We take the 9 a.m. train out of Hanoi, towards Ninh Binh in the countryside. The train is pretty easy. We are the only non Vietnamese (falang = gringo in Latin America), and squeeze into our seats with the rest…

We take the 9 a.m. train out of Hanoi, towards Ninh Binh in the countryside. The train is pretty easy. We are the only non Vietnamese (falang = gringo in Latin America), and squeeze into our seats with the rest…
After spending a week in the bustle and hustle of Hanoi, we head out to visit an ancient farming village which has managed to stay relatively intact over the past 100 or so years. The ubiquitous triangular hats and water…
Nicaragua was of course about bamboo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzNGsQ3A3zc&t=531s Over a period of 6 years, we built a bamboo housing industry in a country with a dramatic housing shortage, and a massive amount of construction grade bamboo… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_WPU43ScRc&t=6s Our home was…
Here is an article just published on Peta’s work. Inspired in Granada: Peta Kaplan and The Dogs of Nicaragua by Louise Lakier ( April 11th, 2013 ) http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/blogs/globalsnapshots/2013/04/11/inspired-in-granada-peta-kaplan-and-the-dogs-of-nicaragua/ When interviewing Peta she shared a common conversation she has had…
Walking in the street last night, while Mango was chasing a soccer ball and Ben was chatting with some kids, I noticed some girls with a little kitten nearby. Suddenly they threw the kitten,…
Minor annoyances, such as bats and potential intruders… Bats have been easily dealt with by painting one of our standing lamps in the sala a nice red, which is said to scare them off. On a recent evening I forgot…
It is late morning in Granada and the city is starting to rev up for Hipica. People will come from all over the country to participate or to watch. The narrow streets start to fill with cars, an unusual site…
As of July 4th , 2009 we find ourselves relocated to Granada, Nicaragua. We being, Peta and Ben, but also Mango and Dwayne, our two dogs. Mango has pretty much exploded our carefully sculpted image of being well integrated gringos.…