plans, there's something called life to mess with them. See, AT&T had over eagerly cut off our internet connection 2 days earlier. Therefore we didn't get a chance to google our way to Arkansas, and in my infinite wisdom, I had either packed away or tossed all of our US maps and our GPS-thingy. Well, off to a Best Buy we go. We hijacked one of their puters and set coordinates to Little Rock AR.

When we finally got on the road, after visiting the storage space again, it was closer to 5, and we still had a 7-hour drive ahead of us. Oh Joy! It wasn't going to be pretty, seeing as we had woken up so early too. To my great relief, and pride , Chuck persevered through headaches, muscle pains, and exhaustion, and we found our way to La Quinta Inn at Otter Creek at around midnight. (I sooo didn't want to drive at night!)

The hotel was a little iffy; it needed some maintenance and updating. It also looked like some shady business was going on in the parking lot; cars standing, people standing next to the cars and talking to them. Ok, ok, it looked like all the drug-dealing scenes from tv and movies. Some of the people staying there were a little unfriendly-looking as well. There were also a few police cars on the scene. But our night was good, and even Kaleb behaved himself. The lady manager of the hotel e-mailed me later saying that they are doing whatever they can to make it a better place.

Then on Sunday morning we took our bearings towards Houston, TX, our final destination before saying goodbye to the USA. We made a few stops on the way. The best food was close to Houston, on highway 59. I think it was called Brown's Grill (or something). One final BBQ feast before Nicaraguan food.

After a long day we finally arrived at our Red Roof Inn by the airport. Very simple and sparse, but we didn't need much. It was an easy drive both to the airport and downtown. See, we still had to get Kaleb's paperwork approved by the Nicaraguan consulate. I had heard that maybe it wasn't necessary, but after what happened, I thank God I got it done!



I had been calling the Nicaraguan Consulate for about 2 weeks, without no one even picking up. I was a little uncertain what if anything we would find in Houston. We just decided to find the place and demand an appointment. It took us a while to find this office building, but lo and behold, there was a Consulate there! The dude who handled the paperwork didn't speak much English, and my Spanish is - rusty would be too good of a word to describe it, but we got everything done, paid our $30 and were done with Kaleb-related paperwork and we both got a haircut (not that these 2 tasks are related in any way). We went to eat at Simo's Diner (great food) and I sported my new bob. We were ready to fly out to our new life the next day. I do wish it was that easy, but nothing good ever is, is it.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

The Final Countdown - Part 1

"Where do I begin, to tell a story of how hard a life can be." Or something along those lines (in the tune of the Love Story.) Well, there's got to be a beginning...

I'll start with getting Kaleb ready for the big move down south. In order for him to abide to all the regulations, we had to renew all of his vaccinations 30 days before flying out. We did this maybe 29 days before, and he behaved really well, no need for muzzles or anything. I think he hated the thermometer up his butt more than the actual shots.

Next step after the shots was to get the international health certificate (USDA Form A-7001) if I remember right. That had to be done 14-10 days before the flight. (Time varies by the airline.) We decided to do it 9 days before. We had to make this exta trip, because our vet wouldn't just do it there and then, and just date it 9 days before the flight. Go figure!

Well, we arrived for the health check-up 9 days before the flight. All went well, even tho Kaleb was even less excited to go to the vet once again, in such a short period. The chek-up didn't take long, and when we were ready to walk out with the cert, one of the assistants said she was going to look into it a bit more, and make sure everything was done by the book. So, come back the following day.

My plan was to swing by the place and be off my merry way. Well, as we came to know, no plans ever go the way they're supposed to. They had called the Federal office, and had found out that Kaleb would need to get his worming medication in front of the doctor. It made no difference that we had done all this 2 weeks before, had to be done again! So, off we go, Kaleb dreading every time he has to go to a car drive with me; he knows its a trip to the vet's.

So, we did what was requested and after that, there was the little thing called driving for an hour down to Frankfort to get the USDA-approved vet's signature on it. That really was the closest USDA vet we had. Kaleb is a very beloved dog! :) So, I dropped off Kaleb who was happy to be home safe, told Chuck to expect a carpet cleaning salesman and went off again. I did enjoy the drive, it would be my last one in my Old Lady. Feeling the wind in my hair... (well, not quite, it was too bleedin cold for that, but you get the idea).

Thanks to google, I found the vet's office pretty easily. I sat there in the tiny lobby for maybe 10 minutes or so, and they had my paperwork stamped and whatnot. They told me it made their job a lot easier and quicker when the local vet had faxed them the paperwork earlier. (Tip to those who read this for planning to take their own dog down the same path.) After that  I cruised down the highway back home to find out that the carpet cleaner was lost.

Anyway, he finally showed up, we got the house cleaned Thursday (I wasn't too happy with the work the cleaning crew did; I had to do some of it myself afterwards) and on Friday had the carpets in 2 bedrooms cleaned, as well as the upholstery on 2 couches. We had sold our bedroom set, and dining set to friends, who were going to pick it all up after the house sold. All of the other furniture was to go to charity.



Saturday was our last morning at our old home and the beginning of a new adventure.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Getting Closer


A little update here. We’ve been packing and organizing things for a while now, but there’s still a lot to do.  It’s been quite interesting organizing the flights tho.

First, we were planning to fly out of Miami on American, but when I was finalizing the details with their rep (who was very friendly btw.) I found out that their plane is too small for Kaleb’s kennel to fit in!!  And it’s not even a huuuge cage, a standard size (for big dogs).



Oh well, off to cancel that flight, and on to calling Delta. This time , the flight would be out of Atlanta. The drive down there would be way shorter, which is a huge plus.  Sure, they can fit the dog’s kennel! However, when Chuck realized that we had to take his computers with, that was another story. Delta doesn’t accept computers in the luggage or freight. Chuck will need to earn our living somehow!

Sooo, we cancelled that one too. The Delta flight  was already twice as expensive as the AA flight, so I knew it was going to hurt. Well, all in all, United Airlines will fly us, the dog and Chuck’s computers! Unfortunately, their Pet Travel is outsourced to another company, so I had to make arrangements with a third party for that. It turned out to be 3-times more expensive for Kaleb than the other flights, but if you want everything, you better pay for it.

Not only is it 3-times more expensive,  Kaleb will have to travel in the freight section of the plane, instead of with the luggage L He needs to be dropped off and picked up like a package, from the freight counter. Well, they did say that they have a special, air-conditioned compartment for animals, so I hope it’ll be alright. But I do feel sorry for the poor guy!


We already got him all the necessary shots, even rabies. He was really brave, didn't even try to bite the vet! We'll have to go back on Monday to get the International Health Certificate signed and dated. It needs to be done within 10 days of the flight. I asked the vet if she could do it then and there, but she just looked at me funny and said the point was to do it 10 days before... Well, I tried...

Well, all in all, we are heading towards Houston on Saturday 26th. We’ll probably be staying at a hotel in Little Rock, seemed to be about half-way there. I'll try to find a Drury Inn, most of them accept dogs, which is definitely a must.  We have an apartment waiting for us tho, when we finally get to Nicaragua. Yay!

We rented a tiny house from a Canadian woman who lives in Nicaragua. She’s renovating it right now in San Juan del Sur, and she's got great plans for it, can't wait to see it. She actually told us she can't wait for us to vacate it, so she can move in :)

If she can’t finish it by the time we get there, which is doubtful keeping in mind the huge changes she's going to make to it, she said we could live in her apartment in Granada, with her dog and orchids on the patio. Granada is a beautiful city and there’s lots more to do than in SJDS!



Back home, we’ve had painters painting our house. Our library and kitchen were painted in neutral colors and we’re waiting for the painter to finish painting the basement as well. We had some teenagers and a few Mexicans working with Chuck on our yard, Kaleb being the supervisor. We gave him a big rawhide in advance for the job.



My Jaguar is sold now too L Bohoo! Chuck even sold it so cheap to our painter that I’m still miffed about it. He only asked 2 grand for it, the same amount as for his beat-up old truck! Needless to say, they made the deal on the Jag right away, still thinking about the truck… Even he Blue Book value was 3500 for it. Oh well, it’s just a car. And at least I can take the Old Lady for a drive until later next week, when we exchange the car for the money.

We also sold our "very lightly used" elliptical machine on craigslist for $400. We had bought it for $1200 as new some 3 years ago, so it had lost most of its value, but at least we got something out of it. What we can't sell, we'll give to charity, but we'll make sure we get the value recognized before giving them away.

We still have to pack up the rest of our stuff, fix up the rooms and call a cleaning company to do the final “eat off the floor” –cleaning. I wish we could just pack up the boxes and go, but for Nicaragua customs, you need a detailed packing list of everything, like how many t-shirts exactly are you going to import in which box. It takes a while, yeah.

We rented a storage room from U-Haul, and are going to haul our boxes there next week. We’re also going to store our desks, all other furniture will go.  When we get the residency, we’ll be back to pack things up and ship them off with some carrier along the way. But that still seems so far away. 

Chuck just reminded me that we will leave in a week already!!! Yikes!