We received the happy news that our van/trailer and belongings made their way safely back to Canada today, with the generous aid of a friend who was willing to do the drive for us! We felt a big sigh or relief upon hearing of the successful return.

Now, our main task is to deep-clean the house we’ve been renting… always difficult, because clean surfaces tend to invite more stickiness: I have got to find a way to outwit Truett at this game… 

Today, Ben and I were stuck with the task of getting lots of paperwork details organized, and I was so happy when the kids came home from a walk to tell me that the resort was hosting a Halloween party today… so the Bigs took all the Littles to trick-or-treat by the pool while Ben and I hustled on the mind-numbing details and forms involved in big ventures.

We are trying to use up the pantry stuff… as usual, I have too much on hand… Auden made some vegan cinnamon buns today, which everyone devoured! And, Dorian mixed peanut butter and honey, oats and other random pantry sprinkles in a ball and then pressed it into the bottom of a frying pan, which is now residing in the fridge. I do not know what it is or how we are supposed to eat it. We are very short on appropriately sized pots and pans now, as they have all returned to London. I have a feeling we will be eating a number of strange concoctions over the next couple of days.

We fly out on Wednesday: Orlando to Costa Rica. In our research we discovered that it is actually more simple as a large group to go across the land border to Nicaragua (for things like papers, customs, taxes on goods, etc.) than straight through the Managua airport. 

We take a bus from Liberia, CR to the land border of Nicaragua (Piña Blancas) where we walk across the border and then get another bus after we’ve gone through customs.

Our bus drives us directly to the resort (Buena Onda at Playa Santana) where we will have our first meal in our restaurant! It will be a full day with lots of new experiences and sights to see…

We have had the chance to speak on the phone and online with many new friends from the area in Nicaragua where we will be staying, and we are so excited about the adventures that lay ahead of us. 

In closing, I thought I would share an article I stumbled on yesterday regarding the differing/sometimes conflicting news re: Nicaragua in North America vs. what we are hearing directly from those on the ground.

This recently written article (by a Canadian) seems to reflect the sentiments of many expats on the ground in Nicaragua. I thought I would share it for those curious about some of the nuances of the country, as I myself found it quite encouraging and interesting considering the deep history of Central America.

…

I want to give you some news about our new place!

We can’t share the specific address of our new place just yet, as we need to wait until the current owners wrap up some of their business, but we are excited to share that our property in Nicaragua is a small surf resort right on the Pacific Ocean! 

The current owners are Swiss, and built the boutique hotel from the ground up over the last 10 years. They have managed it from abroad for the last six years and it has done very well. It is in fantastic shape and in a great area, both rural, and yet close to a number of other resorts/towns where many families live. The current owner is my age, and his family still owns a house on a hill nearby where they come and spend half the year every year, the other half in Portugal. They moved onto some other business ventures and so decided to sell the resort.

This suits our vision perfectly as a “second footprint” property to move between Canada and Central America.

The resort part of the property is comprised of 6 dwelling places, a swimming pool, and a beautiful palapa (with chairs/table/kitchen and bathrooms) all fenced in a beautifully manicured 2 acres.

There is a small dirt road you must cross to go walk the beach side of the resort (1 acre) which has a lovely family restaurant, a yoga palapa, and a half pipe for skate boarding.

The beach is part of the “Emerald Coast” of Nicaragua – some of the best, most consistent surfing in the world. It is such world class surfing that the beaches surrounding the entire area are dedicated to surfing schools, boutique hotels, unique restaurants, family getaways, and farms/gardens to produce organic foods for the local eateries, as well as local families and business that benefit from the investments of foreigners.

It is entrepreneurial heaven, filled with permaculture enthusiasts, foodies, eco villages, artists, surfers, famers, cob builders, and local craftsmen.

Our plan is to live in the resort side, while hosting family/friends/airbnb stays, which won’t be open to the public. But on the beach side, as the restaurant is already up and running and bringing in good business, we’ll just plan to keep it running under the direction of the local Nicaraguan managers. This gives us lots of flexibility and contributes jobs to the local economy.

As we were leaving Canada, we knew two things: we would be gone for a year, and we were searching for a second footprint to able to invest in a place with more year-round sun. We were considering Texas, Florida, Tennessee (not as much sun, but less winter!), and Nicaragua. I’m mostly not exaggerating to say I looked at 1,000’s of properties in these areas over the last year. Arriving in Florida felt SO good, but I ***knew*** when I found this sanctuary in Central America a few weeks ago that God’s fingerprints were all over this spot for us.

The kids are already anticipating eating the coconuts from the trees on the property, daily swimming, horseback riding, learning to surf, and sledding down a volcano (it’s a thing!).

As of today, flights from Toronto to Managua are $246… making the whole endeavour of getting there and back incredibly feasible (and a lot more simple than the extended scenic route we took!).

Can’t wait for you to visit us… though I suppose we have to get there first.

I’m including some pictures so that you can get a sense of the place. It’s bright, beautiful and so inviting.

We’ve settled into somewhat of a rhythm over the last three weeks. Sunny and Tobin have taken to long early morning walks together (up to two hours every day!). They came home the other day with the intention to begin picking up the trash they passed on their walks. They now go out in the mornings with a garbage bag and fill it by the time they come home… making Florida a little more beautiful every day.

Ben works in the mornings, while most of us head to the pool, soak in the beautiful healing rays of the sun, and upgrade our swimming skills. It’s fun to see the younger children getting more comfortable and confident in the water every day. 

Returning home, the older children are variously doing online work, reading, writing, working on personal projects, taking long unicycle/rollerblading trips, upgrading their art skills, and practicing Spanish. 

Sunny is reading the unabridged Les Miserables right now. How fun it was to converse about the characters as we floated in the pool with a gaggle of little children listening to us roll over themes of grace and law within the story.

Dorian as begun reading A Happy Pocket Full of Money, perhaps my favourite book on finances, ever. He has also been doing a 30-day challenge to sketch a foot every day… it’s amazing to see his progress in just a few days!

Duke has an online Spanish teacher in Nicaragua, who was telling him that ultimate Frisbee is a thing in Central America too!

Tobin has been doing a ton of web design work, not to mention making great lunches for the team. Tucker has been honing his video editing skills, Snowy is researching geckos, Auden is writing recipes, Poppy is making smoothies herself and doing as many grown-up things as possible every day. And Cotton, Nova, Keats and Truett are really good at making art, contributing to healthy baking, and eating snacks!

Ben and I are enjoying the rainy season where the rain just pops up (or down, I suppose) once or twice a day for about 10 minutes. The heat is great and not generally too overwhelming. We are going on lots of walks together and enjoying our new double jogging stroller – such a treat! (We threw out more than a couple broken/deadbeat strollers in the dumpster before we left Ontario!) The two littlest boys love the rhythm of the wheels bumping over the sidewalk, while Mommy tries not to squish geckoes. Ben and I love the time to talk, process life, and work out our visions for the future.

We are having so much fun dreaming, and planning the next leg of our adventure. We anticipate that Central America will be our next landing place and we have already connected with many incredible Canadians who are on the ground in the areas we are keen to visit. We have always desired to give our children a cross-cultural experience, and it is so exciting to me that we can make this happen while they are all still “at home”. 

Technology is a gift in so many ways, connecting us to people and places that in previous decades would have felt inaccessible.

We’re feeling energetic, inspired and so very happy as we stretch ourselves and try new things. Stepping out of our comfort zone has a way of upgrading our senses and awakening us to whole new vistas of opportunity and joy. Feeling thankful.