Operation Freedom Forty

So, this is what operation freedom forty looks like people.  Our new house is located nearby the fishing village of Salinas Grandes, which is on the coast of Northern Nicaragua just about a 25 minute drive into the city of Leon.  

We were told in December that our house would be turn key move in ready in February. Looks like we'll be moving in next week!   Don't worry we never believed for a second we'd be closing on this house in 60 days from that day in early December.  We are in fact aiming to move in this fall for the entire winter. 

We are having a zinc roof put on the house.  The metal framing is complete and the zinc will follow hopefully in the next two weeks. The zinc will be covered by a layer of clay tiles. (Seen in the previous post.) The ends of the clay will be filled in with cement to keep the bats and lizards OUT! The inside of the roof will be lined with cane which looks really nice when complete. The cane itself is treated to detract bugs before it is hung.  Any metal framing will be covered with wood and then stained a natural colour.  

Front entrance of the house.  We will build a dip pool out front here. The water will help cool the house.

Nothing moves quickly when building a house in any country.  This house began in early October. The house is only 900 square feet.  If you look closely at  the photo above you can see the workmen are beginning to smooth the walls under and around the windows.

Side view of the house. Ocean to the left.

We have plans to add natural fencing down our lot lines comprised of short palm trees for shade and privacy and cactus for security.  These plants are native to this area and once we are down there living we can spend the time to keep them watered so they will establish.

Other side of the house with side door.  The outdoor bathroom & shower will go on this side.

We have seen plans and actually stayed in a hotel with an outdoor shower that drained into the root bed of the tree which was within the privacy wall of the outdoor bathroom.  We have definite plans to work with a similar model for our second bath.

Of course Big Daddy P has been researching solar power for the hot water heater in the shower and to add to along the line so that we can support the electricity to power the house. Electricity in Nicaragua can be spotty and is very expensive. Besides that, we like the idea of existing off grid as much as possible. 

We have left a large portion of our lot on the back side of the house undeveloped at this time. We want to see how life in Nicaragua will unfold for us before we commit to building anything more. If all is working out great then a two car garage with a full two bedroom two bathroom suite with 360 degree views of the ocean and volcanos will be built on top of the garage as our main living space. That will leave the little house as a full time rental and to house our guests. 

Given that we've bought and built on a kick ass surf break and we are only 2km to Puerto Sandino surf break we anticipate a lot of visitors and a healthy rental return on our investment!

Hate Grocery Store Plastic Bags? Me Too.

If the winter blahs have you trapped in side and you need a project to do I have one for you!  Do you have a stock pile of plastic grocery store bags hanging around?  You don't have a giant dog to pick up after and use up those plastic bags? Well how about a crochet project!

One of our local artists, Mary Helen Ellis, is a client at the yoga studio where I guide classes.  She came in with the most amazing yoga mat bag I had ever seen.  She had crocheted it out of plastic grocery store bags!  Yoga and crocheting or knitting go hand in hand (pun intended) as both lend themselves to the practice and study of movement meditation allowing the hands to be busy while the mind gets to relax. So it was not a surprise to see Mary Helen was mastering both.

I have a disdain for plastic grocery store bags. I usually carry my own reusable grocery bags but when I saw this yoga mat bag I was totally stoked about the possibilities of reusing bags so they don't end up in our landfills or worse yet our beautiful ocean.


Just before Christmas Mary Helen gifted me with my very own hand bag crocheted out of grocery bags.  The gift came with a caveat - that I learn to crochet my own bags.  Mary Helen is a self taught crocheter and she has confidence in my abilities...

Crocheted from plastic grocery store bags by Mary Helen Ellis

This week Mary Helen arrived, true to her word - and left me with the directions to make my very own bags. Thought I'd share them with y'all:

Directions on HOW TO make your own STEP ONE.

STEP TWO

To find out more about Mary Helen Ellis & check out her beautiful property check out her website Hawks Rest Cabins.

Playa Hermosa Nicaragua

This is Playa Hermosa, one of the most beautiful beaches we visited on this trip.  It has a gentle beach break good for beginners, occasional surfers and as my hubs Big Daddy P calls it, fat guy long board waves. We headed here so the guys could surf some small waves and get ready for the bigger break out front our house...   The weather was cool...I say that and it was about 77 degrees and overcast, which was good for us coming out of NC, we didn't get baked day one out on the beach.  

There are hammocks and chairs amongst all the trees. 

There is a small surf hotel here and a restaurant serving local fare; fish, rice and salad, cold beer  and cocktails.  Coconuts were chopped open for us to drink from with a straw which Fin thought was pretty neat. It looks quiet in the photos but there were more than a handful of people around lounging in hammocks slung from trees.

That is Costa Rica in the back ground.

Playa Hermosa is located about 8 miles outside of San Juan Del Sur down a private road.  There is a gate house and a cover charge of approximately three dollars a person to use the road.   We were told by local gringos the cover charge is to pay for the security of being on a policed road with secure parking upon arrival at the beach.  It was rumoured that cars would get robbed on route to this beach before the gate, cover charge and security were implemented. That information only wigged me out half the drive and then all was forgotten when I saw the beach!  Really dudes, the truck was full of our bags and boards and was completely safe in the lot.  You can't do that in other parts of Central America any more. 

The road itself was pretty good largely due to the the production of Survivor Nicaragua being filmed on this very beach in 2010. Obviously they build up the road to get their crew and equipment in.  Free passable roads leading to awesome surf breaks are one of the perks of TV in the after math of big budget production.   Wait - you didn't really think the survivor contestants were on a beach alone did you? 

Little hermit crabs were all over the beach!

While the guys waited for the swell to fill in, Fin and I explored the beach finding hermit crabs. Sasha showed us how you can hold the shell and softly blow on the crabs under side to get the crab to pop out of the shell.  Pretty cool!

Sasha, Shamus and Steve

Fin writes her name for the FIRST time EVER!

Fin waxing the board with Big Daddy P

Steve was happy for a small swell to fill in.

Steve on left and Shamus on right

Rock snow man found on the beach & brought home with us to NC.

Settling into our first days in Nicaragua experiencing this beach made me feel like I could fully exhale, which is a really neat feeling when you can be so far from the familiar and feel like you are finally home. 

Mother Ship Ahoy

Three years ago Steve and I bought a sail boat. Sailing is Steve's passion. I love Steve and so I decided to try to see what this sailing thing was all about. I was the most reluctant of people when it came to water sports of any sort. I can swim and was a life guard at a city of Ottawa WADING pool for a couple of summers, but, I am not a "water person." Steve surfed and I sat on the shore very happy to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't get into trouble. Any time I was boating I made sure everyone around me knew that should I fall into the water they must come rescue me immediately, lest they see the second coming, as I walk across the water. I was so terrified of what was in the water. Salt or Fresh.

Steve was patient with me and never pushed too hard to make me partake in water sports, but, I could only sit on the beach watching the surfers and ride in a boat watching the tubing and wake boarding for so long before I started to feel like I was missing out on something. I began to slowly dip my toes into the water, and after a while, I waded out into the ocean. It wasn't long before I too was paddling into a wave on a long board. Once I had laser eye surgery and I could see in the water without fear of losing a contact I became even more comfortable.

The first summer we owned the boat we lived on it. We had a lot to learn about weather patterns tides and the boat. All of Steve's sailing experience had been on the Great Lakes. Sailing on the Atlantic Ocean was a whole new set of skills. At first we went from marina to marina and then we would stay over night. We day sailed from Carolina Beach up the Cape Fear River and out to Baldhead Island for a night or two in a marina there and then we would return home to our marina. We did this as we got to know the boat.

At first I found that sailing was a lot like camping and I said so to Steve's dismay. He actually looked disgusted by this comment. I tried to explain to him that the interior of a sailboat is not unlike the pop up camper we had when I was growing up. I loved camping in the pop up camper and it was the only comparison I could draw. My hubs had the elitist attitude of the sailing set and the camping comparison did not mesh.

Once we trusted ourselves, our techniques and the boat, we began to anchor out. Then Steve began to teach me to helm. The more in control I felt the more comfortable I became. And now I am the one who pesters Steve to make sure we get out on the boat at every chance we get. The dynamic has changed again with Finley on board with us. We have to make sure she doesn't get too hot or too much sun and we have to ensure her safety. She's not very mobile right now so it's easy. Next summer when she is standing and walking will be a whole new ball of wax. We made use of the Bumbo seat and the car seat on this trip and it worked out really well.

It is our desire to sell this boat and move up to a boat we can live aboard so we can sail full time for a number of years. This plan is in the works (yes dad it's true - don't begin worrying until you have to). It will be a whole new blog to read when it happens! For now we are loving our family time together outdoors, on the water, fishing, sailing, watching the weather, looking at the night's sky, identifying the local wildlife and relaxing. It's amazing - one night out on the boat is so rejuvenating it feels like we've been on holidays for a week.

Steve, Fin & I in the cockpit.

Finley & Cecil taking in the late afternoon.

While Steve preps fresh caught Blue Crab for our dinner.

Finley & Cecil sleeping in the V-birth

Fin & I watching the thunder storm approach.

The storm was quick, no thunder, no lightening just a bit of rain and a good wind.

Steve and Finley enjoy the calm after the 10 minute storm!