Bailey gets measured

This Saturday the first 'farmers market' was held in the Sports Park. We picked up some fresh spinach, basil and green onions and unfortunately missed out on the fresh baked bread! (We'll get there earlier next week). One of the vendors had hung this scale, so I took the opportunity to see if Bailey had lost or gained any weight this last month or so. I switched him to a raw food diet and I haven't been too sure if he is getting enough to eat. Last week he ate a chicken head and neck 5 days, and some Mahi Mahi the other two. About every other day he gets some raw vegetables as well. My friend Kelly snapped this photo of him as I was weighing him. You can see the original shot (as well as some other really beautiful photos) on her blog at Picasso Dreams

Yoga in the jungle

About 3 miles outside of town there is a 'yoga community'. We met the yoga instructor from El Camino del Sol and she invited us to come out to one of her evening classes, which we did. I have to say it is the first time that I have done yoga to the background sound of monkeys howling in the trees. I keep meaning to get back out there for another class (and this time bring my mosquito repellent!)

Picture courtesy of Nicayoga.com

Lago Masaya

On our trip to Juigalpa we were so single-minded about business that we regretfully did not stop to take any pictures, except for these shots of Lago Masaya which lays inside one of the craters of the massive Volcan Masaya.

Road Trip 2

Last week some business took us clear across the country! Well... almost. We went to a city on the other side of Lake Nicaragua called Juigalpa. The drive took 4.5 hours, so to arrive in time for our noon meeting we left San Juan just shortly after 6am. It was the first time I had been anywhere east of Managua, so I was very interested in seeing this new country. It was an absolutely beautiful drive through some of the prettiest valleys in the country. Juigalpa is the capital of Chontales province (actually called departments here) and Chontales is ranching country. Driving by all those pastures I did have to wonder how much jungle had been destroyed to feed our North American taste for beef.

We arrived in plenty of time for our meeting, so took a brief stroll around the central park and browsed some leather worker's stands. Having a coke at the small park cafe, we were approached by two precocious teenage girls who wanted us to help them with their English homework. I decided that's what I needed was a teenage girl to sit and talk to me for a couple of hours every week!

Map copyright GraphicMaps.com

Road Trip / Shopping in Nicaragua

I have been making a list of things I wanted for the house since I arrived, so the other week we set off in the new truck (wanted to see how it managed in 4th gear anyway)on a shopping trip to the Pueblos Blancos. This collection of villages lays in the volcanic highlands just to the south of Managua and about a 90 minute drive from San Juan. Each of the villages is known for a different artisania or handcraft. Our first stop was in San Juan del Oriente, which is one of the two locations in Nicaragua renowned for ceramic arts. (The other being up north in Jinotega province) I wanted to take a look at the 'art' ceramics; but I also wanted to buy some functional plant pots for our deck.












At one of the pottery workshops in San Juan del Oriente.

It was awful quiet in town and I think we were the only tourists I spotted during the entire hour that we wandered from one pottery workshop to the other. Bailey upset the natural dog order in town, as usual, and everywhere we were greeted by barking dogs either eager to meet him, or eager to eat him... I was never too sure which.

Some of the work is absolutely beautiful and the prices are unbelievable! A beautiful vase about 8 to 10 inches high might set you back $10, or $20 if you want a really intricate one!

Since we were ahead of schedule we took the time to go the extra hours drive to the southern outskirts of Managua as there were a couple of errands we wanted to do in the city as well. After lunch in Managua and a brief shopping foray at Comercial Central (where I happily stumbled upon an arts supply store) we headed back to the Pueblos Blancos and to the furniture town of Masatepe. Here we looked at lovely wicker sets of a couch and 2 chairs for the outlandish price of about $500 or a rattan set for about $300! Unfortunately all I needed, or have room for, was a simply folding deck chair which we use both inside and outside.

From Masatepe we headed back to Catarina to stop at one of the dozens of nurseries in this town of plants, to pick up some soil and a couple of flowering shrubs for the pots I had bought earlier.

All in all a very successful shopping trip!


Here are the pots I bought. I bought two of the one below right (they are about 2 feet in diameter) and have planted lettuce; basil and arugula. I have my fingers crossed that I'll be having fresh salad next month! All five pots set me back about $10 I think. The gardenia on the left is doing ok (although not flowering). The bouganvilla however has dropped all it's flowers and is losing it's leaves too. Anyone know anything about tropical gardening?




[While the Pueblos Blancos may have once shone white in the surrounding green jungle, as the houses and roads were all constructed from the chalky pale volcanic ash type soil of the area, today the century old buildings are painted in various colours and one has to do a little research to find out why in the world these towns are called the White Villages)

Local wildlife

The largest, most beautiful butterfly (or was it a moth?) flew into the house the other night. It's wingspan was about 6 inches across when it was in flight, and 4 inches or so when it landed. It landed on the top of the chair and I ran to get my camera and then proceeded to try and get a picture of it. The poor thing was panicking as it tried desperately to find it's way out of the house and would not sit still, making picture taking a bit of a challenge. Finally as it crawled pathetically around on the counter leaving wing dust behind and I was able to get a couple of not very good shots. Then, I turned my back for a minute and it simply disappeared. The next evening, however, we found it, half dead and damp, laying under our dish drainer. It limped out a bit... but I thought for sure it wouldn't survive. We decided to try and get it outside anyway... and sure enough it managed to fly into a nearby tree. About an hour later I went outside and was startled to have the same moth (I'm pretty sure it was the same moth because I've not seen another like it since) fly right by me. I think it was coming back to say 'hello, and thanks'.