Posted some more pics
Things seem to have settled down for the first time since I got here, so I drove here from my hotel to have some lunch and review my construction punch list.
I feel like I've been racing around since I got here, but I have gotten a lot done.
Wednesday, I met with Will & Maria at the property, and we went through a huge list of things. There were around 30 things that we had to cover. After our meeting, I caught a ride into town with Will so that I could download some of the pictures, but when we got to town the power wasn't working. Neither Will or I could really get any work done, so we decided to go into the country to see a philanthropy project that his company is doing. The project is to help out a village that is far off the beaten path. They are getting them a water system, an eco-stove, and building a school. When we went there, their were about 15 kids from the University of Calgary who were building a wall on the school. It was really cool to go that far into the jungle, and it was absolutely beautiful. The road in followed a semi-dry river bed. When we emerged from the river...and into the valley...I felt like I was in Jurassic Park. It was semi-magical.
When we got back from the village, I went and got my surf board. Will let me borrow his Land Cruiser, so I drove back to my hotel. I went surfing for a minute, but it was way to big. So I just sat on the beach, drank some Tona's, and enjoyed the views. After sunset I walked back up the hill to my hotel, hoping that I could finally upload all these pics....I was seriously stressing at this point. The internet didn't turn on all night.
I woke up Thursday, and headed to Mango Rosa to see if their internet was back (because they only have it at night where I am staying), but it wasn't. So I decided to head into town to see if anyone had a satellite or something.
The drive into town was eventful because the main road into town was completely blocked by a power company utility truck. It was taking up both lanes, and obviously wasn't moving. That's were it got interesting. I had to take a Nicaraguan detour. I drove threw a neighborhood that I had never been in. Half way threw the detour ( a detour with no detour signs), and at the end of a dead end, there was this little girl just standing the road. She looked up at me and yelled at the top of her voice "NO PASO, NO PASO" which obviously meant I couldn't go that way. That made me chuckle. I was on dirt roads on the north side of town, and they were terrible. I was four-wheelin threw the middle of town. After weaving my way around...I finally found my way back to main road, and into town. Then I was on the search.
I ended up finding the only place in town that had it...I know because I looked everywhere. They were using a USB card that is associated with the local cell phone company. I felt pretty fortunate to of found something. Unfortunately, they didn't have wireless so I wasn't able to upload any pics, but at least I could check my email.
After stressing about this whole thing, I just gave up and decided to go back to my hostel and go surfing....
The whole time that I was driving, I had my seatbelt tied to my backpack. The reason for this is because there are police officers that stand in the middle of the road making sure that people are wearing them. The seatbelt in the Jeep doesn't have a buckle, so I just tied the one end to my backpack, and it looked like I was wearing it. It worked...I passed right by them with out incident. Thank goodness...after my day, I really didn't feel like dealing with that
I got back to my hostel, grabbed my board, and walked to the beach. With the lack of people here this time of year the waves were empty. It's perfect for me because I'm not in everyone's way, and I'm not stealing anyone's waves. I'm also getting much better surfing, and can get up almost everytime that the wave doesn't close out on me. It's almost as fun as a 2 ft powder day.
After my session, a Tona, and another beautiful sunset, I walked back up the hill.
Sometime during the evening last night the internet finally turned on and I was able to upload the pics. My stress was gone, and the night turned into a small party. An Aussie couple that just moved here showed up at the hostel bar, along with a couple other gringos that live in the neighborhood. The couple brought their 3 kids. They just moved here from Darwin, and we're loving it. We all drank our share of rum, ate some steaks, and talked about everything ...including an hour long conversation about why rugby is a better sport than soccer. They never convinced me. At the end of the night they let their 12 year old son drive them home. When they gave him the keys, he looked up at me and said. "Don't worry, I do this all the time."
Today, I woke up, went surfing to work off my hangover...which worked, then back to the house to get more stuff done. One of the things that needs to be done is our landscaping. I measured the whole outside of the house, in preparation of meeting with our prospective landscaper.
I also spent some time talking with one of the workers who speaks really good english. He was doing the roof, and was great to talk to. The first time that I actually communicated with one of our workers directly.
Now I'm sitting here, going over all my notes, drinking a Tona, and watching Rocky V in Spanish. Pretty funny. This whole time I've been listening to a conversation that is going on at the bar about Survivor. They are in town, and everybody knows it.
Well, I think that about covers my trip so far. I have another week, and will continue to keep posting pictures, and updating this blog.
Adios,
Keeley
No comments:
Post a Comment