Fishing Rod Transport

For a town that sits on a bay, it's really hard to find fishing equipment in the stores.  Most of the fishing that gets done is with a hand-line or nets.  There are a few fishing rods around and people are very careful with them.  With all the beach and lagoon we don't have any fishing rods.  We have purchased some surf rods and reels and they are waiting to be carried down on the next trip, not shipped since even break-down surf rods are to long for shipping barrels.

Will be looking forward to family and guests sitting under our coconut trees getting some surf fishing done.

New Road, New Town

 There will be a lot of changes with the new road being completed to Bluefields.  One of the changes are the new homes and towns popping up along the route.  Rumor had it that there was a new place selling really good Nacatamals so everyone decided to take a road trip to see the new asentamiento / settlement and get some Nacatamals.

The settlement had put a lot of work into building a new school so our family bought some paint and went back out and donated it to the school.

Early Morning Shopping

An early morning picture of vendors setting out their fresh produce in the Central District before the busy business hours.

Miskito not Mosquito

When we first started visiting Bluefields the Police Headquarters was located in the Central District across from the jail.  The HQ was a very old historic building that needed a lot of work.  The building used to be the home to the King of the Miskito Kingdom.

Miskito People - worth a read, some really great history in this area.

The building was completely rebuilt and turned into a museum.  It was being finished and getting ready to open during our last visit before the pandemic.  We are looking forward to getting back in town and visiting the museum.

  

The Cathedral in Bloom

 There are more than one Roman Catholic Churches in Bluefields.  Everyone calls this one "The Cathedral".  It has a very nice open-air church for services, a school with gymnasium, and sometimes hold public concerts.  This if one of the nicer Fire Trees in bloom in the Central District.

Free Range Benefits

 Some free range benefits.  The neighborhood herd keeps the grass freshly clipped.  They provide speed enforcement in the residential areas.  Help to fill the potholes . . .

Chap Suey!

 Chap Suey is a popular dish that can be ordered at almost every restaurant in Bluefields.  It fits well into the Caribbean cuisine and is kind of the alternative to the daily serving of gallo pinto or beans and rice.

Bay Buddy

This fella has learned to hang around the docks and wait for handouts from the fishermen.  He isn't shy and always seems curious when people are loading boats.

Just checking us out before we head out to the farms.

Building Supply Barrel #2

 Barrel #2 has been packed and is ready to ship down to Bluefields.  A Bluefields native who lives part time in FL has a business delivering empties and picking up and then shipping to Bluefields full ones.  He travels up and down the coast from FL to NY.  Excellent service.  Once in Bluefields he can and does usually deliver the 46" tall full barrel wherever you want it to go.  We provide him with a list of contents with photos and another for the end point delivery.  Some of what went into the barrel, rug, sheets, cookware, hardware, towel rods, ceiling fan, bathroom mirrors...and more.

The above picture shows everything that has been documented and wrapped before you start playing the Tetris packing game.

Finished and ready for pick-up.

The Pandemic Pause

 Is there an end in sight?  Will the world start to normalize?  Vaccines have been taken and its hopeful the pause button will be released and the play button on the Nicaragua project will be pressed soon.  Trips have been missed and friends haven't been seen in to long.  

But the regular flights are still being cancelled and pushed back.  Even with vaccines there are still questions about testing procedures and quarantines.  The task list is long and so much needs to be done.  We will look forward to regular updates once the forward progress resumes again.

We are ready and waiting . . . 

You may have never seen a travel carry-on bag packed this way.  The above picture shows the hard to get electrical components needed for the cabins electrical systems (plus some small gifts for missed friends).  Its packed and ready to take through TSA check points.  I'm sure it will all make it through customs since it doesn't look suspicious at all . . . 

Blue Day

 Just a reminder of a nice blue beach day during our cold holiday season.  Hopefully trips and work will resume soon !

Cabin Delays

Unfortunately with the pandemic everything has been moving in slow motion.  The cabins haven't had any new work done.  The barrel with building supplies is sitting in customs waiting to be checked out.  Just waiting to see how the future unfolds.  The vaccine is forthcoming.  The snow is also scheduled to hit us here at home soon.  Would be so nice to be down there getting some work done while dodging the cold weather.

300k Views

 Wish we had some more news to post up for everyone that checks in on the blog but, the pandemic is slowing progress down for now.  Hopefully things will normalize soon and travel can safely resume.  No telling how long it will take for tourism to resume in the region.

One bit of interesting news, the blog just hit a new mark.

If anyone has any questions or needs any info please feel free to send an e-mail.

BluWorter@gmail.com

Salt Tolerant Flower Garden

 There are not that many flowering plants that are truly salt tolerant.  We are still looking and buying more to add to the garden.  Flowering plants that can thrive and bloom near salt spray, not just salt air, are hard to come by.  Several plants that had been recommended to us as salt tolerant suffered near the salt spray and had to be moved behind cover vegetation into the salt air zone.  The mix of plants in the flower garden are growing nicely and bring in a huge amount of butterflies in all shapes and colors.  The video does not capture them all as I was hoping it would.

Canal Head Clearing

 The head of the canal has also been cleared along the south side.  When you reach the end of the canal you now have a much wider view of the beach line.  This also helps to bring a bit of the beach breeze down to the pier so its not a muggy while loading and unloading the boats.

Trip Update #12 - February 2020

 To the Beach

Bluefields is a fun town to be based out of.  There are a lot of fun things to do and great places to go.  Unfortunately the beach is across the bay so you have to boat out to enjoy a good beach day.  Totally worth it even on a choppy day!

Maintaining the Power Line

The jungle grows fast.  Before the power line was installed a huge amount of hard work was done to cut the power trail in.  On our farms the power line runs along part of the estuary.  We have cleared up to where the estuary begins.  The estuary is a large flat area that is just low enough to form a huge field of reeds.

Next Canal Section to Clear

 The canal is about 800 meters long.  A portion of the upper canal that had grown in has been cleared.  You can see some of the lower section pictured below that will also need to be opened back up.

The above picture shows what about 8 years of growth looks like.  You can see the mature roots and then the flat expansion of the new growth that needs to be cleared back.

This is a feeder stream into the canal.  Its not quite halfway but makes for a good boat passing and turn around spot. 

The above pictures are some of the old growth along the canal.  Unfortunately there isn't a lot because people used to use the old stream for access to cut lumber.

Trip Update #12

Town Time

Bluefields is a great place to hang out between trips to the farm.  There are plenty of places to visit, lots of good places to eat, friends to catch up with, and a wide variety of stores to get supplies from.  Below are just a few good pictures from wandering between farm trips.

Nice looking boat build in progress.

Great view from the new hotel.  

North FaB and South FaB

The main walkway separating the north farm and south farm has been landscaped nicely and is growing in very well.  Hopefully the south farm coconuts will grow quickly and catch up to the north farm coconuts.

 

Its easy to see the difference a few years of maintenance and care  make between the north and south farms.  Choppy day so the audio is bad.