fyl's blog

Once again, a NL member said that I hate it here in Nicaragua. This seems to be a common theme. Sometimes, but not always, it seems to be inspired by me complaining about something the U.S. government did or is doing. Other times it is just because I describe a problem I am having here.

Jim Buc recently posted some questions. One was about looking for a wife. He got an assortment of comments and the majority were unfavorable. Now, I came here not looking for a wife and ended up with one. But, is there a "proper" way for "a retiring Gringo" to express what Jim tried to express?

I seem to spend a lot of time talking about businesses here that just don't understand how to do business. That is, how to actually find out what a customer wants and figure out how to get that for them. Well, today I am happy to report that I found one company that rated good and one that rated excellent.

This is the story of our adventure traveling to Costa Rica and back. Besides being "just a story" there is some useful travel information, particularly about crossing the Sapoa/Peñas Blancas border.

By that, I mean someone that fits the stereotype. Someone who is "here but not here". It helped remind me of what I miss being in Estelí.

He is on disability (but with no obvious problem) and living near the beach. He has additional income from renting a farm he owns in the U.S. He doesn't even seem to be a bad guy but he is, well, just not here.

I didn't come down here to renew my driver's license but I noticed it expires on the 23rd. So, I figured it was a good time to renew it. You used to have to go to the MOPT office in San Jose, San Ramon or Puteranus. The good news is that you can now renew it at many offices of the Bank of Costa Rica including Alajuela (where I am) and San Ramon.

As we regularly hear, my views are anti-U.S. But, in addition, I just found out that apparently I hate it in Nicaragua as well. I suppose we should also toss in Costa Rica.

We were talking to Oscar, one of the "family" that runs La Familia B and B in Alajuela. It turns out he is a "beer expert". He worked for CCR (Cerveceria Costa Rica) for 23 years until he was replaced by a machine.

Well, we are in La Familia B&B in Alajuela. A bit over 9 hours ago we were in Estelí. Here are the things that might matter to someone else.

First, early Sunday morning seems to be a good time to travel. Few cars and few trucks. Oh, and few police.

Yesterday, as I was walking to the post office, I almost witnessed a theft. It got me thinking.