Empty Nesters on a Green Global Trek

I asked the gardener who comes a few times a month if he could trim a few branches off the Mango tree to give a better view of the volcano from the bed. Only problem is, we don’t have a ladder. No, that’s no problem, he says, as he scurries up the tree with great agility and his machette and proceeds to cut a few key branches. We now have a clear view of both Guadelupe church steeple and Volcan Mombacho from the studio.

There was one more thing we wanted to take care of. When we slept at the studio for the first time there were three salient points: First, was the fabulous wind which comes directly off the lake, not blocked by any other houses or buildings. Secondly the hot water had not been turned on yet by the city and still has not. Thirdly was the experience of the rooster next door crowing throughout the night. While roosters at a distance can have the charm of distant church bells and are a feature of Nicaraguan life, having a rooster literally next door is quite a different matter. More importantly, not being country folk we understood that roosters herald the new day and therefore crow with the first light. Not this rooser! He tests his vocal chords at two a.m., three a.m. four a.m. five a.m. and six a.m. What to do? Over the next few days we choncoted a strategy whereby we would ask the neighbor if we could buy his rooster and we would set him free far, far away. This was a failed strategy as we discovered that our neighbor not only won’t sell his rooster, but in fact, breeds fighting cocks for a living! Hence we accept the rooster and will use ear plugs!

It was fortuitous that we finally decided to build the studio before we would build our bamboo beach house at Ostional, because it turns out that the studio, which we built first in anticipation of Oren’s arrival, has been a great marketing tool for CO2 Bambu. We show it at least a couple times a week to prospective clients and the response is always very positive. It certainly was critical in securing the contract in RAAN.

Oren, who arrives on Dec 16th is preceeded by Adam’s arrival for a month, on Dec 15th. Having not seen either of them since May, I am pretty excited and eager to have time with them. The nest will be temporarily full… Oren will be bringing his cat Thurgood, a prince who has travelled with him from Chicago to California and now to Nicaragua to join the menagerie here. Last week I found yet another little black kitten on the street. We have named her Biafra, due to her huge ball of a stomach since moving in with us. We have been a foster home for her, hopefully we will find a more permanent home soon before the arrival of Thurgood. The zoo is full!

December brings yet more one way tickets! Emma, who volunteered for a month or so at our friends ecolodge on Ometepe, is returning in January on a one way ticket. I believe that Nicaragua will be her base for travel to other parts of Central America. That’s the spirit!

But wait, there is more… Sharon, my most awesome friend from Highland Park, artist and cartoonist, who was visiting here in November for five days, has caught the bug and has a one way ticket for mid January. Since our early days of travel to Nicaragua we have shared our stories and experiences of our time here with her. It seemed to us that what appeals to us about Nicaragua would resonate with Sharon and Aaron, but there never was a good time for that first visit, until recently. She came. She saw.On her last day she was looking at real estate. “Sharon, its your last day here, is this how you want to spend your day?” Her response… “Well, you bought a property on YOUR last day of your first trip to Nicaragua!…..” It will be fun to shop for a house in 2011, in the meantime we have found her a well suited rental house by the month, ten minute walk away from our house.