2009 Marsella Trip: Find a builder

Hola Mi Amigos,
Adam and I took the red-eye flight from SLC-LAX-Liberia, Costa Rica on February 27th. Our goals of the trip were to explore the Liberia travel option, decide on a contractor, gather 'inside-info' on area and make needed/required changes to our House Plans.

We arrived at Liberia Airport at 7 Am. Jumped in a $55, 1.5 hour taxi to Penas Blancas (border crossing). Despite everything we had heard about this border crossing we had our passports stamped and walked into Nicaragua 20 minutes after we arrived. We caught $25 taxi for the 45 minutes to San Juan Del Sur and enjoyed our first Tona (Nicaragua's Best Beer) on the beach by 11 a.m. Not renting a car not only saved us some money but also all of the hassles associated with driving in a Latin America.

Liberia Aeropuerto

Bienvenido Nicaragua

There was a line 3KM long of trucks and American RV'rs crossing the border

Church in the center of San Juan Del Sur

Numerous things validate that we are investing into this country at the ground floor. In the past year Nicaragua is going through some big changes. Since last Spring this enormous wind energy project just outside SJDS was completed. 25 windmills! The road from Rivas to San Juan went from a pot-hole ridden dirt path, to a blacktop highway with actual painted lines! Town now has a city sanitation/rubbage department and is noticeably much cleaner. A number of new, small nica owned businesses have popped up throughout town and around our property. The Catholic Church in the center of town has been completely restored and we have a new Casino in town that plays Texas Hold'em all day long. Next......... rumors of a San Juan Del Sur Aueropuerto.

View of the new statue from town. We can see it from our lot.

Waiting for Chuck's Truck at the Mechanic

One of Will's Projects
Chuck's Castle from the Beach.

Chuck, our neighbor, HOA President, and potential project manager was our host. He has built himself a great house with 10,000 sq. feet of covered patios. It was a great stay, good location to get work acomplished, fun host and amazing eggs, beans, and rice every morning

Nicas enjoying the river below our lot

$5 Sunday Dinner at Playa Marsella Restaurant (just below our property)
Great sea life and shell hunting on the rocks both North and South of Playa Marsella .We learned on this trip that there is much more to the area than just surfing. There is something for everyone....great beach walking, shell and sea life hunting, sea kayaking, Frisbee golf, swimming, surfing, etc.

Our property from Playa Marsella

Example of Solid wood door option. (cost $150)

Brick work on one of Will's houses

Example of exposed interior brick accent and cool (cheaper) doors

at one of Will's houses

Red brick accents. The tile floor we like

Josh's house, cool but spendy sliding doors





Interior of Josh's house. The black marble floors are sick, but not very functional for a vacation house





Example of Will's wood work

One of Will's completed projects

Example of a Will built pool
Adam crossing the river at Playa Tamarindo Costa Rica

Playa Grande

Border crossing back into Costa rica

We have the perfect view of the huge, new Jesus statue above SJDS. The developer of Pacific Marlin Development (very high end) built the statue as thanks to god for allowing him to make so much money on the development. It dominates the view in town and the San Juan Bay. Everyone that checked out our lot was amazed at the view we have. Its even better than we remembered.

Huge cruise ship departing SJDS. They are expecting 45 of these this winter. One of the examples that SJDS is getting discovered.

Example of how our retaining wall will be built.

Another Will Project

Killer cement bed idea. It costs the same as a box spring.

example of our roof preference. Dimensional wood, cane, zinc, topped with spanish tile

Tamagringo. Check it out a tcby. there was a subway and a pizza hut all on the same corner.

Cab ride from border to Playa Tamarindo. $100 for 2.45 hour ride

New resort and restaurant 5 minute walk from our house. The owner Tyler is going to bid on our project. Great place to sleep and eat close to our property.

Monkeys near the property
Morgan's rock. This rock feature dominates the view of the coastline near our house

Adam and Chuck looking west on the property





Nicaragua's cervezas






View from Parque Madera

Resort/hostel/restaurant close to the house

quick video of San Juan Del Sur

The trip was a success. We have a very good idea of building styles, materials, and options. We are going to amend the house plan to accomodate our western view and optimize the breeze on our lot. We have 3 solid choices to choose from for a builder and plan on making a decision and getting the house started in the next few months. The dream of having an inexpensive vacation home in paradise is quickly becoming a reality.

White Water River Rafting Trips in Sun Valley Idaho

Fly fishing trips in Stanley Idaho

River Raft trips in the Sawtooth Mountains

A Business Trip to SJDS

It is official. Adam and I are heading down to San Juan Del Sur the beginning of March to start progress on the project. For the past 6 months we have tried to get something going from home and locate and contact builders in Nica. This had been difficult. The only way we are going to get things rolling is to head south and do business the old fashion way. Our trip goal is to make a decision on a builder and agree on a timeline. I imagine this will be the first of many trips over the next 12-18 months while the building is in progress. Keep in tuned for pictures, video, and highlights of the trip.

Step 2: House Plans- COMPLETE

We now have a complete set of house plans to send to nica contractors. Adam, Tyler, Keeley, and myself have been working with the architect for the past 6 months to get a house plan within our budget on paper. Thanks to Keeley's persistence, we have step 2 completed. Nice Job Dan!

The next step in the process is to Secure a Contractor and timeline for construction

This plan fits all of our needs; simple construction, functional square footage, water/energy efficient and an appealing design. If anyone sees a major flaw, speak now. If you would like a .pdf of the plans for closer review, let us know and we can email them directly to you.

We invite all members to contribute to the process of finishing the house. Decisions such as paint colors, tile, furniture, fixtures, appliances, etc. are on the horizon. Anyone that would like to contribute please step forward.

Jack & Patty's House

Here is an update on the Playa Marsella project.

We met with Kris tonight. A friend of a friend who is an architect. We made agreement to trade 4 weeks in the house once its completed for his help with the design and plans. Tyler and I met with Kris, lined him out on the project and checked out some of his work. Tyler and I both agree, Kris is very talented. I'm stoked, Kris is going to design us something very cool.

We hope to have plans completed and in the hands of a few contractors for bids in San Juan by early June. We are still on track to break ground in the fall.

In the meantime here are a few pictures of friends Jack and Patty's new place in Nica. They are located about 30 miles up the coast at Playa Iguana. Since the completion of their casa they have decided to live in Nica full time. Wouldn't you????

Imagine, a year from now, you could be relaxing at your own beach house, enjoying an iced cold Tona in tropical Nicaragua. Don't know about you.......but I can hardly wait!

Cheers,
Jared
Idaho Whitewater Rafting

Check out the Great Exposure for San Juan Del Sur

A few new happenings down south.

Check out this website. It is a slick and new Tourism website offering a huge amount of info & great images of the San Jaun Del Sur Region.

http://www.sanjuandelsur.org.ni/

2nd- The 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue shot on location in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua. The location of the photo shoot is in the immediate area of our property. Morgan's Rock Lodge is a 10 minute walk down the beach.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/2008_swimsuit/onlocation/nicaragua/


All of this publicity is great for our investment, and reaffirms our decision to invest in this particular area of Nicaragua. It truly feels like we are getting in on the ground floor, awesome.

Everyone needs to make an effort to visit Nica soon too get a personal experience of the "before & after".

Keep tuned for more updates
Jared
Rafting Trips in Idaho

I try and exlpain the layout of the lot

I tried to explain to the camera the corners of the lot. You also get a number of views in this video.

Here is a quick video of the beach and bay from a beach cantina in San Juan Del Sur.

Keep watching for more images and videos of paradise.

Cheers,

Jared- Idaho Salmon River Rafting Guides

Nica Trip update

Tyler, Adam, Travis and myself just returned form a week on Playa Marsella. We stayed in a home directly on the beach beneath the property in an effort to get a feel for the area. We unanimously agree, we have found a stellar location. The Property sits on a ridge between Playa Marsella and Playa Maderas. Playa Marsella, our beach, is about a 5 minute walk down a trail to the sand. It is a clean and beautiful sandy beach with great swimming and very quite. Aside from the few residents, and a few lost tourist looking for playa Maderas, the beach is completely private. Maderas Beach is about a 10 minute walk through our development down the other side of the ridge to the beach. This is the best surf break in the San Juan Del Sur area. It is busier, more people around both tourists and locals, but not very developed.

Our property is a 15 minute drive north on Chocolota Road from San Juan Del Sur. The Chocolata is a dirt, narrow road that winds through the jungle, riddled with potholes and an optional river crossing.....Fun. There are a few resorts in the area along with a number of small local restaurants. There seem to be a good number of services near the property including a 12 hole Frisbee golf course through the jungle (bizarre). There is a very nice resort called the Playa Marsella Resort and Conference Center, very nice by Latin American standards. Food is excpetional; the four of us had ceviche, lobster, beers, and a few cocktails for $100.

We were able to get a lot accomplished. We met and spent an evening with the Home Owners Association president Chuck. He is an ex-pat from Corpus Christi, great guy. He is about 50% completed with his home and gave us a boatload of info about building in the area. We spent a lot of time walking the lot discussing floor plan options and talked with a few different builders

After spending more time on the property we feel we have made a great investment. The property has better views than we originally remembered. It has a full 180 degree ocean view, perfect for sunsets. The house will also overlook the crecent shaped Marsella Beach. One thing we were completely surprised by is the inland views. You will be able to sit by the pool and see the hills above San Juan Del Sur and a volcano in Costa Rica. We also spent a large portion of the trip discussing all aspects of the venture. We are working on a floor plan that will work with the property, maximize views. We will keep yopu posted.

With the goal to start building November 1st we have a number of details to hammer out. Starting now we will use the blog to keep everyone updated, so stay in touch. It’s easy, just subscribe to the blog below and it will send you an email when the blog is updated.

We learned a lot and feel good about moving forward. Any of us would be happy to answer as many questions as you can think up. We are excited about things, and can’t wait to take a trip south with you too experience what a great spot we have found.

Stay tuned for more images from Travis and Tyler.

I hope everyone is doing well, keep in touch.
-Jared

Google Earth View- Playa Marsella is the bottom, Maderas is the top beach. Our development is in between

Cruise Ship at sunset from Playa Marsella

Family of Monkeys in the trees on our property
A view of the Rock at Maderas

Playa Marsella Sunset
Mango Rosa Resort (1 mile away)

Great atmosphere. Nice Pool, Hamock Ranchero, and make a mean Dorado Burger

Playa Marsella Resort & Conference Center
Our Property from the beach looking up. Our house will sit at the end of my finger
Mango Rosa Resort

Inland view from the lot, can you see the volcano?

View of Playa Marsella and the Conference center from the water

Arroz y camarones, Damn good