February 22, 2018 By Jenna Reid 53 Views

Trip to the Women’s Jicaro Artisan Cooperative

I had the pleasure of chaperoning my daughters class trip to Cooperativa de Producción Artesanal de Mujeres Jicareras. Located about 40 minutes from San Juan del Sur Day School in a small town next to Rivas called Buenos Aires. The artists there gave a great presentation of the process of creating beautifully hand crafted cups, ornaments, and beverages out of the jicaro gourd.

We arrived by bus to a store where they sell & showcase the handmade jicaro products

We were given a short presentation about the process of making jicaro products

The kids got to color after the presentation for a little bit

We then went to a home nearby where we were given a full demonstration of the process, starting with the jicaro tree.

Azalea was very happy with her tiny jicaro that she got to pull off the tree herself.

We were shown how at first they boil the jicaro in water with ash.

Then it is cut open at the top and the inside mulch is scooped out with a small metal spoon.

Finished product - beautifully handcrafted cups

Delicious jicaro drink made with the mulch inside, sugar, and cinnamon..

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January 10, 2017 By Jenna Reid 1 comment 129 Views

Digging a Well in Nicaragua

My husband has been annoyingly videoing every part of the process of digging our well on the property we bought in San Juan del Sur. After finding water he made this amazing video documenting the journey in reverse order. He is now forgiven for my irritation.

November 17, 2016 By Jenna Reid 35 Views

Transportation between San Juan del Sur and Rivas

A few months ago we learned that there is a cheap taxi service option between San Juan del Sur & Rivas. Its called the “collectivo.” For only $C50 (less than $2) you can catch a ride from in town San Juan del Sur to the market in Rivas and visa versa. The reason this is such a good deal is because the Rivas taxis need to get back to Rivas & the San Juan del Sur taxis need to get back to San Juan, so they wait until they are full with 4 passengers and you’re on your way… fast! In San Juan del Sur you pick it up outside of the delicious pizza place, Don Monchis. Typically the wait is no more than 15 minutes, but if you happen to be the 4th person then you can be on your way in a matter of in minutes.

November 9, 2016 By Jenna Reid 60 Views

Buying Real Estate in Nicaragua – Part 2

The day finally arrived when we could sign the paperwork and take ownership of our piece of land. We had already found & measured our lot and had been waiting for the surveyors to complete the required map. We did this crazy thing to pay the fee to get it approved & expedited. We put the needed $120 in an envelope, paid a “collectivo” taxi the $2 fair to Rivas, and sent the envelope of cash in a taxi to be delivered to surveyor’s office. I guess this is done all the time, but the process was very strange, and took some faith on our part.

We met at the attorney’s office at 2pm on a Thursday afternoon. Both parties did not fully trust the other. We were skeptical to wire the money before the seller signed and the seller didn’t want to sign before he received the wire. We worked it out that we wired at the attorney’s office and showed him the confirmation. We had previously wired a chunk of the money in our Solo 401k account to our personal bank account so that we could easily send a wire over the internet the day of. There were a couple hiccups like needing to have a SafePass account to wire an amount larger than $1k & not having a USA phone number, but a quick call to a responsible friend to see if I could use her number and she could send me the code made the process work out easily.

After a few minutes we showed a confirmation to the seller and then we stepped into the conference room where we were all read the whole real estate contract out loud. While in that room the seller and I received confirmation emails that the wire was sent, and the mood became much lighter. We paid a reasonable $520 attorney fee and drove back to San Juan del Sur with nervous & hopeful smiles.

The next day we quickly got to work clearing the property and looking for someone to start digging the well.

May 2, 2016 By Jenna Reid 11 Views

Monday Photo Dump – G’Ma is Here!

November 23, 2015 By Jenna Reid 18 Views

Hit and Run in Nicaragua

While attending a baby shower the car we were driving was victim to a hit & run. Unfortunately, the car was one my mom had rented for her two month stay in Nicaragua. We had heard that you need to make a police report before moving the car. Regrettably, this happened on a Sunday when the Nicaraguan’s enjoy a leisure day and move at an even slower than usual.

We discovered our car at about 7:15pm. Soon after, we had the restaurant we were at call the police for us. They finally arrived at 8:30pm. They wanted a copy of my license, Circulation, and Seguro (insurance). Of course, they couldn’t make the copies they needed themselves, so they drove me to a cyber cafe in a tuk tuk to make the copies. Once back at the car with the copies and after some confusion and questioning, they told me to drive the car to the police station. When we showed up, the police at the station wondered why we were there, so apparently we were not expected and no one made a call to alert them to our arrival or any of the information we’d already given. I mistakenly didn’t make copies of all cards front & back, so my husband and I had to go get more copies and come back to the station. Finally the police officer made the report, repeatedly asking a lot of the same questions. For some reason the fact that we were in a restaurant and didn’t see or hear the car when it got hit was very confusing to the police. After the report was made I signed it and was able to take the car. He told me that the report would be available 2 days later in Rivas for me to get a copy. I would need to pay the bank $C100 and then take the receipt to the police station in Rivas.

The next day we told the guy we use for all of our miscellaneous car needs what had happened. We explained that we needed our police report to submit to my mom’s credit card so the insurance would cover the damages. He mistakenly thought we needed a forged police report and we were all confused when he said it would cost $50. Once we got that figured out he said he’d make some calls and get us our report. Weeks went by and many confusing stories before we had the police report in hand. We ended up paying $C400 total, but from the sound of it, it wasn’t just a quick trip to the bank and then a nearby police station…but it never is.

Now the battle begins with my mom’s credit card insurance. A word of warning – when you opt not to use the rental car company insurance because your credit card says it will cover, make sure you read the fine print. My mom’s fine print says that it won’t cover if the car is rented for over 31 days. Unfortunately this accident happened after my mom was in Nicaragua 32 days.

June 11, 2015 By Jenna Reid 1 comment 179 Views

Moving In Nicaragua

On the move

Although our house was priced well at $1,000 per month for a North American style residential home with a pool, we were surprised to see our first month’s utilities equate to almost $650. This was an unexpected, unbudgeted for cost. We did what we could to lower the payables in the next months by cancelling cable, raising our air conditioners to 30°C (86° F) and being aware of the amount of time they were on. Our son Titus, took most of his naps without A/C except for the hottest days. We also unplugged our hot water heater and stopped using the clothes dryer. We asked the gardener only to water 2 days a week instead of 5 and explained that the pool didn’t need to be filled to the edge. We were able to cut our initial $340 electricity bill down to about $260 and our water bill from $114 to $107, but the bills still added up to more than we were willing to spend.

The higher cost of living was causing us to have to restrict our spending in ways that weren’t in line with the goals of our move. One of the reasons for our move to Central America was that it would be easy to visit the surrounding countries, so we had planned on spending three days in Costa Rica over Memorial Day weekend. This was about the time that we needed to renew our 90 day tourist VISAs so we’d be getting that taken care of and enjoying a neighboring country. Sadly, because of a depleted savings account, we opted to do a quick in & out of Costa Rica so that some money would remain in our savings account. It became clear that we couldn’t afford our beautiful home if we wanted to accomplish all the things we desired while living abroad.

We started putting feelers out for other housing options, hoping to find a place with a pool that was priced unusually low. We signed a 6 month lease and were prepared to stay in our home until it was up, but thought we might be able to find someone to take it over if we found a new place. I saw something posted for only $550 on one of the Facebook pages. It included all utilities except electricity, we jumped at the chance to have a look if for no other reason but to see what other options looked like. It was a beautiful home with lots of windows to open up and take advantage of the breezes. Every room had a ceiling fan and every door and window had a screen. The home was available immediately and at such a low price we knew we didn’t have much time.

We started searching for someone to take over our lease right away, but the task was harder than expected. This time of year (the start of the rainy season) there seems to be more available than people to rent. The next night the owner of our house called to just chat and my husband, Kharron mentioned that we were looking for someone to take over the lease because of the utility bills being so high. The landlord is a nice man and said he wanted us to enjoy our time in Nicaragua and not to worry about it. Kharron hung up and we smiled at the possibility that we’d get to move sooner than the 6 month lease. We wanted to make sure that the owner was serious about letting us out of the lease and that he was agreeing to letting us move in 4 days. He told Kharron yes and we immediately contacted the owner of the new home.

The owner surprisingly said the place was still available and unlike in the US, we saw and home and planned a move in 4 days. Luckily we had Juanita to help us pack up and thoroughly clean the home after our move! She is the only reason this quick move was possible without much stress.

The new place is furnished, but did not come with linens, dishes, towels, or cleaning supplies. The first day in the home, Juanita and I (and a friend) took an expensive trip to Rivas to buy all our household items. Unfortunately, as is always true in Nicaragua, basic items can be harder to find than you ever thought possible so little things like pot holders and ice trays remain on my To-Buy list. It was kind of fun picking out our own dishes, bath mats, and beach towels!

So now we’ve officially been in our new home for 4 nights and it already feels like home. I feel very safe knowing we have a cuiador (person who watches the home or property). The property is completely fenced in so the dogs and Azalea are able to roam without any worry of cars. There are only 3 homes built and 26 empty lots so its very quiet & peaceful. I do already miss having a pool to dunk my feet & body into on the hot afternoons, but for what we expect to be more than a $1,000 monthly savings, it is worth instead visiting the local restaurants that have public pools.

May 26, 2015 By Jenna Reid 20 Views

2 Stores and a Person

This is a little joke my husband, Kharron, and I have about what is needed to get anything done in Nicaragua. Its not always 2 stores that is needed, sometimes its only 1 store, but 2 people. The general rule is that you will not find what you need in one place by just yourself searching. You will need to speak to a local who either knows where or knows a person who can get it, but once you have it you will need to find a store that will put it together/on/fix it…

Having a “guy” seems to date back to the 1980’s when food shortages were rampant in Nicaragua, a biproduct of the Sandinista government controlling the price of most essential items. A black market or “bisnes” were created and industrious people in the busier cities hired themselves out to wait in lines for the wealthier or became “drivers” who’s sole purpose was to find what their employer was looking for. These men were and still are worth every penny. (*Blood of Brothers: Life and War in Nicaragua by Stephen Kinzer)

The first time we experienced this two-stores-and-a-person phenomenon was prior to us even moving. We had a friend who was already living in Nicaragua so we asked if he might be able to find us a car, so we didn’t have to spend our first week running around scrambling for a car. He obliged and found us an affordable 4×4 SUV. Being an American and not having residency in Nicaragua, he could not own the car himself, so he put the car title under his girlfriend’s name.

It took 2 people and the dealership to purchase our SUV.

We purchased a generator at PriceSmart (equivalent of Costco) two days after we landed. We had done our research and knew that power outages were a major problem. Kharron works as a software developer and it is very important that his access to internet is uninterrupted. Once we were moved into our first home we struggled with connecting our generator to the already wired system. When a home is properly wired, once there is a power outage, you only need to switch a lever to change the power source and turn on the generator. We needed the correct cable in order to plug into this system. One weekend day the family drove around Rivas, stopping at every hardware store (ferretería) to find the correct cable with 110 plug on one end and 220/240 plug on the other. It finally became clear that we would need to buy the 220/240 at one store and the 110 and cable at another. We then hired an electrician back in San Juan del Sur to wire the parts together. In this case, it would have been much easier to hire a “guy” to do all this running around for us, returning with a completed product.

Soon after we moved and once Kharron got an office outside the home, he decided to buy a motorcycle. This way he could get to work easily without me having to get both kids in the car to take him & pick him up from his office. We do not have residency (yet) so we cannot own a motorcycle. Luckily Juanita was happy to not only walk us through all the stores in Rivas that sell motorcycles, but also put the moto Kharron selected in her name as the owner. There are several engine checks that are needed immediately after purchasing a motorcycle, for this we used Juanita’s husband, Vicente who rode the moto the 45km back to Rivas, waited while the checks were completed and returned with paperwork and receipts. All for $8.

Most recently we needed 2 new tires for our SUV. Already having made some connections, we have a “guy” we now go to for all things related to car. So we paid Happy (yes, that’s what he’s called) because he knows someone who goes to Managua and can buy decent tires at a good price. Of course Happy nor his “driver” installs tires, so we had to go to a vulcanizadora (tire repair shop) to have the purchased tires placed on our vehicle. The most popular one in San Juan del Sur seems to be Vulcanizacion “Las Pampas”.

Once you understand and embrace this process, its really beneficial. You don’t need to do anything but pay a few bucks to a knowledgeable and trusted local once they have delivered your commodity. In return, you’re helping someone make a honest living.

All frosted with orange colored frosting

March 29, 2015 By Jenna Reid 18 Views

Making Cupcakes in San Juan del Sur

Azalea’s school was having a bake sale and since I’m not working, I thought it would be fun to make cupcakes to sell. I’ve never been a baker and I’ve pretty much only made things that required a box and a couple other ingredients, so what I needed to find was a box of cupcake mix, a jar of icing, and a cupcake tin. I had no idea that this task would take me over 3 hours to complete and that’s not including actual baking time.

I told our maid Juanita, in my terrible Spanish, of my desire to make cupcakes and she informed me that I would need to go to the closest city Rivas in order to obtain the necessary items. Rivas is about 30 minutes away, but I had the time while Azalea was in school, so I set out on my shopping adventure with Juanita as my co pilot.

We thought we would find a muffin/cupcake tin at Maxi Palí which is a bigger version of the grocery store we have in town, but there was nothing that would work. They also did not sell box mix or ready-made icing. Juanita directed me to park close to the center of town and we went on a wild goose chase through many tiny filled stores before we finally found a tin sitting on top of a shelf as high as the ceiling. It wasn’t just the tin, but it was a whole carrying case with stand! Luckily this same store also sold powdered sugar to make the icing, which I discovered I would need when Googling recipes while Juanita negotiated. We went back to Maxi Palí again to buy flour and baking powder. With my items in tow, we drove back to San Juan del Sur just in time to pick up Azalea at noon. I felt very proud of my accomplishment as I promised the other mom’s that I would be making cupcakes for the bake sale.

Our furnished rental did not come with measuring cups or spoons, so on my first experience baking from scratch, I had to eyeball the measurements. Juanita said something about putting orange juice in the mix, which gave me an idea. I brought a box food coloring with me from the US, so I mixed in orange juice and orange food coloring into the batter before baking. They actually turned out quite nice! Not bad for a first time baking.

The Road Not Taken

the 1 less traveled by

A move to Nicaragua

Rivas