Blogs

http://travel.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/travel/the-46-places-to-go-in-2013....

3. Nicaragua

It’s eco! And the food is good! Enough said.

The Asian telecommunications company Xinwei will have national coverage and will initially invest $ 700 million

Xinwei, telecommunications company from China was authorized to operate in Nicaragua in the field of mobile telephones and the Internet, said Orlando Castillo, president of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Telcor.

According to information provided by official media, a concession was granted to the new Chinese company to operate in the field of telecommunications in the country and begin installing equipment which will take a year.

Pedro Joaquín was a Nicaraguan journalist and Editor of La Prensa, which at the time of his death, provided the only real alternative national news to that which was circulated by the Somoza family.

So here I am, still in Mexico in January 2013 and no nearer to knowing when or even if I can make the move to Nicaragua.

When my employer sent me from Britain to Mexico in March 2010, it was for a 3 month posting to mentor the folks in our Mexican office.

I was about to turn 46, I had been single for many years, I had two grown-up kids of 21 and 20, and a granddaughter due in May 2010, and in my spare time was designing the model railway I'd been working on for most of the decade :)

So the company rented me a short-term furnished house, and I settled in for my 3 month stint...

Weather has been awful, which either means I'm becoming more of a Jinotegana (always complaining about the weather) or this weather is really awful. It's been raining more now than in some parts of the rainy season and yesterday I was in wool pants. Minsa, which probably thought it was done with the dengue season, came by with the granules this week.

...I saw a jet headed for Managua. I don't see many contrails here, or jets during the day, but have seen a couple in the night recently, probably on the same route. I've been on a jet flying over Jinotega, knowing what I was seeing by the lake north of the city. A small thing from up in the sky.

The Health Department woman with the granules was by, so we have fogging tomorrow. The weather has been miserable, rainy and cold, almost like December in South Carolina, but probably not quite that cold in reality.

http://www.cigaraficionado.com/top25/show/id/16816

The 25 Best Cigars of the Year 2012

Flor de las Antillas Toro, by My Father Cigars S.A. factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

The story of Cigar Aficionado’s 2012 Cigar of the Year begins in Cuba, the island home of José “Pepin” Garcia, his son Jaime and daughter, Janny. Pepin began rolling cigars at the age of 11 in his hometown of Baez. He rose to prominence in Cuba as a talented cigarmaker, but yearned for freedom and opportunity. One by one the Garcias left, eventually making their way to Miami where they began producing cigars.

http://thenicaraguareport.com/2013/01/the-selva-negra-resort/

So, what does anyone do to be useful here?

Another expat explained something to me about giving people who are very poor money -- they start expanding their spending and come to expect the money to always be there. So if they stop getting the money, it's a more painful contraction of their lives than if they'd never had the money.

I've since made a rule that I don't loan or give money except small amounts to the local homeless woman. As long as I'm living here, our homeless neighbor can count on five or ten cordobas a week from me, and if I move elsewhere, not having that is unlikely to kill her.

http://www.elportonverde.com/2013/01/03/today-show-where-to-travel-in-20...

Jump to about 4:40 in the embedded video to see what they have to say about Nicaragua. Of course they say "next Costa Rica" and "yes it's safe" but besides those nuggets at least we got a mention!

Why is it that I am quite ready for 2012 to end...?

Anyway, just a note to all of the NicaLiving community to wish you all a safe night tonight if you will be out and about, and best wishes for a prosperous and healthy New Year in 2013.

We launched our bed and breakfast this year at Farmstay El Portón Verde and am happy to report that it has been a success, we've had fun meeting new people and launching them on their adventures in Nica-landia!

Thank you for your support, it really means a lot to me, so again, THANK YOU!

Holly Beck has an interesting post up on her blog describing the process she went through to get a hold of some beachfront concession (aka leased) land up in her neck of the woods in Northern Nicaragua. Good stuff for anyone considering a leasehold.

http://hipehabitat.com/2012/12/28/the-struggle-to-buy-a-beachfront-conce...

The Old Man is at it again. Sneaked upon us sometime this morning. A fine coating of black sand over Chinandega. Jokes already flying. ' Too bad the Cham.... is too old, the Gods like them young and tender '

My roommate and I went to a friend's house to bake on Christmas Eve. We arrived at 9:30 and didn't leave until 8:30. Baking with a 65-year-old retired high school teacher Nica was definitely an experience!