Here are some of our last pictures of Jiquilillo Beach!... read more

In the later morning and early afternoon yesterday we were so worried that we had lost the Rancho dog and Rico telling Nate and Stephanie, the owners, that he was sorry that we had lost their boy. Nate (or Nato as he is called in the village) went out in his truck to the area where we last saw him and asked everyone there and no one had seen him. Later Rico and I boarded the 1:30 pm bus to the end of the village, sitting on opposite sides of the bus in case we could see him on his way. We thought that maybe he decided to come back along the road instead of the beach the way we had walked earlier. Once the bus got to the end of the beach everyone got off. ... read more

Rich and I were enjoying our time at the Mariposa. There the weather was the coolest I experienced in most of Nicaragua. The Ecolodge is in the hills to the northeast of the Masaya Volcano surrounded by trees planted by the owner. We had very little rain while we were there and only several hours of Spanish Lessons. Our instructor was having some serious high blood pressure problems and most of my time was spent trying to discuss this in Spanish. He got some work out of his time with Rich while they went over the uses of SER and ESTAR. My conversation instructor was much harder on me and made me work through flashcards for various verbs and difference tenses and different forms that verbs can be changed into (gerunds and past participles). At ... read more

Hi everyone, Just a short note to let everyone know that Rich arrived as scheduled last night and I met him at the airport. Our driver was a bit late, but we arrived at the EcoLodge at around 9:30 pm and got a nice private room with a bath. Since my last visit in December, then have built an outdoor shower and latrine and Rich has been using the latrine because it is more private and he can watch the monkeys that live out there in cages. We started our Spanish lessons this morning and there is a plan to go to park this afternoon but it is raining now and I am not sure if the plan will change. We have been busy with our activities and have not had time to take any pictures. ... read more

Hi again! Leon is a city of old churches. I walk past and take a few pictures but touring these really isn´t my thing. And it seems most people are shopping and not in the churches anyway. Of course it is a Spanish Colonial City and Catholic Churches seem to be the only kind. For history or archeological buffs it would be quite interesting. Few churches are in good repair, but there are a few which are quite beautiful. I do enjoy the parks near the churches where the old men play chess and dominos and there is ice cream and snacks to buy. Within 12 blocks in any direction there are as many churches as well as museums. Of course there are bars and hostels and these are the happening places with loud music, pool ... read more