Barrel Shipping

You can get a lot of what you need in Bluefields.  Some things not in town can be ordered, and other times a trip to Managua is required to get what you need.  

But there are some things that you cant get in Nicaragua.  We have shipped boxes to Florida and then had our importer send them down to Nicaragua so we could pick the up from customs.  We even shipped a boat down, a post from long ago.  Our importer was a great lady and a friend to our family, sadly she passed away.  Her brother has started shipping things now and uses a barrel method.  He drives a freight truck from Florida to New York, drops off empty barrels and picks up full barrels.  He then ships them down to Bluefields.

The barrel was bigger than expected.  The important stuff this time was mostly building supplies and some household items you cant get down in Nicaragua.

Package well.

Play the stacking game.

A grabber comes in handy to place things neatly in the bottom, unless you have really long arms.

Then top it off with all sorts of good extras.

Will try and remember to update how everything worked out.

Trip Update #11

South False Bluff - More Planting

It was good to be able to freely walk some of the southern farms since they are partially cleared.  There are a few patches of existing coconuts but a lot more are being put in.  Lots of seagrape were left, it will be interesting to see how fast they will grow since they have been cleared around.  A roughly laid out trail has been added.  Lots of zoysia plugs have also been planted to start some protective ground cover.

Just a termite nest.

Canal Clearing

Its been almost a decade since the canal was cut in.  Over the years the tree roots have started to grow in and restrict boat access.  Our caretakers organized a group of people that regularly use the canal and had a couple of work days.  Hard work days!

Chunks of cut roots.

The big boss man!

Everyone relaxing and having a good meal.

    

Trip Update #10 - February 2020

The first trip out to the farm was a on a pretty windy day.  A good breeze makes for some very good front porch time.  The view is also pretty nice.

Need to get a few more building supplies shipped down and the interior work should be ready to start up.  

Trip Update #9 - February 2020

During the clearing of south False Bluff we were careful to leave mature trees, especially the older sea grapes.  Once they are cleared around and have space they really take off and can bulk up quickly.  They have no set growth pattern, more of a random wander, so as they mature they become very sculptural. 

Sea grapes provide nice shade and good sturdy place to tie a hammock.  They don't have a lot of middle or lower leaves when they mature so they also don't block the breeze.

Trip Update #8 - February 2020

Not much is better than fresh coconut water on a hot beach day.  The kids helped to harvest some fresh coconuts to have after lunch.  

 

  Un-husked they are almost more than the kids can carry around.  Worth the effort though and always a good experience for the kids.

Trip Update #7 - February 2020

The front yard has really transformed since the clearing years ago.  There are still some bare spots left to fill in but overall its coming along quite nicely.

Hopefully soon the new trees will mature enough to start making coconuts to harvest. 

Trip Update #6 - February 2020

Always good to finally meet new people and see how new projects are coming along out at False Bluff.

Great design and going to make a nice beach house.

With an excellent view and breeze once some trimming has been done!

Trip Update #5 - February 2020

Our first trip out to the farm was a windy beautiful day.  The bay and the lagoon were a bit choppy.  

A farm wheelbarrow had been requested a couple times to help with the planting after the clearing.  We checked a few in the Central District and got a good plastic one.  The metal ones don't last in the salt air.  Tied it to the top of a taxi and headed to the dock to meet the boat.

A few months ago our caretakers had to stop some people that were getting ready to cut trees along the canal.  Doesn't look like any real damage was done and haven't heard of any other issues since.

Always a great boat ride up the canal.  Lots of nature to be seen.  The canal does need some maintenance to make boating easier.  Will see how hard that will be to get done in the future and then will need to set an annual maintenance plan.

Trip Update #4 - February 2020

Always a bit of paperwork to be done.  My Spanish is not very good but but early on one of my favorite words learned was "Ubicate", which is translated to "Locate".  So when you needed to find something you have to "ubicate" it.

And of course the location of something is the "ubicacion".

The youngest son intently doing paperwork on the front balcony of the hotel.

Trip Update #3 - February 2020

Our first breakfast in town was at the public market.  Some of the most affordable meals you can find in Bluefields.  We have been going to the same stand for many years now.  It was good to see the owner and get heaping plates of food. 

The market is full of fresh produce and fresh meat that comes in directly from the jungle farms.  Always worth a wander around to see whats in season.  Its a bit dark and dingy but definitely worth checking out.  Its usually a good place to stock up before heading out to the farm for a few days.   

Trip Update #2 - February 2020

After checking out of Hotel X we headed over to LaCostena to pick up our tickets.  They now have upgraded to a digital check-in system.  We bought the remaining flights for our trip, which included Big Corn, in the office which saves some online fees.  

There was a decent sized crowd of tourists flying east so we got to take the big plane.  Only a few of us got off when we landed in Bluefields, most continued onto Big Corn.  We got medically checked in Managua and in Bluefields.  They had already been preparing for the pandemic.

Finally made it to Bluefields and Caribbean Dream where we have been staying for years now.  It was nice to catch up with so many people we hadn't seen in a while.  There were some tourists staying there but not the normal number of visitors.  Hopefully that number will pick back up in the future.  

Trip Update #1 - February 2020

We are back home and mostly caught up with what we can during the pandemic.  We had two family trips so far this year.  I hopefully will be able to download Mom's photos after things normalize and get some blog posts up from her trip.  Our family went down to False Bluff a few days after Mom got back.  Unfortunately with so much to do back home its difficult for everyone to visit at the same time.

It was very nice to get the family back down after having missed our last trip.  We usually fly American Air through Miami but the prices had gotten pretty high and the normal early flight was not available.  Its nice to be in Nicaragua before lunch and be able to fly LaCostena to Bluefields in the afternoon.  This trip we tried something new.  Affordable Spirit red-eye flights through Fort Lauderdale.  

Great price but hard to do with kids.

After some late night pre-flight running around with a bunch of other kids our boys finally slowed down a bit.  They stayed awake through the flight until we got to the hotel.  We stayed at the Airport Hotel X in Managua the Monte Cristo neighborhood.  Everyone finally fell asleep around 3am Managua time.  

Visiting the pet monkeys at the hotel before our LaCostena flight to Bluefields.