This is where we lived...

Really, it was quite nice, and they painted it all fresh for us, so that makes a huge difference. For amusement's sake, I'll tell you our address:

Believe it or not, we actually received a letter addressed as such. Delivered by a postman on a bicycle. Mostly we just used a PO Box.

Our house


A view from the street


Moving in. This is all the furniture we got, all in one load. 4 twin beds, 1 double bed, the big dining table, 6 dining chairs, the rocking chair, a couple of side tables. I think that's all. Oh, and 5 passengers. And this was no oversized, extended cab pickup either.


This "bat" came swooping through the house our first night there. It was really a moth, but he was so big and the way he went dodging my head in the dark, I was sure it was a bat. For reference, those blue squares on the shower curtain were 4-5 inches across. He was a healthy moth.


Living/Dining area


Kitchen (notice the coffee maker next to the stove on the right)


The cabinets were actually very nice.


This was my laundry room


This was my washing machine


This was my laundry companion. He lived under the sink and he only stepped on my toes ONCE before I learned to look for him first if it was after dark. I didn't do much laundry after dark since the cucarachas were always waiting for me in the sink.


Speaking of cucarachas...


We had a sour orange tree in our backyard.


And a guava tree. Our neighbors next door had a star fruit tree and behind us a mango tree.


Andy relaxing in the back yard


One of two spare bedrooms. They both looked the basically the same.


Spare room closet. Hopefully you're not too tall.


Our room/office (the little fan was to keep the computer from overheating. It worked... we only burned out 1/2 a hard drive while we were there.)

These were some of our adventure trips and other nonsense

The smoking crater at Volcan Masaya National Park



A dormant crater at Volcan Masaya National Park, a mudslide, and yes, we're standing on the rim.


One of the two most beautiful swimming spots I've ever been to. Beautiful blue fresh water, no algae, no floaties. This is a must see on your next trip to Nicaragua. It takes some spanish or a few twenties to get there.


A bigger view of that swimming hole. A spectacular crater lake.


What's not to love about a crested birdie?


Yum!


Leaf Cutter Ant - They took down my huge, healthy spinach plant in just a couple of hours. When I discovered them stealing my supper, I sprinkled the other surviving plant with cayenne pepper and they left it alone.


These beautiful falls required a bit of a hike. Then, when we got there we discovered we were invading the local bathtub. Some guys with their soap and shampoo came and waited patiently for us to leave before diving in.


These were taken somewhere up by Esteli, I really don't remember the name.


Moo


A world of tropical plants most of us never see.






A night to remember. We burned this table because it was full of termites.


Playa El Coco (? - It's been so long I don't remember all the names.)




Baby turtles crawling out of the sand...


and heading for the sea. Notice their little heads, they know which direction to go. Pretty cool.


Mama Turtle


Chocoyero - El Brujo Nature Reserve. Another long hike.



What are you looking at, big guy?


That is a pineapple field in the foreground. No, pineapples do not grow on trees.


They're not kidding either. We looked down and there was one slithering by. I'd post the pic if it wasn't so blurry.


Spider


Butterfly (slightly out of focus - hey, we're not professionals here!)


You call it Bird's Eye View. I call it Stray Cat's View. We had a bit of a problem with stray cats. They'd run across the rooftops, scratching, yowling, fighting, and landing with such thuds that would make your heart stop, your body freeze, and your eyeballs pop out of your head in a frantic search for King Kong before he snuck up behind you.


Convention


This picture is to remind you to be careful with your french fries. If you drop one, the ants will haul it out of your kitchen, through the living room, and out the front door in 10 minutes flat. If the little guys could agree on which direction they were going, they'd probably have it out in 2 minutes. Those guys can move!

We had a baby in the tropics. More accurately, in a hospital in the tropics.

Yes, she has dual citizenship, and the hospital was very nice. See? Here's Annika in the nursery.


And she did too have dark hair!


She slept in a suitcase during the day.


She had a real bed at night.


She outgrew the small suitcase after just a few weeks.


Hey look, there's those cloth diapers! Handwashed and line drying. Nothing like taking a super thick, absorbent piece of cloth, soaking it, wringing it out by hand, and then trying to convince it to dry in the pouring rain.