Last week we donned our masks and hand sanitizer and went out to explore Granada. Granada is an easy 1.5-hour drive from San Juan Del Sur. Granada is a beautiful city. It was named after the Spanish city of Granada by Francisco Fernández de Córdoba (Nicaraguan money is named after Córdoba). Granada is located on Lake Nicaragua. It was a…
I (Judy) will say it. I am burned out. I am tired of COVID, tired of lockdown, tired of seeing people turn a blind eye to racial injustices, tired of a President who spends all of his time bullying other people, tired of figuring out what our next meal will be. I could go on and on (send out the…
We found out we were pregnant with Lucas at the same time Michael was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma for the first time. He was born a month after Michael finished his chemotherapy treatments. He was a ray of sunshine at a time when we needed it. Lucas was an easy baby and is an easygoing kid. He has a calm…
We are spending most of our time at our house these days. Even though we are limiting our exploration due to COVID, we are still able to get out some because the area is so sparsely populated. Hiking is one of our favorite activities. We have formed a kids club in our community. We have weighed the risk of this.…
We are taking advantage of the beautiful weather, and of having a car by going to the beach often. We have explored beaches north and south of San Juan Del Sur. The beaches in Nicaragua are practically empty. Today we visited Playa Maderas again and saw less than 10 people on the beach and a handful of surfers in the…
Henry is the smallest person in our immediate family, but he has the biggest personality. There is never a dull moment with this kid. He came out of the womb with grit and determination. We don’t remember potty training him. He just watched his brother and wanted to do it too. We were worried about him learning his letters because…
We are entering our fifth month in Nicaragua. We have always stayed within walking distance of town, so a car has not been necessary. We rented a car a few times, but just for one or two days when we had to go to Rivas or Managua. We still live near town, but we decided to rent a car for…
We are heading into month 4 of quarantine here in Nicaragua. We are not able to go out and have experiences like we normally would. Before COVID, we would find activities or playgroups for the kids. We would travel to other cities, go out to restaurants, and take tours. Now that COVID is here, we stay at home and the…
Horseback riding is an activity we never thought about for Lucas and Henry. Lucas and Henry have never expressed interest in it. We have not done any organized activities since March. We came across an opportunity for horseback riding lessons at Big Sky Ranch in San Juan Del Sur (https://www.bigskyranchnicaragua.com/). We decided to give it a try and the boys…
Lucas was not supposed to spend his birthday in Nicaragua. We were supposed to be back in the United States. Things did not work out the way we planned, but Lucas still had a great birthday. The day started out with a few games of spades, and a special breakfast requested by Lucas. Hashbrowns, bacon, and avocado. Lucas helped make…