harmonia: Homestay, Activities, Language Studies

Hotel management au Bucaneer Inn

2008-04-02T19:40:00.003-07:00

Eh oui, nous voici maintenant manager au Buccaneer Inn à Nanaimo. Depuis maintenant un mois que nous sommes ici et apprenons la façon dont fonctionne ce petit hôtel de 13 chambres. Notre travaille consiste à recevoir les gens prendre des réservations organiser les activités et aider au bon fonctionnement de ce petit hôtel. Dave et Marlene sont les propriétaires de cet établissement et leurs professionnalisme et

leur expérience nous permettra d apprendre et de nous améliorer dans le management hôtelier. L’été s en vient et la grosse saison aussi. Nous prenons du temps pour connaitre les compagnies d’aventure et apprenons à connaitre la communauté .Nanaimo offre des activités de toute sortes kayak de mer, plongée sous marine randonnée pédestre etc. whale watching et plusieurs sites intéressant a visiter. Nous sommes en train d améliorer notre site web en incluant une section hôtel management et continuons d’organiser des séjours d immersions au Costa Rica et offrons maintenant de l’immersion en anglais ici a Victoria. Dans notre nouvelle section Hôtel Management expliquant notre curriculum et endroit ou nous avons travaillé depuis deux ans nous donnerons des trucs pour les couples qui aiment voyager et aiment travailler avec les gens en vacance. Allez faire un tour sur notre site et donnez nous des idées ou votre feedback.www.harmoniacasa.com

Salut

Buccaneer Inn, Nanaimo, British Columbia

2008-03-22T10:07:00.004-07:00

Hello everyone from us here in Nanaimo! We have now been here and working at The Buccaneer Inn for 3 weeks. It was a bit stressful during the learning period and now that we have some experience under our belt, it feels more comfortable.

The Buccaneer has 13 rooms and for the majority of nights we have worked, we have been full! We are a 2 minutes from the Departure Bay ferry terminal and a 40 min walk along the water to downtown Nanaimo. We have a great view of the channel and Newcastle Island from our front window and can watch the boats and float planes come and go. We can see and almost touch Newcastle Island which has no cars or houses and offers lots of hiking trails, camping and excellent kayaking. I am looking forward to exploring by kayak & foot and also do to some camping on it!

A big thank you to Klaus (my awesome brother) for coming to spend the day with us and to check out our new surroundings. He treated us to lunch at the Dinghy Dock Pub which is a floating pub in Nanaimo. It is a fun 10 minute ferry ride from the dock in downtown to Protection Island where the pub is located. Definately a must do when you are in Nanaimo! It was a great way to spend the day with my two favourite men!

We are slowly learning more about our new emvironment of Nanaimo and getting to know where things are for us as well as for our guests. Definately check out the website http://www.buccaneerinn.com/ and keep in touch and maybe we will see you here soon!

Happy 2008!!

2008-02-21T19:19:00.006-08:00

Hello to everyone...this time from Victoria, BC, Canada. We have been back in Canada since November and we were able to spend some wonderful time reconnecting with family and friends and spend the holidays at home (Karl in Quebec and me in Victoria). I joined Karl in Montreal to celebrate 2008 and it was there that we decided to settle for some time on the West Coast. We researched different options for travel and finally decided we were going to drive!...in January no less!

It was an amazing experience and I am so excited and content to have done it and actually drive across Canada! 5000 km...five nights and six days...our country is so huge and different in every province...

We picked a perfect time to leave Montreal as the week after we arrived to Victoria there were storms and freezing temperatures all across Canada. The coldest we experienced was -35 in Northern Ontario.

We packed Karl's 1994 Toyota Tercel with all of our stuff and headed out with an excellent breakfast and send off from Karl's Mom. It was a bit stormy and hit some traffic and bad weather in Ottawa. It took us a total of 3 days to cross Ontario alone! That is one big province!! I also have to say that Saskatchewan is one flat province (photo above) and not that exciting to drive through except for the odd coyote in the endless fields!

It was totally amazing coming into the Rockies...the grandeur of the mountains is really breathtaking and gives you a different perspective of life and the true beauty of nature.

We pretty much visited every Tim Hortons across the country making the observation that there are definately more Timmys in the East and Starbucks as you come West. I also came to appreciate the simplicity of the old style motels. They surprised me as I had the preconceived idea of what they would be like but I can say they were all really clean and more comfortable then the large chain hotels and of course a lot less expensive. They were perfect for our purpose and our budget!!

We live in a truly beautiful and diverse country and I can truly appreciate and respect all that we ahve here in Canada especially after living abroad for the past few years. We look forward to setting up here and we will definately keep you all posted with regards to our new adventures! Looking forward to a wonderful 2008 in Canada!

Cheers, Monika

KARL'S KORNER

Eh oui, nous voici maintenant a Victoria en Colombie Britannique. Nous avons passé du bon temps au Québec toute la famille ensemble avant de prendre la route moi et Monika depuis le Québec jusqu en Colombie Britannique. Nous vivons ici a Victoria chez des amis( Carlos et Nancy )depuis maintenant 3 semaines. J en profite pour prendre de bonne marche et revoir mes repères .Nous partons pour Nanaimo la semaine prochaine .Notre nouveau projet sera de s’occuper d un petit hôtel de 13 chambres le http://www.buccaneerinn.com/index.htm situé près de departure bay ferry (avec vue sur une marina).
Allez voir le site je pense que le challenge sera bon. Nous pourrons faire les activités qu on aime tels, randonnée pédestre, plongée, kayak de mer .
Nous avons l intention de reprendre régulièrement l écriture du blog alors revenez nous voir sur le Web ou simplement a Nanaimo.

Saludos a todos

Its Been a While...

2007-08-18T15:45:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! Its about time we caught up on here...

We passed a smooth few weeks here at the B&B. We had the experience of quite a few families from France and the US. It is alot of fun to have the little kids around and to see their eyes light up with excitement. Activity wise, we have been pretty quiet which gave us a chance to spruce up the van a little bit with a brand new battery and to finnaly repair the leaking oil! Nothing major, just minor details! We also ( I always say we, but it is actually Karl that does the work :)) painted the kitchen...it is a really nice and warm green. We have also made some adjustments to the suite royal (bodega turned into our room when we are full :)). Little by little, small changes that make it more our place.

Baby Gabrielle from France (6months)

Our New Green Kitchen

We have some reservations coming in for December which I find incredible, but before you know it the Holidays will be at our door!!

Today we had a little visitor in our garden...we don't know what type of bird but we have adopted Big Bird into our backyard. If anyone know what type of bird he might be, please let us know!

Big Bird

Happy Days with Peace and Friendship...Pura Vida!

Costa Rica Mo

Cacao Plantation & Rafting

2007-07-10T12:09:00.000-07:00

We have returned from Nicaragua and boy what a different country compared to Costa Rica. It is amazing how different we view Nica now since being in CR. We can feel a different vibe with the new Ortega government. Vamos a ver to see what will happen. Because of this situation in Nica, we recently cancelled our residencia. You would think this would be a pretty straight procedure…a lot of paperwork and money and waiting finally finished the process. We still have to wait to see if we will be able to receive our deposit back…We will keep following up and hopefully it will all come out for the best.
A semi tranquillo week here at the B&B. I organized a cacao plantation tour and white water rafting day for Karl and a client named Roger (from Texas). They had a great day learning about the cacao and its significance and how it is processed and the importance of this product for the Mayans. It was also Karlès first time for rafting…a great day had by all!
This week we have a client that will be staying with a homestay family for 3 months. I am excited and looking forward to the meeting as I know everyone will have an excellent experience.
That is it from Grecia…we would love to hear what is new with al of you! Send us an email and keep in touch!
Pura Vida…Moni

The Chocolate Pod...inside are the cacao beans...umm chocolate :)

Cette fin de semaine nous avons visite une plantation de cacao, très intéressant, nous avons pu voir la transformation depuis l arbre jusqu au chocolat comme on le connaît.
Nous sommes arrive a la plantation de cacao Tirimbina situe dans la région de Sarapiqui a temps pour notre rendez vous de 9 h am avec notre guide Wendy.
La région de Sarapiqui est merveilleuse pour ses montagnes sa foret et sa fameuse rivière répute pour ces descentes en rafting .Nous commençons notre marche vers la plantation en traversant le deuxième plus long pont suspendu du Costa rica au dessus de la rivière Sarapiqui qui ces temps ci coule a flot a cause des pluies journalière .Nous arrivons a une ancienne plantation d ou nous pouvons voir le fruit ,Wendy nous expliquera que le fruit pousse sur la partie la plus vieille de l arbre c,a,d le tronc. En craquant la coquille nous pouvons voir une multitudes de noyaux (grains) enrobe d une muqueuse blanche d un goût sucre que les singes et autres animaux raffolent. Ces noyaux seront déposé dans un endroit pour les laisser fermenter et pour ensuite les faire sécher .Une fois sèche ils devront être rôtit et ensuite broyé pour en faire une poudre.
Le cacao aussi appele theobroma, boisson des dieux, était très prise a l époque des mayas .Les grains de cacao servaient aussi de monnaie a cette époque.
La culture du cacao représentait un pourcentage énorme de la culture ici au Costa rica avant d être atteint d un fungus qui reste jusqu a aujourd’hui difficile a contrôler .L Equateur le Mexique et la Cote d ivoire sont aujourd’hui les principaux exportateur de ce fruit des dieux.
Vers midi nous avions rendez vous pour ma première descente de rivière en rafting sur la sarapiqui, ce fut une expérience inoubliable que les clients de www. banbgrecia.com ont beaucoup apprécie.
Saludos de Grecia.

Update Time

2007-07-03T17:16:00.000-07:00

Karl s corner
Salut du Costa rica. Nous revenons de deux jours au Nicaragua,bon dieux la différence est incroyable entre les deux pays. Nous en avons profite pour canceller notre residencia,vue le changement de gouvernement et sa politique plutôt socialiste(Sandiniste,Ortega) nous avons préfère nous consacrer au Costa rica ,plus stable et plus facile de faire des sous. Nous avons mis le B&B a vendre, nous avons d autres idées en tête .Nous avons eu quelque visites et plusieurs rendez vous a venir, je suis confiant que nous le vendrons prochainement, nous vous tiendrons au courant.
Nous avons eu un bon mois de mai et juin et de plus en plus de client avec www harmoniacasa.com et juillet s annonce très bien..Nous avons plusieurs projets pour améliorer le confort et les services offerts au bandbgrecia.com.
Cette semaine nous allons faire du Rafting et visiter une plantation de cacao .
Bonne semaine a tous
Saludos
Karlos

Ok…I celebrated my 37th birthday here in Grecia on June 8th. It was a wonderful day….it started with getting a phone call from my Dad whose birthday is the day before me and then a beautiful phone call from Charlotte (Karl’s mom) singing Bonne Fete! What a grand way to start the day! Karl got a delicious birthday cake from a shop that just opened up around us and he bought a beautiful bunch of flowers! He is so very special and I really love him and appreciate him for who he is. I also received lots of birthday wishes from everyone…Thank you very much to everyone for your thoughts and wishes…they mean a lot.

We have been quite busy these past few weeks which we are happy about. We had a client (he is from Alberta) and we went white water rafting on the Saripiqui River…it was totally awesome! The place we went is very professional and they made the day so much fun. We also got to do the canopy…an awesome adventure for those who have not yet tried it.

We are headed to Nica for the weekend s it is our 3 month time period…we will stay in Masaya not Managua this time. A little more tranquillo. Marilyn will be looking after the B&B…she is nervous but we have total faith in her. She is beautiful both inside and outside. It is a good opportunity fo her to sho and use her skills. Her daughter Pamela who just turned 6 is awesome. She comes to visit her mom when she does not have school. Her and I have bonded…she calls me Moni and we have a great time drawing and playing cards.

We have thought about the idea of selling the B&B. We are opening ourselves to different options and opportunities and w will see what happens and what doors present themselves.

A la proxima Mo

Happy June!

2007-06-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

The 6th month of 2007 incredible!!

It has been pretty quiet these past few weeks here in Grecia. We have had a professor from the local college stay with us for the past 3 weeks...he is a really nice guy and has introduced us to alot of the local foods from his home town of Puriscal. Muy buena gente (really good people) as they would say here! Federico, is a professor of Economics at INA which is a college that has branches all over Costa Rica with one being here in Grecia. For the past 3 weeks his course was offered here so we had the pleasure of hosting him at our B&B.

The kids here are starting to gear up for the "2 weeks" which is at the end of June. It is literally 2 weeks of holidays for the students and staff. It is kind of like our March Break as they have school through July and August and have their "summer" holidays in December and January. I am sure that kids at home are really excited about the summer holidays coming up!!

This past Saturday we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean with Marilyn (the girl that works with us) and John a friend of ours. It was a good adventure. The theatre is really incredible...really comfortable seats with lots of leg room...you did not even have to move if a person wanted to pass you...This was a good thing as the movie was almost 3 hours long!

I have had the chance to be able to enjoy doing more cooking here in Grecia. One of my specialities I create is my homemade pizza - dough and all. Because of this and a few little amazing pasta dishes that beautiful Charlotte taught me, have earned me the new nickname of Benkerelli with Karl. He has such a wonderful sense of humour...he is truly a beautiful person and I am very happy to share my life and experiences with him.

Well my friends, we are keeping all of our doors open for all kinds of possibilties. Life over the past year and a half has taught me so many things...I have learned to communicate in Spanish (more or less...it always needs more practise), we have travelled throught most of Nicaragua and have seen a good part of Costa Rica. We have our own business and have had the opportunity to work in alot of unique places and with alot of unique people. It has also taught me alot oabout myself and for the whole process, I am very thankful!

On that note, I will complete this entry. We hope everyone is well. Peace and love to everyone!

Pura Vida, Monika

Bernie, Anne Marie, Karl and I enjoying Benkerelli pizza!!

About time for an update

2007-05-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

Ok! Ok! We know it has been a while and there are those that are encouraging us to update more often so we will make a solid effort!

So what's new here...

The rainy season has brought with it all the incredible flowers and an intense green all around. You can really feel the life and energy in everything. It is a good feeling!!

My friend Nancy from Victoria visited us for 10 days. She even celebrated her birthday here with an official Costa Rican birthday cake. We also took the opportunity to go and visit Manuel Antonio Park and Beach. We took the bus from Grecia to San Jose and then from San Jose to Manuel Antonio. It was very easy to do and it dropped us off right in Manuel Antonio strip of restaurants and hotels which made it easy to find a place to stay. The entire trip took about 4.5 hours...not so bad.. The beach is really beautiful with lots of natural surroundings and monkey's sloths, iguanas and snakes all trying to share your lunch!!

We did alot of day trips to local attractions like Poas Volcano, La Paz Waterfall garden, Doka Coffee (where we learned that 70% of the coffee they grow goes to Starbucks) and we also visited the Botanical Gardens in Sarchi. It was a great adventure and I really have to thank Nancy for bringing lots of little treats for Karl and I...they were really appreciated.

Another grand adventure was having Bernie (a long time friend of Karl) & Anne Marie, also were here for some time and Karl got to do some mountain biking with them in Poas and Volcan Barva. I decided that I should give it a try to we all went to a little town called Santa Rita with some other Tico friends and took a nice quiet 15KM!! ride. It took about 3 hours and I was not sure I was going to make it...yet I did finish the whole thing! I did quite a bit of walking my bike up the hills and I managed to make it to the end. I was pretty proud of myself. The family that we biked with was so incredibly generous...not alot of money, yet they were willing to do anything and with such happieness and no expectation in return! It was a really heartwarming experience.

I think I will leave it like this for now and promise to keep you updated more often!

Hasta pronto, Monika

April Update

2007-04-29T15:26:00.000-07:00

My first horse ride in Costa Rica!

The fourth month of 2007 and the beginning of the rainy season. The rain comes usually in the afternoon around 2:00 to be exact and lasts for about 2 hours. Sometimes it is a light little shower and other times it is a grand storm with lots of lightening and thunder taking out the power.
Mangos are in season and it is amazing to see hundreds of them hanging from the trees. It is quite a site!
We passed a very quite and calm Semana Santa (holy week or Easter week). As of Wednesday in the week, everything was closed…grocery, liquor, restaurants and even buses! Everyone really respects this week and takes the opportunity to descansar (relax) as it really the only time all year where stores close for extended periods of time. We enjoyed the company of our long term guest Marilyn and watched the festivities in town with the church. Really quite something to see and experience. We also spent some time in Nicaragua as we had to leave Costa Rica as our 3 months were up. You can really sense a difference in the country with the new Ortega government. Perhaps this was my own imagination…it will be interesting to see what happens…if anything.
The remainder of April and May will be interesting to see. Nancy will be coming to spend some time here as well as Bernie (a long time friend of Karl and Eric’s). We will keep you posted with our adventures!

Hasta luego!

La saison est presque termine, et oui,,, le parfait temps pour visiter tranquillement le costa rica….. C est ce que je pense,,,,, mais bon.
Nous prenons le temps de relaxer, faire du sport, vélo de montagne, aller a la piscine,,,
Notre ami d enfance Bernard « ,bernie « est ici pour un mois a explorer les trails de vélo de montagne et prendre du bon temps . Super,,,
Nous voyons un nombre incroyable de gens venir investir et apprendre l espagnol ici dans la vallée centrale ….ça m intéresse et par curiosité je pose des questions.La réponse qui revient le plus souvent ex : Je prend ma retraite et avec ce que je recevrai comme pension j en ai pas assez pour bien vivre.
Tanne de payer des taxes exorbitantes… ce que je leur conseille le plus souvent c est de venir vivre un an louer une maison (300 us/ petite maison confortable) et s imprégner et de voir si on aime le pays. En venant vivre ici t apprendra a connaître les gens et en même temps s il y a des deals pour des terrains ou des maisons tu pourra en profiter.
Si vous avez des rêves ou des idée SVP ecrivez nous pour les partager.
Saludos

Spanish Language Learning in Grecia, Costa Rica

2007-03-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

Spanish Class in Grecia!

Well, we had a few clients of harmoniacasa enter into the Spanish immersion program here in Grecia! How exciting!! It feels really great to see a vision actually become a reality! We feel that the potential for people to come here to Grecia to learn Spanish and more about the culture is great. We are currently in works with a school in Victoria to assist with bringing students to Grecia also! I have also been doing some leg work and organizing volunteer opportunities in different parts of the community. That has really pushed a comfort zone for me, because I know that I am a people person, but I am not really good at going into a situation of the unknown…like I said, learning everyday! I am looking forward to the developments!
We are really enjoying the city of Grecia! It feels really good and I am happy to be able to enjoy this incredible journey. In these past few weeks, we have met some really special people at the B&B also. It is a special experience with the B&B because you have the opportunity to meet so many people….and so many come in and out of your life. I feel that those that we have encountered have left me knowing a bit more of myself…it is really unique. It is amazing what life presents to you when you stop and listen to yourself.
Everything is as it should be…please do not hesitate to contact us and let us know what you think or if you have any questions or suggestions! We would love to hear from you all!

Karlos`Korner
Voila trois mois que nous sommes installe a Grecia Costa rica.
Notre principal activité et business est le B&B mais aussi harmoniacasa.com .
On voit beaucoup de potentiel dans l apprentissage de l espagnol et le homestay(vivre avec une famille typique costaricienne).Nous travaillons a établir des liens avec des écoles de Colombie Britannique et agent du Japon et Corée , tous ces gens avec qui Monika travaillait lorsque nous étions a Victoria semble être curieux et intéresse a travailler avec nous.Eric mon frère s occupera de faire des contacts a partir de Montréal ou il vit maintenant.
Nous avons établi de bonne relation avec les gens de Grecia afin d offrir des stages intéressant dans plusieurs domaines d activités .Nous essaierons d être en interaction avec nos site Web et de vous offrir des nouvelles le plus souvent possible. Si vous avez des idées ou des propositions, SVP n hésitez pas à nous écrire.
Karl

2007-02-20T13:51:00.000-08:00

B and B Grecia….new partners!

So here we are almost the middle of February in Costa Rica in the Central Valley in a city called Grecia. A long way from Little Corn Island in both distance and time. We have become the proud new partners in B and B Grecia! Can you believe it? I am still getting my feet on the ground and digesting the news. I am really happy and excited about the adventure! It has almost been 1 year since we left Canada and it feels like we are where we are supposed to be. Please visit our website at http://www.bandbgrecia.com/ and we are working on updates and new information. We have been pretty occupied running tours to coffee plantations, canopy adventures and waterfall forest trekking. We also have a full house at the moment and it will be pretty steady for the remaining of February.
We are both looking forward to staying here in Grecia. The people, views and and atmosphere is really welcoming and feels really good.
Karl has been keeping busy with his projects of building butcher block tables and I have been organizing things here at the B and B and getting to know more of the area and the people. Our project here is to host people that are travelling through as well as to provide a place to come and enter into an immersion program for learning Spanish and staying in a homestay family with also a possibility of volunteering. We think that Grecia is a perfect place to work on this project. It is a small enough city that you can easily walk to everywhere and have the opportunity to practise what you are learning in your Spanish class with your family and the people in the park and in the stores. Everyone is always anxious to stop and talk and learn more about you!

Pretty big news that is keeping us occupied which feels really good also! We hope to hear from everyone and also to see you also!

Hasta luego! Monika

Easy to get to from all different locations! Visit us also on www.bandbgrecia.com!

Karl s corner.
Ca fait un petit bout que je n avais pas écrit un petit message. Et oui nous sommes partenaire au bandbgrecia.com depuis une semaine maintenant, comme Monika dit je ne fais pas que construire des tables je m occupe aussi de faire des tours, plantation de café, chute magnifique, jardins, volcan, etc. entretien, achat, en gros Monika fait de l argent et moi je la dépense …….
Ca fait du bien d avoir notre propre place et je pense qu on réalisera quelque chose de fantastique ici a Grecia. Les possibilité sont énorme autant pour l hospitalité et l immersion dans une famille typique du Costa rica que pour l apprentissage de l espagnol, découverte et aventure .Nous travaillons présentement a trouver d autres familles capable de recevoir des gens en immersion et de développer le marche anglophone http://www.harmoniacasa.com/ jouera un rôle dans l immersion et apprentissage d espagnol au costa rica et au Nicaragua alors SVP allez faire un tour sur notre site de temps en temps.
Saludos
Karlitos

Adventures with Mo!

2007-01-29T08:56:00.000-08:00

Quetzal! Rappel! Tortuguero!

This week was quite something! We were touring around with Karl's brother Eric and stopped at this mirador known for being a home for Quetzals which is a rare bird and we were actually able to see both the male and the female! It was incredible...the bird is so beautiful with such vivid bright colours. Karl was incredibly happy as this bird is something he has always wanted to see. It was awesome.

Another adreniline pumping moment for me this week was my adventure rappeling down Los Chorros which is a waterfall about 75 feet high. I was not nervous until I reached the top and looked down...it was almost a no go but decided that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and went for it. I can now confidently recommend doing it.

To finish the week, I had the opportunity to travel to Tortuguero which is home to the largest nesting area for the sea turtle in the Western Hemisphere. Tortuguero can only be reached by boat or plane and is a penisula with one side the Caribbean sea and the other side the Tortuguero river. The village is quaint with a Caribbean flare and reminded me alot of Little Corn Island. It was absolutely incredible to see the wildlife...we spotted a very large crocodile, monkeys, lots of pelicans and even a sloth! It was very happy to end my week with this exciting adventure!

Hasta luego!

Mo

Pura Vida

2007-01-13T13:51:00.000-08:00

The first day of 2007 at the Hot Springs!

Catarata del Torro Waterfall...Incredible!

Feliz Ano ! Happy New Year to everyone. We spent a great New Year's Eve with Eric and his guests at the B&B where we prepared a dinner for everyone to enjoy and bring in the New Year. On the first day of 2007 we took a drive to the Volcan Arenal and enjoyed a leisurely day in the hot sprints at Baldi resort. We swam in water that was 47 degress C. I could not think of a better way to bring in the New Year.

We have been enjoying experiencing the life in Grecia where the people are warm and friendly and always ready to give you a smile and a hello. The city is located in the Central valley and offers beautiful mountain views, fresh temperatures and a variety of activities to participate in. It is a great city to begin a Costa Rican adventure.

We are taking a break from the island here and enjoying practising our Spanish! We wish everyone the best in 2007!

Karl's Korner

Nous passons du bon temps ici a Grecia . Nous sommes allez visiter Bajos del Toro, magnifigue amphitheatre de verdure avec une chute de 125m, endroit pas trop touristique encore mais qui le deviendra surement. Nous sommes aller surfer a Esterillos et pris de superbe photos. La temperature dans la vallee est agreable cela nous permet de prendre un break de la plage. Nous retournons en fevrier nous occuper de Dereck's place sur little corn. Nous vous tiendrons aux courants. Bonne annee a tous. PS Je n'ai fait aucune resolutions cette annee!

Erik's Corner

2006-12-29T10:55:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-16T12:21:00.000-08:00

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...

2006-12-16T12:10:00.000-08:00

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!

2006-11-16T14:58:00.000-08:00

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

2006-10-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

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?

2006-09-24T09:20:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

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!

2006-08-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

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

2006-07-21T08:50:00.000-07:00

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