FROGS, RAINBOWS & SURF SANCTUARY

Our first house guests arrived acouple weeks ago and have taken up residence in our bathroom. Aren't they cute little critters? Haven't been able to figure out how they are getting in so we just use the "catch and release" method to avoid stepping on them in the middle of the night.

The rainbow shots were taken off our lanai a few days ago. All of our weather blows in from the Caribbean side, east to west. This time of year there is a strong wind coming from that direction most of the time so it keeps our casa comfortable without air conditioning.

A few weeks ago Anthony, our rental agent, took us on a day trip a few miles south to one of the local surf camps. These are the mainstay of the local economy here with gringos coming from all over the world to experience a Nicaraguan surf holiday. Most of the visitors are single 20 "somethings" and usually stay about a week. Usually everything is included, housing, meals & transportation to the various surf spots. Here are some photos of "Surf Sanctuary." They not only run a surf camp but also sell lots and house packages for those interested in ownership. We had a relaxing afternoon with the owners Tony, Nancy & their family and friends. They served us a delicious lunch, fresh fish they had caught the day before.

The last beach photos are of Rancho Santana, a highend development close to Surf Sanctuary. We haven't been there yet but are planning to visit next month and check things out.

SHELL COLLECTION

One of our new found pastimes is collecting shells. We usually take 2 long walks on the beach everyday and can't walk by a pretty shell. These photos are just a smattering of our extensive collection. We are clueless about proper nomenclature and have selected our own names to identify them, a very unscientific method. Yesterday we decided we couldn't take them all home with us so we started sorting and trying it eliminate some of the "more abused subjects." And everyday when we head out to the beach we say to each other, "now let's be very selective and only pickup the perfect shells." But of course we still come home with a bag of potenial keepers each.

BEASTS OF BURDEN

These are common scenes in our neighborhood. Most folks here can’t afford gas let alone a truck. Have grass? Get ox. We now understand the term- strong as an ox. Amazing how much these beasts can move.

It’s about a 20 minute walk from our beach cottage to the real estate office where we can get on the web. About twice a week we trek up there to make these posts and check our email. Very Sad when we don’t get any… So keep your comments coming…good or bad. Hasta luego, The Podos

ASTILLERO

Astillero is a fishing village just north of us.

Our friends Rose and Joel showed up last week and stayed next door at the Toro Hotel. They treated us with a day trip up the coast to the sleepy fishing pueblo of Astillero. We hiked around the point at the north end of the bay there to catch some surf but alas, the tide wasn’t right. So Lance’s Left will have to wait for another day. On our way back to Popoyo we stopped at a secluded nature lodge called Punta Teonoste. Place reminded us of Kona Village. South Pacific open Fale’ style with separate beach cottages. Awesome very private secluded white sand beach. A little spendy for this area (cottages start at $ 193.00 a nite). So we just had a drink at the bar and traveled on.

SLATE ROCK WALK

You guessed it, more stone!! These shots might give you a perspective of how massive this chunk of rock really is. As you can see we are having a good time.

SEA SLATE SAMPLES

Here is a photo album of close-ups showing the diversity of color and design of the slate in this mammoth rock formation.

SLATE HEAVEN

About 2 miles south down the beach from our place is a massive slate rock formation. Approaching it from the north, it looks like a beached submarine. On closer inspection we were enthralled, consumed and amazed by the natural beauty, color, texture and intrinsic design of this work of nature. As builders over the years, natural stone has become one of our favorite building elements. So as you can see, we have gone alittle overboard on our slate photos. We have been scheming on how we could possibly mine this material in slabs to use in multiple surfaces in our dream home, but is just wishful thinking. It’s one thing to see pieces of beautiful cut stone and quite another to walk on massive natural slabs in “the wild.” Somehow this collection of photos just doesn’t do justice to the real thing, however it’s the best we can do.

PACIFIC SHORELINE GEOGRAPHY OF NICARAGUA

The west coast of Nicaragua is a seemingly endless chain of rocky points, secluded coves and beaches of unique contrast. The shoreline varies from rock shelves, boulders and cobblestones of slate, lava and sandstone. The beach sand comes in an array of colors, black, grey, brown, white and even pink. The following four slideshows are photo’s taken along a 3 mile stretch of coastline north & south from our house.

NICA BIRDS

Here's a sampling of some of the birds we see everyday. Sorry we're ignorant and don't know their names, we just think they are beautiful. The morning bird song when we wake up each day is a tropical symphony. The group of shore birds on the beach at the river mouth greet us on our daily walks. All the other birds you see were photographed from our back lanai.

BEST BEACH SPOT

Walking a few miles on the beach every morning and evening has become part of our regular daily routine. We’ve become compulsive shell hunter/gathers. We no longer leave the house without acouple bags to carry our bootie home. Within a few days of our arrival here at Playa Guasacate, we dicovered our current favorite “chill spot” just around the point at the north end of the beach. The point is a lava formation wonderland with tide pools, caves, inlets, rock bridges and a secluded cove we have named “Hernando’s Hide-away.” There is a large pristine saltwater pool where we go with our books & chairs. During our 3 day reprovisioning stay in L.A., we scored 2 great backpack beach chairs that we use daily on our lanai and take with us on our treks to the saltwater pool.

Our second week here Grey was the victim of a mysterious disappearance. He had just come into the house from the beach and left his Croc zorries on the step outside our front door. A few minutes later he went out to go next door and there was only one zorrie on the step. He then spent the better part of an hour searching the property for his missing zorrie, without success. Because we were at the tail end of the rainy season, the roads were ankle deep in mud with shin deep pools, making his only other footwear, tennis shoes, fairly dysfunctional. He can laugh about it now but he didn’t think it was funny then when he had to walk barefoot everywhere on tender feet. Two weeks later, after finally finding zorries large enough to fit him, he was again the victim of “the missing zorries,” only this time it was both zorries. We had gone walking on the beach and discreetly (we thought!) hidden our zorries under some driftwood near the beach access. Upon our return an hour or two later, we went to retrieve them and low and behold, there was only one pair, you guessed it! Pam’s. Grey was not laughing now, but luckily he had gotten 2 new pairs so now, if he’s not wearing them, he’s carrying them! Rule of thumb numba one, no leave slippa outside for da dog can get. Rule numba two, if you not wearing your slippa, put 'em on top your okole.