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.

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!

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!

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!!!