Erik's Corner

Apres un voyage de 36 heures dont 3 autobus, 2 bateaux et un avion je me retrouve sur la petite île du maïs ! Apparemment je n'étais pas le seul à vouloir passer noël avec ses proches je me suis donc retrouvé avec 40000 nicaraguayens en pèlerinage vers Managua. J’ai donc du choisir un chemin plus long pour éviter de passer par la frontière de Penas Blancas. De grecia j’ai voyagé jusqu’a naranjo, zarcero, cuidad quesada et los chiles. De là je suis passé à San Carlos de Nicaragua en bateau pour ensuite prendre un bus de nuit jusqu à l’aéroport de managua. Un petit avion m’a transporté sur la grande île et ensuite un transfert en bateau…Karl et Monika m’attendaient sur la plage à mon arrivée avec la panga de 11 heures. Apres plusieurs échanges avec mes compagnons de voyage nautique nous sommes allés voir le petit nid de K & M. ils ont une jolie maison blanche et mauve sur une pointe entre deux baies de bateau de pécheur. Le jour de noël J ai suivi une formation DSD (discover scuba diving) et pour ma première plongée nous sommes partis toute la gang pour white rock avec mon prof mike de vancouver. Une superbe aventure sous marine avec vue d’une multitude de créatures dont des raies et des requins. Le lendemain nous avons fait le tour de l’île et avons fait du snorkel en face de chez heiko (casa sunrise). Le dernier jour j ai voulu retenter mon talent sous marin et nous sommes allés contempler la zone de turtle rock ou nous avons pu admirer des poissons porcupine box fish et des raies. Cette fois ci mon partner et divemaster était mon propre frère.

K & M m’ont reçus comme un roi ils m’ont préparé des petites bouffes succulentes. J ai passé un noël inoubliable en leur compagnie sur une île paradisiaque. Merci beaucoup , Joyeux noel et bonne année à tous.



Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to Everyone! We are heading to Costa Rica to welcome in 2007 with Erik in Grecia! We will keep you updated!

Adios, Monika & Karlos

Derek's Place

Derek's Place

A week of managing Derek’s Place! What a great experience. They have an excellent set up with cabins that are artisticly made with all natural material from the land. It really felt comfortable to be there and taking take of it like it was my own. The other great thing about it is that is a full kitchen with lots of different spices and an oven to make our own bread! We prepared really nice and delicious meals for both ourselves and our guests! We really got thrown into the mix of cooking for a group of people. One night we had to cook lobster for 10 persons! It turned out fabulous and Karl and I make an excellent team in the kitchen as well! We are now back in “town” and with the holidays fast approaching. It looks like we will host Karl’s brother for Christmas and then take a trip to Costa Rica into the New Year. We have been asked by Derek and Anna to look after their place again in February so we are talking and thinking about that opportunity. We are letting life unfold and seeing what opportunities present themselves. Sometimes it is easy to do, sometimes not. Take care my friends, keep well and always look forward.

Karl’s Korner
Nous avons passé 12 jours a s’occuper de Derek’s place. 6 cabanas, une cuisine et une salle de bain a part. Nous avons eu en tout 15 personnes la plupart de Européen. Un séjour très intéressant a rencontrer et prendre soin d’un petit coin de paradis sur little corn. Ce petit eco lodge est a tout point autonome. Electricite, eau. Nous avons eu l’occasion de s’occuper de qq chose de similaire a Casa Sunrise mais en tout point améliore au niveau, service et confort pour le client. Pour ma part j’ai beaucoup apprécie travailler avec le systeme solaire de éolien, batterie, générateur, pompe, tank et tout ce que autonomie dune habitation nécessite. Ils nous ont demande de s’occuper de leurs place pour le mois de Février, nous y pensons. Je vous souhaite un Joyeux noël a tous

Karlitos!

Catching Up...

North Wind
Bottle Beach

The north wind is blowing! The sea has gone from being as flat and clear as a plane of glass to being all churned up with waves you could surf on! It started on Monday (as predicted by Mr. Winnie) and it is making the lobster fisherman very happy as the choppy seas will help “shake” the lobsters from their hiding places. The season has been very slow so we will see what happens when they go out to pull traps after the winds.
These winds have caused another type of excitement on the island because it contributed to a fishing boat running into the shore. Nobody is quite sure what happened although there are a number of different stories floating around as to the cause…the captain fell asleep, the crew were all drunk, the anchor let loose and the crashed into shore. Any way you look at it, the boat is on the shore and will be there a while until it can be towed out.

We also had the chance to see the Promotion Ceremony of some of our friends children graduate. This promotion ceremony is for kids moving up from kindergarten to Gr 1 and from students moving into high school. It was really sweet to see the young ones sing their songs and recite their poems. You could see on their faces they were having fun and you could feel the pride of the parents. Our little Andrea achieved top honours in her class which she was surprised about and very excited to receive her prize.

Karl’s Korner – The other side of Little Corn
Depuis un certain temps je suis un peu négatif alors mon article le sera.
Mes principales préoccupations sont les vidanges et l éducation. C est très facile de vous envoyer des belles photos de ce petit coin de paradis mais aussi très facile de vous en envoyer des moins belles. Je ne sais pas si Monika me laissera en mettre une. Tout ce que enfants ou adultes consomme ils le crisse par terre même avec l’inauguration il y a un au d’un système de recyclage. Le maire fait pareil nous en sommes témoin chaque jour. Il n y a pas de consignation pour les bouteilles de plastique et d’aluminium. C’est le chaos lorsqu on regarde de près. Ca me fait mal au cœur de voir ça. L’éducation a sûrement une grande part de culpabilité y mais aussi le gouvernement qui n impose pas au grosses compagnies de gérer leurs bouteilles vides. Je ne sais pas si c’est mon rôle de leur dire que leurs gestions de vidange n’a pas d’allure, il faudra je pense qu il s en rendre compte par eux même. Je pense que sil me voyait commencer a ramasser leurs vidanges il se dirait parfait on pourra en crisser plus par terre.
Depuis 1 semaine il y a ce qu on appel le « north wind », qui rend la mer tourmente et le transport de Big Corn a Little Corn presque inexistant. Quelque touristes ont payer un prix de fou pour se rendre a Big Corn risquant leurs vie et celui de l’équipage pour se rendre a leur travaille a temps. Je ne pense pas que s’en valait la peine, mais qu’est a que tu veux y en a qui ont un horaire charge même face a la mort.

Nous nous occuperons d’une place d’ici 1 semaine nous vous tiendrons au courant.

Nica Elections!

Nica Elections 2006
Sunday Nov. 4 was the big day for Nicaaraguans. Election Day! Daniel Ortega, Sandinista, the new President of Nicaragua. The school became the polling station with military and police assisting the voters through the process. Part of the “rule” of an election here is that businesses are not permitted to sell alcohol a day prior and the day of the election. This made it interesting for the tourists although most places did sell to the extranjeros because (1) they were not voting and (2) it was income for the business.
The results gave mixed reactions from the locals. Some are nervous thinking that things will go back to how they were when he was in power years ago and others are excited and are optimistic that he will help the “poor” of the country. My reaction is that as long as it is a benefit to the people here that is all that matters. I will be the first to admit that I am not a lover of politics and am not well versed in the entire goings on so my feeling is what is most beneficial for the people and country as a whole is the best choice.
I have been working a bit for a hotel on the island as a bartender. It has been quite fun meeting different people, having a meal served for me (part of the package) and mixing up different drinks. I have also finished a brochure for Dolphin Dive shop which has let me in exchange dive for free. And finally, I have been giving computer classes to a couple of local girls who are keen to learn. This has been the most enjoyable and rewarding!
Time passes well for us here and we are experiencing the moments as they come! Be well friends!

Sorry no Karlos Korner today...maybe next time!

Living La Vida Corn Island

Karl the Divemaster!
Terry Tarantula








Karl’s Korner
Depuis 3 semaines, j’ai fais plus de 35 plongees rencontre Allemands, Norvegiens, Britaniques. Wier gehen tauchen, nous allons plonger en Allemand, j aurai au moins appris ca. Deux nouveaux instructeurs sont arrives a Dolphin Dive ces jours ci alors ils n’ont plus vraiment besoin de moi.
Heiko nous a demande de j’occuper de sa place encore pour qq mois, nous pensons dire non. Nous sommes tellement bien ici pour le moment, electricite presque 6h par jours, eau courante, douche et toilette. Proximite du village et 3 chambres a coucher pour $200/mois dur a battre. Il pleut tout les jours averses qui durent 10 a 20 minutes ensuite beau soleil. Nous ne savons pas encore si nous restons sur little corn un peu plus longtemps.
Saludos.

After 3 weeks, we learned this week that we are living with the mayor of Little Corn. The political structure here on the island is definitely not as defined as back in Canada. There is no mayor’s office, secretary, welcome…it is all pretty laid back. The Down’s family is really awesome. They have treated us as one of their family…sharing fish they have caught, bread they made and just in welcoming us. We have also been adopted by the family cat named Shampoo (just like Karl’s last name…Champoux).
I did not go volunteering at the school as I thought. The moment never fell into place. As it looks like we will be staying a while longer, perhaps I will make more of an effort.
I have been working on a map of Little Corn. I plan to make a brochure of the island for the tourists here of all the hostels/hotels, restaurants, beaches and dive spots.
Oh yeah, we have also another member to our family…Terry Tarantula! She was quite the surprise. We have not seen her in a while, and I don’t think I really want to.
I also tried to make bread in what the locals call a furnace but I can say that it was not a success. I didn’t put enough coals in the fire so it was not hot enough and the dough did not cook. Needless to say, I went to the coconut bread lady and bought some which saved the day for having toast for breakfast.
Karl was helping Dolphin Dive as a divemaster and did 35 dives in 15 days…a lot of diving. The dive shop is not busy at the moment, so he has had the chance to take a break from the diving. He was really enjoying the diving and meeting all kinds of people! Not much else to report. Hope all is well for everyone tuning into the blog!
Adios por ahora! Rasta MO

Ever heard of Little Corn Island?

Divemaster Karl
Our Wonderful Little House

We arrived last Saturday to our perfect place on the island. We are staying at Sharon and Winston Downs one of the "biggest" familes on the island. Karl stumbled onto this place last time and I can truly appreciate it now. Our little house is great...it has 3 bedrooms, kitchen, laundry and bathroom. I am so excited. It is awsome to have a place...our place to make ourselves at home, unpack and cook our own food! We are located on the outskirts of town on a point which gives us ease to walk to town and a great view all around. All I can say is that it feels good...our own home, next to the sea and nature. I am thankful and appreciate of all the experiences we have lived and I can say that I am happy to be back to the Little Island.
Karl has gone right into diving which is great for him and I will get into it over the next while. I am landing on my feet and reaquainting myself with everything again. We met some great people over the last couple of days and even some Japanese government workers who head up a volunteer project in Esteli. They are taking a dive course and I have been talking with them about my experience with Japanese students in Victoria...in Spanish. It has been a great way to improve my spanish!
It has been fun to reconnect with all the locals here, Miss Martha, Yeti, Bernadine & Andrea, Shana everyone is in a really good mood and the atmosphere on the island is really good. The kids are on holidays from school and will return this week. I will try to volunteer or offer help some how.
Ahora todo es bueno! Hasta llego, Rasta Mo!

Karl's Korner
Nous avons decide de ne pas se casser le bicycle et de simplement retournersur little corn. Je traville comme divemaster a Dolphine Dive et suis capable de faire un peu de sous. Ca fait du bien d'etre de retour et d'avoirnotre propre petite place.
Saludos!

Masaya

Daniel Ortega at the Masaya Market



Another month is beginning. It is incredible how fast the time flies by...Back to school for everyone in Canada but the kids here have been going to school all summer. Their school year is almost opposite to Canada's.
Masaya is a "homey" city with a festival everyday! Masayans are lively and they enjoy expressing themselves whether it be in their dancing, parades, poetry or talking in the streets. There are fireworks everyday and we finally learned why. The church starts them in the morning to chase away the bad spirits and they start them at 5 am in the morning!! A little early for my taste.
Our search for a house continues. After one week we have seen a few and are looking to see what is available. It can be a challenge being in a different culture and language. I know I have said it before, but I really know how our students felt coming to Canada not knowing the customs, language or having friends in the culture...
This has been an awesome learning experience for me...it is natural to want to place yourself in a "safe" and known position, but it is good for the body and mind to try to push outside this safety zone. Keeping in mind, that it is easier said then done, but it is good to be aware of it!!
We had the opportunity to see Daniel Ortega in person in the market. He was on the campaign trail and we were in time to see his speech. Masaya is a really strong Sandinista town and alot of people came out to support him. In talking with the locals, they have mixed feelings about the upcoming election in November. They support the Sandinista cause, but not necessarily the leader of the party. We will wait to see in the next 2 months!
Cuidate, Sandinista Mo
Karl s Corner
Nous prenons notre temps pour apprecier ce peuple et ses coutumes dans leurs vies de tout les jours.il n y a aucunes decisions de prises sur notre direction jus qu a present mais je dois vous dire que je commence a etre tanne de vivre dans mes valises et de manger au Resto.
La renovation du park centrale est terminee et on peut voir que la ville a retrouve son coeur et son ame.Ces temps ci on rememore la bataille de San Jacinto et cela veut dire que les petards a meches ,bruits de canons ambulances sons de cloches d eglises tout ca commencent a 4 am et terminent a 7 am,ca na pas l air de deranger personnes.
Nous pouvons voir dans chaque maisons que nous visitons des troues de balles sur les murs ,souvenir de la guerre des annees 80 ,ca donne un petit cachet interressant.On peut voir aussi que le prix des maisons augmentent considerablement lorsque des nord americains les visitent,ca aussi c est interressant.
Toute cette experience reste tres enrichissante et nou gardons un bon moral. Saludos Karlitos

Unexpected

San Juan del Sur



We had a really great time in Costa Rica visiting with Eric and his friends. We decided to stop in San Juan del Sur on our way back and I am glad to have been able to see this city. It is really not what I expected. I had preconceived that it was going to be very crowded, dirty and REALLY touritsy. As it turns out, it is really quite a pleasant beach/fishing village. Definately geared for the beach and surfer crowd with some of the best surf on the Pacific coast.
We are now in Masaya in search of a house for rent...a bit of a challenge, but we will see what happens. Anything is possible...even the chance of returning to Little Corn Island.
We will keep you posted. Mo

Nous avons pris 5 h pour arriver a Rivas ,une petite ville sur le bord du grand lac Nicaragua,nous y avons passe la nuit.Notre but etait d aller visiter san Juan del sur que nous avons evite jusqu a maintenant .San Juan del Sur est beaucoup mieux que ce que nous avions imagine ,OK c est ce que y a de plus touristique au Nicaragua mais y a quand meme pas de Mcdo et on peut encore y trouver des bons deals en immobiliers.A voir le nombre d agent Immobiliers je pense que je ne suis pas le seul a penser de meme.Nous avons explore les plages autours,Maderas, Majagual populaires pour les surfers qui sont tout le temps a la recherche de nouveau break (vague).DEux plages actuellement desertes et que si j avais plus d argent j y penserais serieusement a investir.Nous sommes presentement a Masaya a 17n km de Managua et nous visitons des maisons ,ce n est pas evident pantoute.Nous avons pense retourner a Little Corn pour se la couler douce et vivre simplement. nous vous tiendrons au courant: hasta luego Karlitos . Y A DES FOIS QUE LA MEILLEURE CHOSE A FAIRE C EST DE NE RIEN FAIRE PANTOUTE. KARLOSTRODAMUS

Surfing Jaco Beach

Evelyne, Eric & Karl "Hawaiin Style"

Jaco, Costa Rica is a surf town where everyone surfs or is learning to surf. I am glad we had the chance to visit and experience a bit of this world, but it is not really a place I would want to set up residence.
Grecia, the town where we are staying and where Karl's brother has a B&B (bandbgrecia.com), is really quite beautiful. It is a mountain city filled with beautiful green coffee growing valleys. It is about 30 min from San Jose, the capital, and it a great place to start a Costa Rica adventure. The people here are incredibly friendly and the setting is perfect. It is like stepping back in time to a '50's TV show where everything and everyone looks perfect!
Karl and I are having a great time here and we are looking forward to returning to Nicaragua and beginning our own project. It has been a good experience to be here to see what and how things could work!
Pura Vida and Hasta luego! Rasta Mo

Karl s corner
Nous arrivons de 2 jours de surf.Nous avons pu surfer a Jaco,Hermosa et Esterillos,tout les 3 tres connu des surfers dans le monde entier.Jaco la plus connu deviendra surement le waikiki(Hawai)de l amerique centrale .Nous avons eu beaucoup de fun Eric ,moi,Moni,et Evelyn une quebecoise venue realiser son reve d apprendre a surfer.Nous sommes revenue en autobus de Jaco a San jose ,2 heures a visiter la ville et sommes revenue a grecia pour 5 heures. Nous nous occupons occupons du B&B pendant que Eric continue sont surf trip avec Evelyn,S occuper du B&B est un bien grand mot pcq Rocio et Marilyn s en occupe tres bien seule.Nous pensons revenir vers le Nica cette semaine en visitant le sud et SanJuan del sur, la plus touristique,que nous avons evitee jusqu a maintenant. J ai hate de pouvoir analyser la difference entre les deux(nica et costa).

Costa Rica here we are!

Karlitos way
nous sommes parti de Managua samedi a 12:00 am et sommes arrive a 8:00 pm.Le prix du voyage est de 12.50$ us. Tout un choc . La difference entre le Nicaragua et le Costa Rica est flagrante.Le Costa-Rica doit avoir 20 ans d avance en tourisme et investissements etrangers et on le sent tout de suite.
Ca faisait 15 ans que je n etais pas alle au Costa Rica et 3 ans que je n avais pas vue mon frere Eric.Il a pu batir avec sa blonde Johane un magnifique B&B a GRECIA www.bandbgrecia.com a environ 40 minutes de San Jose la capitale.Ils offrent des tours dont deux que nous avons pris le lendemain,le volcan Poas et les chutes de La Paz .Les gens que nous rencontrons ici au B&B sont des gens qui desirent venir s installer soit en prenant leur retraite ou commencer une petite business ou simplement venir passer un bon moment en bonne compagnie.
Nous passerons ici environ 1 semaine avant de revenir au nicaragua et peu etre commencer a visiter des maisons .En ayant passe du temps ici je me rends compte que tout est a batir au nicaragua et que ce pays a un bel avenir.Nous vous tiendrons au courant.
Hasta Luego
Karlitos






Rasta Mo Message
We are here visiting Karl's brother Eric and I am really enjoying the experience. We are in a city called Grecia which is famous for its Metal Church. The city is quite beautiful with friendly people and a great atmosphere. We had a chance to visit the Volcan Poas and the beautiful gardens and waterfall of La Paz. I am looking forward to the next few days here in Costa Rica!
Adios & Cuidate!

In the City

Our journey has brought us into Managua. I have to say that the second time around in this city is much less intimidating. We are staying in the same neighborhood as before at a different hostel and have had the chance to encounter and explore new parts of the Barrio. Managua really is much better than what the guide books say, you just have to give it a chance.
Have you ever heard of the Ben Linder house? We did not either until talking with a few people who had worked in Managua. This is a house/meeting place for internationals and Nicaraguans to discuss what is happening in the country socially and politically. Because of his work with the local communities, the Nica people wanted to pay tribute to his spirit so with the Ben Linder house his passion and concern for the people of Nica could continue through others. The group has meeings every Thursday morning with guest speaker and is an interesting palce to network and learn more aout organizations that are in Nica.
We also learned there is a Casa Canadiense where as the name of the house indicates, is a Canada house for Canadiens in Nica to network/socialize. We hope to visit and meet some people while we are here in Managua.
All in all, we are healthy, physically and emotionally. We are looking forward to seeing Karl's brother here in Nica in couple of weeks. It should be a fun time. Cuidate, Rasta Mo!

Karl's Corner
Nous sommes de retour a Managua. Nous devions prendre soin d'un hotel sur Big Corn apres deux reunions avec les proprios nous demenageons sur Big Corn avec nos 300 livres de valise pour se faire dire que le tout etait annule. Nous etions desapointe mais cetait peu etre ce qui nous manquait pour partir notre propre affaire.
Hier nous avons rencontre Jaime de Casa Canada (www.thecasa.ca). Casa Canada est un ONG Canadienne qui s;occupe d'une multitude de projets de volontariat a travers le Nica. J'ai ete surpris d'apprendre que le college Champlain de St. Lambert a envoye plusieurs groupes d;etudiants et fait des levees de fonds pour la construction d'ecoles de Cartiers. Casa Canad ne fait pas beaucoup de bruits ni de publicitees mais aide vraiment la ou la population en a besoin. Par exemple, elle financera le diner dans les ecoles prescolaires pour stimuler les parents a envoyer leurs enfants a l'ecole pour le simple fait qu'ils seront nouris.
Nous devons aller a Leon demain matin pour rencontrer Mauricio un gars que javais rencontre lors de mon sejour au Nica en 1995. Et oui deja 11 ans.
En terminant je pourrais vous dire qu'il y a deux Nica . Celui de pacifique et celui de l'atlantique. Tout est differents, langue, coutumes, culture, facon de faire, ambiance, tout. Un peu comme le Quebec et le reste du Canada.......
Hasta luego, Karlitos
Nous pouvons maintenant pratiquer notre Espagnol.
"Allons chercher ce qui est notre, si Loin qui'il faille aller"

Big Brother Adventures

Karl´s new activity


Klaus, Monika & Karl

A great time spent with my brother! He had quite the adventure getting here...plane with mechanical difficulties, late panga, rain...but he made it and gave himself the opportunity to expereince life on Little Corn at Casa Sunrise. We passed the time talking, reading, walking and just enjoying the moments. We had the chance to have FRESH lobster that Cheryl had bought! (Thank you Cheryl!). It was really delicious and I am looking forward to eating more of it.
We also snorkled and saw a huge nurse shark, squid and this really beautiful fish that had purple and yellow ¨wings¨. It was awesome to have the opportunity to share this with Klaus. I thank him very much for making the effort to see our world and I am sure that he will remember this journey for the rest of his life!
Heiko will be returning some time next week and Karl and I have the chance to move to Big Corn to mamnage a hotel for about a month. We are discussing our options and letting ourselves go to see what door opens next for us. We have lots of ideas & directions, we are letting the opportunities present themselves to decide which door we go through!
Thanks for everything Klaus & Norm!
Cuidate, Rasta Mo

Karl´s Korner
Nous avons passe une belle semaine avec le frere de Monika. Ca lui a fait le plus grand bien de voir son grand frere pendent 5 jours. Tout va bien, il pleut regulierement, un peu chaqui jours.
Jai pu decouvreir une nouvelle activitee, le Spear gun fishing like in the movies. Je suie alle avec un expert et nous avons ramene 3 magnifiques poissons. Cést une beel facon de ramener le souper a tres bon prix!
Heiko revient en principe la semaine prochaine et nous etudions la possiblitee de manager un autre hotel pour un certain temps. Il nýa rien de certain et je vous tiendrai au courant de nos projets.
Hasta Luego, Karlitos

Quebecois

J´ai ete tres surpris de oir 3 Quebecois arriver a Casa Sunrise láutre matin. Ils ont passe ice 5 jours. Ca ma fait de bien de parler francais et de prendre des nouvelles du Quebec.
Martin, Guilaume et Caroline sont venu prendre un petit break sure Lttle Corn avant dáller sur líle de Ometepe faire du voluntariat et vivre dans une famille (pueblo hotel). Pour eux cést une facon differente de voyager et de pouvoir vivre et experimenter ce que les gens vivent tout les jours. Ils ne savent pas encore ou ils aideront mais lórganisme (La Red) qui les recerra sóccupera de les placer la ou il ya un besoin. Nous ferons des recerches pour avair plus de renseignements pous les gens que ca interesent.
Ometepe est une magnifique ile situe dans e lac Cocibolca pres de Rivas et San Juan del sur (une des plus grande reserve déau potable en ameriqu centrale) elle y compte deux volcans un sol riceh, on y cultive plantain, riz, tabac, sucre, maiz, cafe. Cette ile est probablement ce quétait le Nicaragua dans les annees 1600. Saviez vous que la route maritime reliant llátlantique et le pacifique devait ce faire au Nicaragua par le lac Cocibolca et le Rio San Juan. a lépoque les Americans ont achetes une compagnie francaise en fallite qui avait deja commence le canal de Panama. Les Americans ont abandonnes ce projet mais non sans se donner le droit a vie de le faire.
La saison des pluies est arrivee. Il nýa pas vraiement de patern sure les horraires de pluie. Il a plue pendant 3 jours et au moment our jécris il fait beau de puis 4 jours et beaucoup de vent.
Revenez nous voir, Karlitos.

RASTA Mo Corner
In the past few weeks we have had quests from Holland and Quebec. It was fun to have some fellow Canadians here at Casa Sunrise. We have been here for over 2 months now and have had a few nights without guests. It is really amazing how time flies and what our experience has been.
I have now completed my Open Water Diver course. It is awesome to dive and I am looking forward to the first dive that Karl and I do together. I think it will be a great experience. On one of my dives during my course, a nurse shark came a bit too close for comfort and was checking me out to see what I was doing in her territory. It is all good as she decided I was not a threat or her dinner and she continued on her way.
We also had some great news that my brother will be coming to visiti us from July 11-18. We are excited to have him here and to experience our world for a short time.
It definately looks like the rainy season has arrived. As Karlitos mentioned, there is no real pattern to the rain. You can be looking at the sky and because it has been so windy, you can see the clouds full of rain come onto the land. It is pretty awesome to see. With the wind, it is also keeping the biting bugs away!
Until next time, cuidate! Rasta Mo

Empty Nest

Our long term visitors, Fernando & Laura left on Friday morning. They were with us for 1 month and now they are onto their next adventure. Not sure where they will be, but they want to continue their journey of entertaining with juggling and making jewellery. They are talented. I was fortunate enough to have received a beautiful necklace with a charm made from cocnut from them for by birthday. We wish them weill with much success.
I also took my first dive for my open water course and it went really well! I competed all my tasks and we saw moray eels, nurse sharks and lobster. I am really excited to becom certified and look forward to discovering new underwater worlds.
The island is pretty quite and the locals are looking forward to next week because that is when they can start fishing lobster again. I think this will change the feel and energy of the island because everyone will be busy and they will have money. There are about 2000 people that live and work here with no real infrastructure. Stores are open some days, sometimes kids go to school. We are enjoying our experienc ena dour opportunities as well as looking forward to operating our own harmoniacasa! We have been talking alot about it and we are planning how we would like it to be and also where we would like it to be. There are a couple of places in NI that have made an impression on us so we are leaning to those places. Stay tuned for more details to follow in the next while! Adios, Rasta Mo

Karl´s Korner
La mer est belle ce matin. Nous sommes maintenant seaul a Casa Sunrise et ici lorsquíl y a personne on se croit seul au monde. Aucun bruits autres que celui de la nature, la mer, les oiseaux. De temps en temps le bruit dúne panga (chaloupe a moteur) conduit par un pecheur. Quest ce que le faisais avant? Je regardais probablement trop de nouvelles, trop dínformation. Je dois vous avouer quíl y a quelques petites choses qui me mancue, un bon bain chaud, une palette de chocolat (zero), le pennes sauce rosee avec saucisse italienne et pistache a Charlotte et une bonne bouteille de Salice de Salentino ou un Cote Roti un des prefere a Gilles.
Cette semaine les roles sont inverses, Monika plonge tout les jours pendant que je garde le fort, elle aura enfin sont openwater et jen suis bein fier.
la vie est belle profitez en. Saludos, Karlos

Tranquillo...tranquillo

I saw the Man from the Old Man and the Sea today. His small boat pulling in and selling his catch to those who wanted it...and back out again to reap the rewards from the sea. Pretty much the daily routine on Little Corn.

We hadAlison from Austrailia stay with us for a night and she was awesome to have around. She taught me how to make breead in the wood fire which I am totally excited about! She has travelled alot and is very outdoorsy and hgas done alot of camping & guiding in the wilderness and is very familiar with very little. She became my mentor for the day!

We also celebrated my birthday here @ Casa Sunrise by enjoying the beach and just appreciating the moments we have experienced here. We ¨went out¨to dinner at Farm Peace Love which is a place two ¨doors¨down from us that rents rooms and serves meals. Bing Crosby is from the island and his wife Paola is from Tuscany, Italy. She is a fabulous cook and we had the most amazing meal since being in Nicaragua. Pasta which the fantastic cheese that her Dad had brought from Italy followed by a spinch torte and the most amazing mousse type dessert. We were also able to enjoy bottle of red wind which was a real treat...Salice Sanentino Rosso 2004...incredible. It was a great day and a nice change of pace for Karl and I.

Karl´s Korner
Le centre de plongee ma demande de diriger des plongees pour les depanner le temps quil sén trouve un autre (divemaster). Je pourrai plonger gratuitement et aussi pouvoir gagner quelques dollars. Super!
Depuis un mois nous avons des clients Fernando et Laura, ils partent la semaine prochaine et je pense que ce sera tres tranquille apres leurs depart. Les touristes se font rare et le mundial de soccer qui commence. Tranquille, tres tranquille.
La fete de Monika a ete un succes. Nous sommes parti main dans la main, sur la plage, manger un super bon plat de pate dans une petite auberge tenue par une italienne et son mari un ïslander¨. Cétait magique. Ma jolie etait tres heureuse!

New Month

Helping the neighbor kids with homework
Enjoying the moment!

A quiet week @ Casa Sunrise. I have learned a few new receipes from Laura & Fernando which are really delicious & easy to prepare. Laura taught me how to make Arepas which are a traditional Columbian ¨tortilla¨made with corn flour, water, salt and sugar & fried in a pan. They are awesome with rice & beans. Fern taught me how to make this great Spanish rice which is really easy & tasty!

We had a few visits from the neighbors children this week. Karl took a photo of me helping them with their homework and afterward he went and took them for a water adventure. They are alot of fun and they are helping us practise our spanish as that is all they speak.

We are at another full house this weekend. A couple for one night...he is from Britain and she is from Finland and a single women traveller from Austrailia for the next couple of nights. It is great and also challengin as we are trying to adapt ourselves to someone else´s vision and we have our own that sometimes are very different. It is a great experience and learning opportunity for us both in personal and business ways!

I have to take this opportunity to also wish my father a Happy Birthday! Everything is great and I hope that you have a wonderful day and my thoughts are with you Dad!

Sorry no Karl´s Korner today...next week we promise

Adios por ahorra...Monika & Karl

Beautiful Day

Karl´s Pineapple Patch Our ¨family¨

Red Sky at night sailors delight...Red Sky in the morning sailors take warning...
Tonight we are watching the sunset and it is a pretty red sky so hopefully if the saying is true we will be in for another great day tomorrow.
I can also see the dive boat is out for their night dive . Karl says the diving here is really incredible. Lots to see with clear visability. I have not been diving since we first arrived, but we will see what happens in June.
Hard to believe that we have been here almost a month. (we arrived April 30). It has been a great adventure with lots of good days and some difficult days. Living like you are permanently camping can be a bit of a challenge sometimes...obviously we are surviving :)
Our puppies are turning 4 weeks old. They are absolutely adorable and quite fasinating to see the change in personalities and growth. Karl has his cat the ¨Gangsta¨and I have all the dogs :). We are having quite a bit of fun with the whole thing.
We are now back to us and another couple here at Casa Sunrise. It was awesome having a full house and we will see what the next few weeks bring us.

Karl´s Korner
Aujourdhui jai vue un coconut tomber
La mer est tourmentee depuis une semaine donc la plongee nést pas a son meilleure.
Nous contintuons de travailler sur le terrain et de decouvrir de nouveaux arbres et fruits.
Chaque ensignes indiquant le chemin pour Casa Sunrise ont ete volees ou enleve il y a de nombreuse trails pour se rendre partout sur lile a pied, et croyeq moi une enseigne te rassure de temps en temps que tu es sur le bon chemin. Notre Australien nous a conte son trip de retour a 3h du matin un peu eneche, assez comique. ¨Couldn´t find the trail mate.¨ Jen ai refait 2 a des intersections importantes.
A part ca tout va bien. Nous sommes dans une routine et il semble que le temps passe tres vite, de ja presque 1 mois que nous sommes ici. Rasta Mo va bien aussi, elle a un peu de misere avec les moustiques, mais a part ca elle est de bonne humeur. Autre petite nouvell, notre voisin a termine son canoe quil a sculpte dans un tronc dárbe, cetait incroyable de voir sa fierte lorsquil est parti pecher avec son fils cette fin de semaine. Je vous souhaite une super semaine. Saludos, Karlos

Full House

Sorry, no photo today :(

We have rented both cabins! Our first ¨Full House¨! We have one couple, Fernando from Spain & Laura from Columbia, staying for a month and Kate, Scott and Matt, from Austrailia, here for a few nights.Everyone is great and it is fun to have lots of different people around. We are really happy and excited and it definately gives us the encouragement that doing something like this is a possibility.

It has been a bit stormy over the last couple of days. Usually the beach is still & calm, but these days, it has been very rough & choppy with alot of wind & rain. They really mean that when it rains, it rains! The good part with all this rain comes fresh pineapples and avocado that we can pick right from the source here on Heiko´s place. We are really appreciating the opportunity that presented itself to us. It is really incredible to be able to live here on Little Corn and to put ourselves in the position of managing Casa Sunrise. Life is like that...it presents you opportunities and if you are open & ready, everything falls into place!

Karl´s Korner (typed by Rasta Mo)
Les ananas sont prosque pret les avocats aussi. Lárbe de papaye nous en donne une par semiane. Le Manguiers nous en donne un par jours. Banane et coconut a volonte. Lamadier aussi est tres genereux, il sagit juste de les faire secher ou simpliment prendre les seche parterre, les craquer, et deguster.

Une journee type commence par une petite marche sur la plage quelques exercices, ensuite je part le feu pour le cafe et le gruauf. Nous commencons par le menage du terrain, ramassen les branches, les coconuts. Faut dire quíl y a beaucoup de ¨socializing¨lalors le travail avance mais pas trop vite. Nous avons entrepris le menage et reparation dune cabinas. Pendant que Monike, lavait les murs je reparait les marches et changais les pentures rouillees par le vent marin (vraiement dur sur les batiments). Grace a Monika nous somme complets, elle a vraiment du talent pour mettre les gens en confiance. Si ca vous interresse de venir nous voir et vivre une belle experience sur ene ile ou le mot Wallmart et Burger Kinng nont aucune importance. Il nous tera un plaisir de vous accueillir. Ca fait 3 semaines que je nai pas regarder la t.v et le journeal alors. Je ne sais pas quelle betise Bush ou Harper ont tait encore, je sais par contre que qujourdhui je nirai pas plonger p´cquil ne fait pas tres beau.
A la proxima...Karlos

Casa Sunrise

Our first week of management of Casa Sunrise and we have had 2 couples stay with us! It has been a bit of hard work and lots of fun! It is really paradise here! We have been enjoying a Breakfast of champions...fresh picked bananas, coconut, papaya and mango with cerel! Heiko has over 10 acres of land and it is filled with fruit trees! We are really hbappy about that! The soil is also so fertile here..you can grow anything, so we plan to try! We will test out our green thumbs. We also have 6 puppies running around from Bobo the ¨guard dog¨. They are so cute!! We also have this awesome cat we call the Gangsta, just because he is the king of the land. Just what we wanted, land animals and beach! We have seen our dream come together with the practise run of managing Casa Sunrise!
The culture here on the island is so different from the Pacific side of Nicaragua. Most of the islanders speak 3 languages, English, Spanish and some form of Creole. The kids are great and they want to play and practise their English. Tourism is a fairly new adventure here and it has increased over 25% in the last year. The main economy here is fishing, but the season is closed for about 4 months, so having another option of tourism is a great alternative! The island is simple community living with the basics. There is power (sometimes), water (sometimes) and definately beautiful land and people (all the time!).
We also had the opportunity to visit on Big Corn Island which is a 30 minute Panga (boat) ride from Little Corn. There we met up with a fellow Canadian who assisted us with infor for obtaining our residency. It was great to meet him in person as well as have the opportunity to tour the island. Christian is starting his own real estate company on Big Corn called Caribbean Dream Realty. We wish him well with his business!
As the power is a bit limited as well as internet, we will be posting more sporadically! We will try our best to keep in touch! Take care and maybe we will see you soon in our island paradise!

KARL´s KORNER
Nous sommes ici a Casa Sunrise depuis 2 semaine dega dont une semaine sane le proprio. On prend soin de 3 cabinas sur le bord de la mer et croyez moi ils ont besoin de soin. Heiko le proprio nést pas tres fort sur la menweseniw, alors je raboutte ici et la. Nous avons recu nos premier cliente cette semaine. Nous les avons quasiement supplier de rester, sans farce et je pense quils nous ont paye avec un faux billet american...¨ah¨.
On le saura cette semaine. Je plonge assez souvent et le fond marin est magnifigue pas tres profond et plein de vie. En ce moment nour avous assez d´ouvrage comme ca je prend mon temps. Pas délectricite seulement un panneaux solaire pour 3 cabina et 1 bodega, 1 puits avec une eau excellente, la cuisine se fait aux bois de marche de lágglumeration. En ¨ville¨ lélectricite fonctionne 4 heures par jours, alors internet ici´nést pas accessible et tres cher.
Saludos, Karlos
( We apologize in advance, because I typed Karl´s Korner so if there are mistakes, it is my fingers, not Karl :))

Little Corn Island ~ Caribbean Paradise!

We have been here for almost 1 wee and what a beautiful, tranquil paradise. We are staying at a place called Casa Sunrise located at the north end of the island. This beautiful place was named by the Dali Lama in 1997 as the Compassion Centre as the owner Heiko Rah is a budhist and wanted to make this place a paradise to "chill out" and come back to ourselves. I think he succeded!
It is situated on 180 degrees of beach where you can see both the sunrise in the morning and the sunset in the evening without having to leave the beach! Incredible. Karl and I are going to be living and running Casa Sunrise for the next couple of months because the owner is heading back to Germany. We are really happy to have this pleasure. It works out for Heiko and also gives us the experience and joy of living in such a beautiful place. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like more information about the place...we would love to share and even see you here!
On another note, I also experienced my first ever dive! Can you believe it we saw nurse sharks! I almost full on one, because I was having a tough time staying equalized, but I survived! It is such an incredible sensation being underwater, breathing and seeing all this amazing life under the water! It was my first, but definately not my last!
That is it for today from Little Corn, but stay tuned for more!

Achievement

We did it! This past Monday we received our 1 year residencia for Nicaragua! Yahoo! All the efforts of planning and organizing paid off. It was a great relief and we had great assistance from our lawyer Luis Boniche. Anyone interested to recieve their residencia, let us know and we can give you his info!

Now that we have this opportunity to stay in the country for 1 year, our next plan is to head to the Corn Islands. These are 2 little islands on the Atlantic side of Nicaragua located in the Caribeean ocean. We are really looking forward to our adventure. We are planning to stay at Casa Sunrise and we looking forward to being in a new setting especially on the beach!


This morning here in Managua, we also discovered this super place called Tonelli. It is a women's coop bakery and the atmoshphere, food and people are wonderful. Can you believe that it is only 2 blocks from where we have been staying and we just discovered it today. We would definately return to help support the ladies and the coop.


We also learned about this very interesting product created from a tree called El Ojoche. It is extremely high in vitamins, minerals and proteins. We are really intrigued to learn more about this and we will keep you posted! Here is what it looks like...





Karl s corner:
Je magasine les tickets pour aller a corn island ce matin.Je pense que nous allons faire le voyage en autobus et bateau ,autrefois un trip risque ,12 heures d autobus et 3 heures de Pangas jusqu a bluefield et ensuite un autre 3 heures de bateau en mer ,on economise 100 $ et on verra du pays.Je sais que je n aurai pas le mal de mer ayant fait un peu de chaloupe dans les dernieres annees ,pour ceux qui savent ce que je veux dire, mais je suis moin sur du sort de Monika ayant le mal de mer sur le traversier entre Victoria et Vancouver,enfin on verra. J espere pouvoir vous donner de supers photos de plages et decors paradisiaque.Saludos

New Activities & Friends

My first day of school...Spanish school that is! I am taking a one week intensive course at Viva Spanish School. It has been going well and I feel like I have re-enforced my base of Spanish. Now, I just need to practise speaking!! I think that speaking and listening are the 2 hardest skills to develop. I really understand and can appreciate how our students at FCLI felt learning English! Learning another language is not easy, but I have to say I am having a good time experimenting and trying. I am also feeling better about Managua and feeling more comfortable about the neighborhood and the people that are in it!

We also had th opportunity to be able to see a worker owned free trade sewing coop in action in a city just outside Managua called Cuidad Sandino. This coop was created after Hurricane Mitch to help the families living in the area earn money to support themselves. This buiness is different in that it is the first worker owned coop where the workers make most of the decisions with regards to production, ordering and salaries. This is not a sweat shop...it is just the opposite...a sweat free shop! To learn more about it visit their site at http://www.fairtradezone.jhc-cdca.org/index.htm or contact us for more details. We were able to have this opportunity by going to Miraflor the previous week and meeting a wonderful family...Paul, Becca & Averling. Becca works at the coop assisting with some of the communication in English for the plant and Paul designs and makes furniture. Averling who is only 4 months is working on her skills and she is pretty cute :)



They also invited us to their home in the small village of Cuajachillo. It is located pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but the people around them and the views are awesome! We were also curios to see their house as they constucted it from rice straw! It is a beautiful piece of art and they are a beautiful family! Thanks again Paul, Becca & Averling!


Karls corner: On commence a s installer,se faire des amis voir d autre monde que des touristes.C est special le feeling d etre un etranger et de sentir que les gens te regardent comme si tu etais previlegie et eux non. Nous avons passe du bon temps avec Paul et Becca,de voir Paul m expliquer comment il a batit sa maison en detail,comment il s approvisionne en eau , comment il a trouve chaques materiaux et ce qui est difficile et ce qu il est moin.Ayant passe plusieurs annee a batir toute sortes de patentes je peux vous dire que ce que j ai vue ici etais comme un reve.De retour a Managua ce matin ,on en profite pour repondre a nos email et se preparer pour notre rendez vous de demain au ministerio extranjera. Nous posterons surement sur comment le tout s est deroule. A la proxima

Semana Santa Adventure

Central Park in ESTELI

Thursday....ESTELI

We decided to adventure outside of Managua as it was the beginning of Seman Santa. You may ask what Semana Santa is? It is the equivalant of our Easter weekend and so pretty much everything closes and everyone goes to the beach. We decided to do the opposite and head inland into the mountains of Esteli. This is a very clean and community oriented town. The people were very warm and friendly and eager to help. They are very proud and noble community of people with strong Sandinista sentiments. It is very much an agricultural community with alot of organic products as well as being into natural remedies and medicanal herbs which is something that really attracted us to come and visit Esteli. We met a fellow Victorian and we all decided to travel together to Miraflor which is a nature reserve/cooperative of the local farmers on Friday. The rest of the afternoon we spent exploring the city and enjoyed a wonderful lunch at a restaurant that served soy products and then dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant which was really quaint.

Friday...MIRAFLOR

With the aid of some wonderful Estellians, we were able to take a taxi up into Miraflor as all the buses were not running as of Good Friday. We stayed at a wonderful homestay run by Dona Corina and she makes fabulous meals and runs a great farm with horses and a small coffee plantation. We ventured around the farm and heard some amazing sounds from the birds and animals around as well as smelled some sweet wonderful mountain fresh air. We really enjoyed our experience!

Dona Corina's farmstay experience

Now Karl s corner: Nous avons passe une super fin de semaine a explorer Esteli et ses environs .J ai senti une fierte chez les gens de cette ville que je n ai pas vue ailleurs ,ces gens ont du combattre dans les annee 80 les contras supportes par les Etats Uni . Une ville purement Sandinista.J ai remarque plusieurs magasins de produits Naturelles ,Une belle vue sur les montagnes et sa riviere qui borde cette petite ville au allure colonial.

Miraflor est a 1 heure de voiture de Esteli,C est une reserve narurel d une superficie de 206 kilometre carre,il parait qu il y a du quetzal, plus de 200 sortent d orchidees,coyotes,singes et plusieurs autres .Pres de cette Reserve plusieurs Familles ont de petites Finca(fermes) ou ils recoivent des gens ,cette fin de semaine surtout des allemands et americains venue en famille echaper a la foule des plages. Nous avons pris de magnifiques photos et du super bons temps.Nous prenons des notes sur ce que les gens aiment lorsqu ils voyagent et ca servira surement dans le futur.J aurais aime partager un peu plus avec vous ce magnifique coin de pays que voici.Saludos

Masaya! Masaya! Masaya!

We decided to check out Masaya this weekend and we are really glad we did. It is a quaint little town with two markets. One is more of a souvenir market and the other is a place where you can find everything from underwear to fresh meats. It was nice to see another place outside of Managua. Our buseta ride back was interesting as our driver and assistant decided to cram in as many people as he could...I think there were about 20 people in basically a minivan. Not really strict on their regulations :)
We also walked to the top of Volcan Masaya on Sunday. This is a volcano that has not had any eruptions since 2001 around the same time of year. The total hike to the top is around 6km and let me tell you it certainly felt much longer than 6km. It was early afternoon and VERY hot and VERY steep...we made it which felt great! It was pretty amazing to see the inside of the crater...it was also very smelly as it was steaming sulphur! We were able to hitch a ride back down to the entrance with a couple from Italy who are now living here in Nicaragua as farmers! There are lots of different people here from all over the world.
I really enjoyed Masaya and would go back there again. It definately had a great vibe to the city!

Karls corner: Masaya est moin touristique que Granada ,j ai vraiement aime cette ville. Le Volcan j etais alle en 1995 alors pour moi rien de nouveau.Incroyable le nombre de personnes qu on peu rencontre lorsqu on passe un peu de temps dans un Hospetage, les Canadiens qu on rencontre ici reste pour moi les plus friendly ,je ne commencerai pas a annalyser chaque nationnalitees . Demain nous rencontrons notre avocat pour en savoir un peu plus sur notre situation et ce qu il est possible de faire pour rester ici un certain temps. C est drole mais je n ai pas grand chose a dire aujourd hui .Salut .

Everyday living in Managua

Friday morning and it is laundry day! Not much going on today...just doing our things and enjoying the heat. No plans for travelling at the moment as next week is Semana Santa which means everything is closed and everyone heads to the beach. I think we will wait until the following week when it is a bit quieter and more mellow. In the meantime, we plan on doing some day trips into Masaya and Leon which is an easier bus trip.

Karl s corner: wow ca fait presque 2 semaines que nous sommes ici a Managua,nous faisons presque partie de la famille Vanegas maintenant, J ai repare leur salle de bain hier et Monika fait du lavage ce matin. Le but etait de finaliser nos papiers avant la fin de la journee etant donne semana santa nous serions oblige d attendre une autre semaine ,ca regarde assez bien. Je pense que nous avons fait le tour de ce qu ils y avaient a voir ici,pour moi une ville est moin interressante que la nature alors j ai bien hate de plonger et de sentir la mer. Revenez nous voir.
QQue vous pensez du theme, "Venez nous voir sur notre Ile". Bien sur seulement si on s installe sur Corn island.N hesitez pas a nous donner vos suggestions ,nous sommes tres ouvert a vos commentaires.Bonne fin de semaine.

Laguna de Apoyo

We left for the laguna on Satuday morning from the Hotel Oasis. They arrange a bus to pick up and drop back off to the hotel for about $3 us/person. A bit expensive but it is right on time and drops you at the front door of our hostel Craters Edge. This is a new place that opened about 5 months ago and is owned by a Canadian from get this...Vancouver. Her name is Ann and she is a fabulous hostess and runs a wonderful business. It was a relaxing time as well as a good experience to see how this kind of business could be run.
The drive up to the laguna is quite something. Driving through little villages and seeing and feeling the climate and vegetation change is awesome. The laguna itself is a volcano that with time, filled up with water that is CLEAR BLUE! They have measured it to be 200 meters deep, but they think it is actually deeper at some points! It also contains fish that can only be found here in Laguna de Apoyo. They have created a Ecologico Projecto with studies and reports on the information in the lake as well as working on reforesting the area. They also offer Scuba diving, Spanish classes and volunteer opportunities with the children in the village. The laguna is the cleanest water in Nicaragua that provides a 6km swimming pool to the area. Here you can also see many kinds of exotic birds, monkeys and beautiful rare butterflies.

We returned to our base on Sunday afternoon as we had lots planned for Monday. Monday was the day to pick up our documents after being certified at the Canadian embassy which was a success (expensive, but successful...this was actually the most expensive part of the process so far!). We also certified our documents at the Bank and then onto the Ministeria de Relaciones Exeriores. It was a big learning curve, but alot of fun and a great sense of satisfaction after completion. We also met with a great lawyer who is assisting us with the next step of obtaining residencia as well as registering a business. His name is Luis Boniche and so far so good! We are meeting with him tonight to sign some documents for him to move forward in the process which we are really excited about.

Now Karl "s corner.

une super fin de semaine on a tout les deux pris des coups de soleil(DEUX LOBSTER).on a rencontre un quebecois a Laguna son nom est Normand ,une soixantaine d annees ,un original de la ville de Ham pres de Sherbrooke ,imagine, il connait Richard Desjardin en personne,et on avait des connaissances en commun , que le monde est petit,wow.il voyage seul comme un gypsy d une ville a l autre.Ca fait du bien de voir des gens comme ca ,ca m inspire,j irai voir son site web www.museeincroyable.com . Savez vous quoi a Managua le dimanche y a personne ca a l air qu il sont a la plage.J essaie de pas repeter ce que MOni ecrit en anglais mais ca se peut que des fois ca arrive,ha ,ceux qui me connaissent savent pourquoi.J ai parle a Eric hier soir ,ca ma fait du bien d y parler ,ca doit faire 2 ans que je ne l ai pas vue et j ai bien hate,il sera au quebec en avril . A la proxima.N oubliez pas tout est possible dans la vie.

Granada

We decided that we did not want to spend the weekend in Managua so we took a trip into Granada. Our bus driver was trying to break the speed record in getting here! We took a Buseta which holds about 15 people, takes one hour and it cost us $2US...not so bad. Granada is the oldest city in the Americas and it has a very different atmosphere than Managua. You can see ALOT more tourists and the whole feeling is lighter. The architecture is amazing and the centre park is really fun with people selling all kinds of food and trinkets! Let's just say I am happy to be here! There are alot of things to see and local areas to explore. We are thinking to visit Laguna de Apoyo tomorrow and perhaps the little islands {Las Isletas] on Sunday. We also discovered a Canadian owned shop called Mavericks. The owners name is Nadine and she has been in Granada for about 2 years running her store. She sells coffee, tea,local art, clothes and books with a gorgeous courtyard to take a break. It was fun to have met with her.

We also had the opportunity the met with a former student of FCLI, Karla. It was fun to meet with her and practise our spanish. We also laughed, because now the roles are revised, she is the teacher and information provider and I am the student learning new things everyday!

now Karl"s corner
Comment allez vous. Monika a decide de me laisser un petit coin pour ecrire mes penses et on a decide d appeler ca Karl s corner . Je sui content d etre ici A Granada pcq Monika peu enfin voir un cote du Nicaragua qui lui donne confiance en notre projet,avec tout ce que les gens disent du Nicaragua ce pays reste meconnue et Managua n est pas mais pas du tout ce que le pays est vraiement. Ici on rencontre plein de gens qui font comme nous ,soit voyager soit pour partir une business soit pour acheter une maison et se retirer. Saviez vous que Granada etais une sinon la plus vieille ville of the Americas et oui . Beaucoup de canadien de l ouest et de l est ,europeen aussi ,moin d americains , ils disent que c est le prochain ANTIGUA. Demain le Laguna de apoyo , j aimerais rencontrer une canadienne qui a parti une auberge sur le bord de la Lagune et discuter de ses experiences .Venez nous voir demain j aimerais partager avec vous mes experiences.Oh oui mon espagnol de s ammeliore pas, je suis tout melange.

Sites of Managua

Day 4 in Managua...the city is becoming easier to wander around. We also have met Oscar the Taxi driver who is a great driver and a great man! He has given us his cell phone so all we have to do is call and he is pretty much there! It costs us 30cords ($2US to go anywhere in the city).

We made it to the Canadian embassy today. An interesting experience as they do not speak English at the reception. They do speak French and of course Spanish. Needless to say, Karl did all the talking. We then headed to MetroCentro for a great Nicaraguan grown coffee. Our other adventure of the day took as to Laguna Tiscapo. This is a volcanic lagoon in the middle of the city with alot of history from the Samoza's, offering a Canopy tour and great views of both Lake Nicaragua to the north and the new Cathedral (with a very interesting design) to the south.

Sorry no photos today...we did not bring the camera. Look forward to posting some photos tomorrow and new info!
Bonne journee, on se donne un goal par jours et il me semble qu on avance ,aujourd hui c etait l authentification des documents notaries par notre notaire et ensuite authentifie par la chambre des notaire du quebec et ensuite authentifie par le consulat du canada au nicaragua pcq nous n avons pas d embassade du nicaragua au canada,,,,,, est se que vous me suivez,,, anyway cela a bien ete.Prochaine etape former une petite entreprise "libro commerciante" ou persona natural pour obtenir notre carta de residentia(resident permanent) ce qui nous permettra de rester au pays sans avoir a sortir(if I can pull it off,,,so far so good). Je vais vous tenir au courant de ce processus.Demain j aimerais bien aller a Granada,,,,,, Tant qu a attendre des documents nous irons voir du pays.

More of Managua

Las Ruinas de la Cathredal Vieja

We moved this morning to a hospadaje called Casa Vanegas which is run surprisingly by the Vanegas family. It is in the same neighborhood as our other hotel...only about 5 blocks from the Crowne Plaza where the famous Howard Hughes stayed.

Casa Vanegas is a family oriented hostel with about 6 rooms. The family is a wonderful group of people....Marielena, Yvonne & Arlene make you feel at home and part of the family...small place but with alot of heart and care put into it. It is exactly what we are looking for! And much more economical for our budget! We even get to enjoy Marielena's home cooking and tonight it is Spagetthi Bolognese! Yummy!

We spent part of the afternoon walking around Lago Nicaragua and seeing the old historical sites as per the photo posted. This cathedral was ruined in the earthquake in 1972 and was never rebuilt due to lack of funds. It is a beautiful building. We also walked through the Palacio Nacional de Cultura where you can see art, artifacts and also tributes to the famous Nicaraguan poet Ruben Dario. Walking around the lake was interesting...it has a boardwalk which was pretty quiet at this time of year. It is a beautiful part of town...it is just really unfortunate that the Lake is so polluted and contaiminated that you cannot have any water activites on the lake. Maybe it will change in a few years!
To end the day, we took a ride out to the MetroCentro which is a big modern higher end mall. There we took a Nicaraguan coffee and enjoyed the air conditioning as today reached about 33 degrees. We got a taste of what Managua will be in 10 years!

Leon & Playa des Rocas

We had a great day yesterday with our guides Carlos & Luis. With them we were able to see alot in a short time.

Our first destination was Leon. On the way, we were able to see many small villages, fincas (farms), and factories. We were also able to see the everyday living of the people. On the way back to Managua we stopped at this beautiful beach called Playa des Rocas. All along the beach there are homes, small hotels and restaurants. We decided on a restaurant and ate some great fresh fish and drank some icy cold beer. We also decided to take a swim which was a great refresher from the really hot day!
It was a great day and we look forward to more of the same!
J avais juste une idee dans la tete et c etais de plongee dans la mer et c est exactement ce qu on a fait hier ,on dirais que maintenant je peux relaxer et passer a autre choses.Nous pensons passer qq jours a Managua pour visiter et s informer des possibilitees.

We're Here!

It is Sunday morning and Karl and I are relaxing in our wonderful hotel in downtown Managua. We had an extremely LONG day of travel yesterday from being at the airport in Toronto at 4:30 am and then having a 7 hour layover in San Salvador for our plane to Managua! The flights were smooth with excellent service.
Immigration into Nicaragua was a bit of an experience as they only gave us a 30 day visa. This only means we have to go to the INTUR office to extend...not that big of a deal...we just thought we were going to have at least 90 days.
We had reserved a hotel from our Nicaragua information site called El Conquistador and they met us at the airport with a great big smile and welcome. The accomodations are clean, spacious (we have a huge room) with a private bath and they serve breakfast. We would recommend it to anyone!
Today we are relaxing and taking in the sites, smells and tastes of Managua. We will probably take up an offer from one of the staff at the hotel to take us around town...he is a really nice guy and it will be a great way for us to practise our Spanish (just for the record Karl is doing really well, me well, the words are in my head, I just have to get them over my tongue!)

Quelques petits mots en francais ca fait du bien aussi.nous sommes bien heureux d etre arrive et aussi tellement content de parler un peu espagnol car malgre que le tourisme semble vouloir decoller les gens ne parle pas vraiment l anglais et ce meme a l areoport. Je peux vous dire qu il y a toute une difference entre le nicaragua de 1995 et celui de ce matin mais ca on va avoir le temps de le decouvrir et ce n est pas ce matin qu on fera un portrait general. nous allons poster tres regulierement alors svp revenez nous voir.Oh voyez vous CHE sur la photo.

Nicaragua Here we Come!

Karl's brother Eric surfing!

Friday March 24, 2006

Karl and I are here in Missassauga at the Travelodge on Dixon Rd. spending the night to catch our 8:05 am flight to San Salvador with a 7 hour layover onto Managua, Nicaragua arriving at 8:30 PM! We have planned a pick up at the airport with the driver from El Conquistador hotel right in the heart of downtown Managua. Karl is looking forward to seeing what has changed since his last visit in '95...and me, well, I am really looking forward to meeting the people and more about the culture and language. We are also trying to arrange a meeting with Karla, who I met through FCLI, who is a Nicaraguan and goes to school at UPOLI university in Managua. We have been in contact with her and are looking forward to seeing her!

We have spent an amazing 4 months at the chalet that we cannot even begin to describe what it provided for each of each of us and now we are ready to continue our journey onto Central America...specifically Nicaragua.

We travelled from Montreal from Charlotte & Gille's apt onto Burlington to visit with Henry and show Karl my "old" turf. It was a fun, exciting and thoughtful filled day.

Please return to our blog to learn about where and what we are doing and we promise to share our Nicaraguan adventures with you so you can learn more about this intriguing and wonderful country and culture.

Merci de nous visiter et svp restez en contacte avec nous,Karl et Monika.

Visiting my Old Neighborhood

THANK YOU , THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

I want to extend a true thank you to everyone for making my visit to Ontario very complete and special. Everyone made such an effort to make our meetings happen and I really appreciate the time that was spent together.
Coming back to Toronto after 4 years of being in BC was like completing a circle. It was great to see my old neighborhood and to see the changes and the things that had stayed the same. It also made me realize that I am really content and sure of my decisions and choices that I have made for myself and my life direction.
Karl and I are moving forward with our plans to travel and we will keep you posted. We are thinking the end of March or early April. We are considering our options and are very much enjoying being very free to be able to make spur of the moment choices.
Keep checking the blog for more news!