Travel Talk

Proud to Call Nicaragua My Home

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Greetings from Managua,

I spent the day shopping like a maniac in this massive capital city of Nicaragua called Managua. My house is moving along at silly speeds and by flying here and taking care of business like a boss, I saved myself $$$ compared to ordering all the fittings, roofing, toilets and everything else you can imagine on the Corn Islands.

I rolled into the construction district if you want to call it that with a good friend of mine from the Corn Islands who spends half his time in the Caribbean and the other half here in Managua. We hit up a few places then finally found one that had EVERYTHING. I bought so much and verified it all but still have doubts that a little this or that is missing; the order was massive and overwhelming. I feel like I’ve grown as a person though and had some of those moments of “you’ll remember this day forever” throughout.

Nicaragua is a country and here are some interesting facts about it. It’s  growing and it’s hungry for more prosperity; I’m also thrilled to call it home. I came here in 2011 with my friend Ryan when he found an affordable flight to Managua from Boston. We arrived at 2am, slept on the floor of the airport as we had no idea where to go and heard about Managua’s reputation. The next morning we were in Granada; a few weeks later I was on the beaches of Las Penitas where I met these beautiful and extremely gregarious Spanish girls…

A week later I was on Little Corn Island with them and instantly knew I had found what I was searching for all along. I also knew that I wanted to return to these islands for as long as my health permitted and that prices would not be staying the same. I went to South Africa for a week on a campaign and when I returned I started looking for land; I found a humble plot aka the one I’m building on now and was quite happy about it.

In 2013 I had plans on building my house but couldn’t decide. Permits on the island are always a dicey situation and I heard there were no two storey buildings allowed so back to the drawing board I went. A few weeks later I was walking up the hill to see a new piece of property that had just gone on the market. I’m a curious cat and a few days later, I had shook hands on a deal – I was buying it.

In 2014 I wanted to build but took me forever to realize what I wanted. If you think house hunting is hard, try designing one… You can do anything you want BUT with unlimited choice comes indecision for gents like myself and near the end of the year I was sitting with permits to build but along came rainy season and my momentum was stalled.

Now we’re 2015 and I’m as much in love with the country and the islands as I ever have been. I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel on this project and excited for more. I can’t believe the place I visited a few years ago is now my home; I’m also incredibly proud to call it home. Everywhere in the world has transformative years and right now, Nicaragua is transforming for the better and I’m thrilled about it.

Soon, I’ll be sharing images from the build and whatnot, I’ve just been swamped and mentally / physically exhausted most of the time. I’m also on island time which is sorta whatever to most things happening in the rest of the world. That said, this blog is a passion of mine and people without passion are boring; I’d rather not become boring for numerous reasons, yes? That said, here are some facts about Nicaragua so you now a bit more.

Never did I think that when I left Canada for good in late 2009 with no intention on ever returning I’d end up on a small Caribbean island… This world is filled with opportunity for those that seek to find what’s waiting for them. If you too wonder what’s out there then I implore you to go out and stake your claim, the world is waiting but remember… Our time will run out way before the world stops turning so make haste, be decisive and follow your heart; it’s always right.

Photo is part of today’s order; we dumped it off at a market where the truck that leaves Managua to Rama was. My cargo is now driving to the Caribbean coast where it will be loaded on a freight boat. I’m flying back to the islands on Friday so I can be there to receive it on Saturday; crazy times, challening times, exciting times.

Tips hat,

P.S: I naturally vlogged the whole thing, stay tuned.

P.P.S: Pardon image quality, this is from my sent box to my parents; too tired to process photos from my phone, I’m going to sleep seconds after my finger lifts from the publish button…

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