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.

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.

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!!!

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.

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.