Movin on Up!

The Christmas party was a spectacular success.  The four of us were able to meet the owners, Gustavo and Amanda, and chat with them for the forty-five minutes it took us to ride to Mira Flor.  Around sixty community members attended.  This was the first time Gustavo and Amanda hosted a party, so the curiosity and anticipation the community had was thick when we arrived.  All of that was shed when the food and gifts were spread around.  There were two piñatas and loads of happy kids!  With a better understanding of the community, we left telling the owners that we were very interested, but needed some time.  We agreed to get in touch after the New Year.

As we rode back into Estelì the traffic was horrific.  We soon learned that the Hipcas fiesta was minutes from starting.  Hipcas is a huge horse parade.  Thousands of stunning horses from all over the country are brought into Plaza Central to circle amongst the onlookers.  Each horse is taught to dance, filling the plaza with galloping horses and a crazy crowd.  After watching hundreds of caballos pass, we retired after a very fulfilling day.

Deciding a more social scene would be nice for Christmas we headed south to San Juan Del Sur.  San Juan is the backpacker hotspot in Nicaragua.  We checked into Sunrise Hotel and headed off to check out some property.  The two plots we were shown just outside of town were no doubt striking, but not what were looking for.  With Christmas being only a couple days away we took the holidays to relax.  Iain and I spent the day one the beach scheming about the Christmas menu, while Jimmy and Neesh played Frisbee golf.  Two friends from Italy staying in our hotel, Susanna and Vince, started the pleasant social break we were looking for. Christmas day started with mimosas and watching a huge cruise ship role into the bay from our balcony.  Iain and I spent the day cooking a happy Jesus day feast.  The meal was pepper steak, Irish cabbage, carrots and apple pie with ice cream to finish.  Fun was had, but not exactly what our group is looking for. 

Our next destination was the Island of Ometepe.  Iain only had a couple of days left and we wanted to fit in one more area before he headed down to Peru.  We traveled to Rivas where we located the ferry and took a slightly choppy fifty minute ride to the island.  Ometepe is two large volcanoes side by side connected by a small domain, in the middle of Largo(lake) Cocibolca.  The story goes that the island was formed after an Indian maiden name Ometepeti killed herself in the name of love.  As death came, she laid on her back with her breasts exposed, the valley filled with sadness and rain flooded the plains leaving only her chest. (Volcan Concepción 1,610m and Volcan Madras 1,394 m)  We bussed from Moyogalpa (where the ferry comes in) to an area called Reserva Charco Verde.  After a bit of walking and confusion we found an ideal hotel after traveling all day.  Playa Santa Martha was a bungalow on the beach type of experience.  As tempting as it was to stay in this inclusive little getaway for longer we had to get back to humanity.  We traveled back to Moyogalpa and got in touch with a real estate agent.  Sadly we also had to say good-bye to Iain.  He headed for the ferry and we went to check out a piece of property.  We saw lots of big trees and water, but still just not the right fit.  “Motorbikes!! Motorbikes!!” Jimmy cried for the hundredth time.  So off we went.  I was not sure about sitting on the back while Jimmy drove at first.  But after an hour on the Islands rocky roads, I was convinced that if he did not crash yet, I could relax.  We rode to Cascada San Ramón.  The 180 meter fall was an impressive sight even during the dry season.  After a poker night (we use match sticks and dominos for chips) at the hostel monkey island, we woke early ready to go.  On our way back to return the bikes we had time to stop at El Ojo De Agua.  This is a crystal clear spring surrounded by a green botanical garden.  The water was chilly and refreshing.  Crunched to get our bikes back in time we quickly dried off and started whizzing past the Ruta de Evacuacion signs lining the roads.  We made it just in time for the mid-day ferry, with Granada in mind.

Granada is a breathtaking old colonial city.  There are elegant homes and horse drawn carriages lining the cobble stone streets.  Tourism shows in this city.  The number of merchants selling trinkets and young children asking for one dollar exceeds any other city I have visited in Nicaragua.  It is hard to see a poorly looking child and not want to give them something.  In this case though children are being encouraged not to go to school and stay on the streets to beg.  Many people feel like they are helping, but in reality they are only encouraging dependency.  A plus is that this touristy city has a huge number of street performers.  The animated Spanish woman shaking her hips, fire spinners, break dancers, and clowns make for an exciting roam through the city.  The very modern looking cathedral, Iglesia La Merced, is colossal.  The simple sleek architecture painted bright canary yellow and baby blue is an epic sight at sunset.  We by chance ran into our Italian friends and where able to party away the New Year with them like we did for Christmas.  Vince and Susanna kept talking about a market filled with handmade goods right outside of town.  So a day trip to Masaya was planned.

Masaya is about a thirty minute bus ride outside of town.  El Marcado Nacional de Artesnías is a bustling market filled with hammocks, crafted wood and leather.  The market is a covered labyrinth of vibrant sights and sounds.  Suppressing the urge to purchase much more then I could carry, I left stimulated and full of gift ideas.

We decided to move forward on the MiraFlor Property.  Every place we visited just couldn’t stand up to MiraFlor.  We called our real estate agent, Henry, and told him that we are ready to have our lawyer start on the paperwork.  Jimmy and Neesh got working on opening a bank account while our lawyer checked out the details on the property.  During this busy time our buddy Alex from CA flew in for a visit.  Unfortunately while we are celebrating Alex’s arrival, Jimmy got an upsetting email from the lawyer.  The property has a supplementary title.  This means that the government has no original title and has issued a supplementary one.  This is unnerving because if we buy this property the possibility of an original title surfacing and legal disputes occurring is present.  We are getting mixed opinions on what this means.  Neesh left to the east coast and Alex, Jimmy and I decide to visit Laguna De Apoyo and give this new information on the title time to sink in.

Laguna De Apoyo is just outside of Masaya.  It is a lake that has formed in a drowned volcanic crater.  We rented a bungalow on the lake.  Alex and I relaxed and swan while Jimmy went wondering around.  A couple hours later Jimmy returned with one of the craziest men I have ever met in my life.  We decide rum was in order and begin listening to the man (well, intergalactic citizen according to him) explain the universe to us.  The self declared prophet sat in extreme “yoga” positions while talking about his seven wives and twenty children.  He incessantly talked about sex and literally made two nice young girls RUN from him.  What a day!

So we are now at a standstill.  We plan to talk more with our lawyer about what the title means.  It is time to regroup and see where we go from here.  Things don’t always go as planned but I am happy to be trying it anyway.  Even if property is not found on this trip, it has been one hell of a vacation.

          

Nube Nueve/ Cloud Nine

  On our last night in Las Penitas, we had a lovely dinner party for a couple people in the community that helped us along our way.  Iain whipped up a delicious dinner of 3 dollars a pound filet, chicken, and lots of fresh veggies.  Hangovers in tow, we were able to leave the next morning and and head to Leon.  From Leon we caught a "chicken bus", which is a school bus on steroids, to Matagalpa.  We squashed in for the hot three hour ride to the area known as the cloud forest.
  Once we arrived, I realized the cloud forest was not nearly as gloomy as my imagination had illustrated it to be.  Checking into Hotel Alvabado was very  pleasant.  Owned by a nice couple and centrally located on the NW corner of Parque Dario.  The city skies were full of loud explosions and color.  This month is full of fiestas, the conception of Mary being one of many reasons to fill the streets with life.  Jimmy (surprise surprise) already had a real-estate guy ready for tomorrow.  We rented a truck to allow ourselves freedom to go to multiple properties in a short amount of time.  The following day we were taken to a few different properties, none encompassing everything we need.  Right before heading back into town a local man told us about another finca/farm up the road.  This place was a dream. 21 manzanas (1.7 acres per manzana) of rolling hills filled will coffee plants, papaya, coconut, and banana trees.  Walking deeper into the property we saw that the caretakers of the property were in the process of their early harvest coffee.  We were able to see the entire cultivating process.

1.      The bright red and yellow berries are hand picked off the shoulder high plants.  At this faze the berries are called cafe en uva.
2.      Then the berries are de fleshed.  They bright red or yellow flesh is removed either wet or dry.  At this farm they had a machine that removed the flesh by one person manually spinning a great big wheel that turns a "blade" under a funnel that the berries are being poured into.  The person pouring the berries in also constantly sprays the berries with water.  All the flesh is washed away to compost.
3. The berries still have coating on them.  After sitting for a day, they are then poured in a vat of water and stirred to remove the first coat.  At this point they are called cafe en pergamino (parchment coffee).
4. The beans are then laid in the sun
5. Next stored in a cool dark place for one month to really enrich the flavor of the beans.
6. Then they must be milled to remove the last hard coating.
7. Then roasted and packaged and shipped out.

A very good way to end the afternoon to an otherwise unproductive morning.  We now were ready to visit Esteli.
  We acquired a number to a man named Henry that is well known and respected in Esteli to show us around.  As soon as we arrived Henry took us to a farm just a couple Kil. outside of town.  Owned by an expat, the property sparked us all with inspiration.  A nice house, experiential crops, large mountain side and a year round river launched the area into our peek interest.  Even though the location was not exactly what we are looking for, it displayed the lands possibilities.  The next morning Henry took us into Mira Flor Nature Reserve.  Mira Flor has 5,000 citizens over 206 square kilometers.  This 28.9 acre property made us feel like we were on cloud nine(thank you Iain for the great name for our group).  There is a cabin in the process of being built with materials all taken from the land, some large areas cleared for crops, a gorgeous river side with massive rocks which create small falls, and an epic view of the surrounding reserve.  We were asked by the owner to return to the property, this time with him, tomorrow for a Christmas party he has every year for the community.  This will give us an  opportunity to interact with the community and them with us.  We are suppressing our urges to jump on the first farm we love by continuing to explore some other areas in Nicaragua.  This property is by far our number one.
  Yesterday Jimmy and I took a day off.  We searched for a couple of hours to find a cigar factory.  This is Cigar country!  After some frustration and multiple taxis we found Tabacalero Santiago.  We we warmly welcomed and given a full tour of the factory and in depth description of the process.  According to my Moon travel book (thanks Linda and Bruce) this factory is endorsed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Charlie Sheen.  They also have a contract with the Playboy mansion.
  So between the properties, dentist (dental tourism woot woot), cockfights, horse parades, hen dress up pagents and cowboys we are all staying very busy and entertained.  We are heading South, after the Christmas party, to San Juan del Sur, the island Ometepe and San Carlos.  Until next time!!!!!        

Nicaragua WOOT WOOT

So we are finally here!  Jimmy and I arrived in Managua on the 25th of November.  Stayed one night in the Piramida hotel, owned by a very informative German man. After a simple breakfast of eggs, fried banna, beans n rice we headed North.  After a couple buses and a bit of confusion (and acknowledgment of my need of Spanish lessons) We made it to Los Penitas.  It is a small beach community about 20 minutes outside of Leon.  The beaches here rival Pensacola beach's beauty.  We found a hotel named Playa Roca and dumped our backpacks in the room and headed to the beach for a beer.  I spent the next days relaxing and cruising around with Jimmy checking out some rentals.  I did much more relaxing than Jimmy.  He just can not stop planning and thinking!  After a couple of days networking with people we met, we were able to rent a house!(Much thanks to Jimmy's inability to chill out)  Found a three bedroom place with an awesome yard and were able to move in hours before our friend Iain arrived from Haiti.  It was nice to surprise him with a HOUSE!  He laughed and asked "How long have you two been here?"  Two days later Neesh arrrived from Canada.  We had our first "formal" on site discussion on what exactly we all want out of this adventure.  So here we go!  We have looked at a couple different parcels of land around here close to the coast.  Also, a bit further inland we have checked out some farms!!!  We are thinking, buy a parcel close to the beach, build a modest house there and also find a farm to start our sustainable "community?"  Still have not sorted what to call it.  LOL every time I say community I think Hippy commune.  We are all very flexible so that plan might change.  There have been some promising places, yet not exactly what we want.  So, we are off north tomorrow.  Cloud forest here we come.  We are going to start in Matagalpa then possibly to Esteli.  The land seems more lush and fertile in those areas.  I have discovered a scorpion on my backpack, an iguana on our roof, been stung in the boob by a bee and started a photo series titled "farm animals on the beach!"  Life is good. La vida es buena! Lots of love to everyone and will talk to you soon enough.