It is hard for me to believe that in all the years that I have owned this condo close to the beach in Rancho Santana that I have only lived in it for a total of 13 days previously. The decision to move back to the beach from my little rented casita in the village of Limón #2 was prompted by my supportive children. And I am glad that I made the change, although it was delayed a bit by my four month stint in CA caregiving for my friend until she died.
I arrived back to Limón #2 the evening of January 4th. Got my “stuff” packed on Monday and Tuesday, had a couple of meetings, and moved on Wednesday with the brute strength of two of my male friends. With the help of my condo maid, I got everything unpacked, placed and replaced a couple of times. I was ready for guests on Friday night. A trip to Managua on Sunday to purchase the items I couldn’t live without–step ladder, food, gadgets to hang artwork–completed the moving process. By Tuesday of the next week, artwork was hung, MagicJack phone worked, and only one bottle of wine was consumed with friends who watched sunset over the ocean with me from my patio.
There were a couple of problems that shared attention during the fun. I had to have my car serviced and AC belts changed that required a trip to Rivas. Item #2 was my printer/scanner problem. I failed to take the brace out of the interior where I used it to block the cartridges in the move. When I turned on the printer, it screeched at me and gave me the error, “B200, unplug and take to repair service”. Not a good sign when one lives in rural Nicaragua. The next few days I polled my friends about electronic repairs somewhere in Rivas versus a trip to Managua with the printer. I finally chose the Digicell store in Rivas, carried the poor printer that was repacked in box without brace this time to Digicell. Needless to say I was delighted to see that they were selling Canon printers among others. Reason I wanted a repair experience rather than purchase a new cheap printer is that I have about $200 worth of ink cartridges that I brought to NI in past trips. New printers use different cartridges. Digicell was professional, took my information, gave me a receipt, and told me they would take a look and call me in a couple of days.
Nicaragua customer service isn’t much different from that in the US. A couple of days could mean a couple of weeks. If you really want to know the status of something, you have to make several phone calls. Anyone remember trying to contact ATT with phone or internet issues in the US? Bottom line with a happy ending is that my printer was repaired for $10 or C$200. I am a happy camper again. It may take me four hours to figure out how to get it to communicate via the WiFi, but I have faith that I will be able to succeed in due time.
For those who know me well, you won’t be surprised to know that I have had two large dinner parties for friends, several evenings with friends for sunset on my patio, and cleared an area for my herb garden planting. “Sunset” usually consists of a drink and watching the beautiful sunset and color changes in the sky.
Rancho Santana is growing in the number of full time residents. The beautiful “Inn” will be totally open for business the first of March. There was already a wedding with guests staying at the Inn but it isn’t officially open yet. Unfortunately the “powers that be” for RS don’t seem to understand the concept of a handicap friendly building. My condo, like my house in the US, was built to accomodate older and/or handicapped individuals. Easy access to everything. Not so the new RS Inn.
My friends both in the village and elsewhere were very happy to see me and welcome me back. It is comforting to know that I have a large family and friends on two continents. The Guzmán Family still think of me as a part of their compound, although I am no longer there everyday. I honk my car horn when I drive by the compound if I don’t stop for something or other. Carmen’s Spa at the back of the area where I used to park my car is completed, beautiful, and open for business. I had a massage in the massage room a week ago. What a treat for a good massage and it didn’t have to be done on my bed as it was in the past. I designed a flyer for Carmen to advertise the Spa that she will have printed in Managua.
Friends at the Roberto Clemente Clinic still count on me to help with odds and ends projects. My addiction to “Candy Crush” is getting less attention everyday. And I hardly ever have time to play all five computer games that used to take up so much of my day and night.
The weather here is perfect, warm–yes, I am no longer freezing–with cooling breezes to keep the temperature in the low 80s most of the time with cooler evenings. January is generally the best month of the year temperature wise as far as I am concerned. The surfers aren’t always the happiest in January as the winds create squirrely currents. That doesn’t seem to stop the diehards though.
My property in Guasacate has defining walls for the house now and I’ll include photos. However, since this is a pay as you go project, it may be a long while before there is a roof or any finishing details. The commercial land in Limón #2 is still “on hold” as I don’t have a clear title to it as yet. The previous owner has more excuses than I care to listen to, so I patiently wait.
Progress is being made on the airport that is being constructed between our area and Rivas. Rumor has it that there will be planes landing in 2015. I wouldn’t bet on this rumor. However, there is a lot of work going on at the site and it will definitely add to the tourist influx in our communities.
Photos: My dining area, Sunset from my patio, House in Guasacate, Carmen Spa, Lidieth’s family for dinner on her birthday on Jan. 20th, Garden area for herbs
Margie Fincham in Nicaragua 