Mis Trabajadores (My Workers)

This is a tribute to all the hardworking men who slogged it out every week for 3 months in Mira Flores.  I watched them sweat, shovel, mix, shovel, pour, plant, and shovel some more.  The whole time they were pleasant and always willing to help.  

Freddy

Antonio

Alex

Rigoverto

Ariel

Jery

Nelson

                                                                      

Everyone working hard.

At least they are above the waterline

Making Lemonade

This is the first time I have called our 'vacation spot' a home.  I truly feel like this is where I will be spending more and more time in years to come.  The natural changes to our property was a blessing in disguise. 

 We made lemonade out of lemons, instead of walking away discouraged and depressed.  

This trip to Nicaragua was truly incredible.  I met so many people and felt very welcomed into the larger community...El Zapote, Los Cordonnes, Gran Pacifica, Playa San Diego, Gringo Hill, California, and Masachapa.   Wow.  Who knew there were so many people here...both local Nicaraguans and travellors from far away..  Having a better grasp of the language was definitely a help.  While I am not perfect in my spanish I have learned to hold a conversation. 

...and from someone who likes to talk...this is very important to me. 

The New 'Betz' Pool

Well, this is a Betz, making a Betz Pool.  Not exactly following code, not exactly how the team back home would construct it, but it looks good and it holds water just fine.  

https://www.betzpools.com

 

NicaLove Animal Rescue

Meet Elisa, Lester and Julie.  

An incredible team of dedicated individuals helping to serve all four-leggers of Nicaragua. Julie is the creator and organizer of NicaLove:  an animal welfare organization serving animals and those who care for them in some of the most vulnerable communities in Nicaragua.  Established in 2013 NicaLove organizes clinics for wellness, sterilizations, adoptions, vaccinations, and surgeries for dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, and many others.  

Picking off ticks

Each animal gets a piece of tape on their head for identification

Me and my neighbour, Eneyda, with our collective  brood of dogs.  Essentially I feel these dogs are mine too as I feed them daily, and often.  They come to greet me as if I am their owner, and through a lot of discipline I have taught her dogs to stay out of my house, while my dogs are allowed entrance.   

Check out their website at https://nicalove.org/ for more info. 

Mi Bigote

'bigote'...means mustache in spanish and on my design plan this sitting wall looks like a lovely handlebar mustache

As with most of my landscape designs, I always have a place for random gatherings of people that works for one, or many.  It is usually away from the norm.  This wall is perfect for sitting on to watch the river and the birds.  At night is offers a spectacular view of the stars and the path of the moon, with all the lights behind you.  

Phase Three Complete

Progress has been made!

Our river wall is complete.  

917 tires with concrete, rebar, and tiebacks throughout the entire structure.  

Here's hoping this will be a solid structure for many years to come.  

Our neighbour upstream has just decided to continue the wall to protect his own property.  Essentially he has watched us and decided we did a great job.  This is great news for us as it will help to secure our wall and land from any future land loss. 

Nice curvy lines.  I like the look. 

Phase Two Complete

Getting Closer! the wall is growing.  Phase one is underwater with the concrete slab at waterlevel.  Phase two is three more tires and another concrete slab.  We used tiebacks on this middle level as an added security to secure it into the bank. 

Strangely, once you get beyond the idea that it looks like 'trailer trash' I can see a lot of beauty in the rhythm.

Here is a detailed look at the tires.  The workers fill the sides with small rocks and then leave a couple inside with the rebar.  Once the concrete is dumped into the centre they compact it into the sides.

Nica Woman's Baseball Team

Ahh, the good old days of playing softball in the park are back!  Morgan, my gringo friend, introduced me to the local Nicaraguan woman's softball team.  I now have many friends and great opportunities to  speak spanish as well.  We have practised baseball together for a month.  What I thought were easy going and perhaps an assortment of dysfunctional women have pulled together into an awesome team. Afterall, we did start out drinking during practise, encouraging everyone's kids to play with us, and generally getting no direction or drills.  But hey, I think that is just the Nica way.  

After all that practise, the beginning of the season started with a flourish.  All the teams received their new uniforms and then paraded down the street.  A band played, music blared from a car full of speakers, and my California Stars won their first two games.  

I am so proud of these women!

Essentially, I am not their mascot. 

 

Los Jicarros School

So my spanish teacher, Alejandro, asked me to come to the local school in Los Jicarros to assist with his english class.  To be truthful, Alejandro did not need any help as he speaks fluent english and he is a fully qualified teacher.  But I went anyways.  

Here's me at the front identifying english words and pronouncing them for the class to repeat outloud. 

And of course, the week before school even started, the kids and community got together to paint the school.  You can spot me helping in the orange sweater.  (where's Waldo?)

Moto Beach Paradise

Me and a friend cruising along the beach at sunset.  What more can one ask for?  

We are on our way to a turtle reserve station to help release some babies. 

Not sure if I am going to make it back to Canada for 2021 as I am having way to much fun. 

 

Meet Joey

We have a puppy!  He needed a home and we needed a watchdog and a companion for our cuidador (a cuidador is someone who looks after our land and keeps it safe while we are not on the property).  

I think he looks like a deer with his big ears and small tail.  I wanted to call him John Deere which translates to Juan Ciervo - but no one liked that suggestion.

His long face and big paws also remind me of a baby kangaroo - so I think his name will be Joey.  

As a puppy he is very foolish and playful.

Volcán Masaya

Masaya Volcano is Nicaragua's first and largest national park, founded in 1979.  It continues to emit large amounts of sulphur dioxide gas from the crater.  The last eruptions were as recent as 2008, 2003, and 2001.  So it is sort of a scary thrill to stand beside the crater and wonder if anything is going to happen. 

We tried to visit last year but the park was closed because a tightrope walker, Nik Wallenda, was setting up his daredevil attraction to walk across the active volcano.  Crazy!  (he made it - but we did not get to watch)

The view from the top is spectacular!  You are almost 2000ft above sea level and can see Managua in the distance.  There are no tourists due to the world pandemic with Covid and you can see that there is only one truck in the parking lot....mine.