Settling In

Where to begin, where to begin.  Actually, I'd like to start by commending the mutts.  Unfrickingbelievable.  Puna was the perfect service dog.  She calmed my 'generalized anxiety' and I think Ian and I calmed hers.  The co-dependency was remarkably effective and the amount of smiles, comments and praise we received during our twenty-four hour journey was enough to put me at ease.  We cleared one minor mishap with a Continental baggage embargo that could have sent me over the edge.  (No surfboards allowed from March 26th-April 7th - naturally, the seventh was our departure date.  Through all our fine attention to details in transporting people, things, and animals to Central America, somehow this one slipped through the cracks.  Props to Continental, though.  Maybe they believed I would have a panic attack if they didn't let us bring the boards, but whatever it was, they let us slide.)  That Big Wave Ale at Kona Brewery might have been the best beer I ever tasted, once we made it through security and Puna was at our feet, adorned in her little red Support Dog vest.  The second greatest moment of the journey was seeing with our very own eyes, Lea, moving up the conveyor belt with everyones luggage, on our connecting flight to Managua.  At that moment, we knew we were home-free.  At least all four of us would be together when we got there.  Ian was there to receive Lea when we landed.  Ten dollars, out the door.  It was a stressful journey for Lea, as we noticed in the hotel, a significant chunk of kennel missing from the right side of the respective container.  I imagine if she had more time, she actually might have eaten her way out.  Little ole' Lea's tail didn't go up for a full day.  I'm happy to report though, that the dogs are psyched.  Here in Nicaragua, they can go with us anywhere, i.e. : breakfast at the Best Western.

After Paxeos came to pick us up from the hotel on Friday morning, we drove through Rivas to get a phone and some groceries and were bombarded by men with boxes wanting to transport our food from the checkout line to the car.  I would imagine we were the tallest, whitest people in Rivas that day and paying a couple of guys two bucks to carry our crap to the car is only providing them a service which, we gladly used.  One more stop at the cerveceria for 48 Toñas and quick stop for some fruit in Tola and it was on to our new home.  Weaving down the dirt road through the barren, littered landscape brought me back to a time in Peru.  I think that particular moment, and the initial scent of burning plastic when we landed, made me realize that I was abroad again.  What an awesome, displaced feeling.  Even more awesome, when the man you love, and your two dogs are sitting next to you.

The casita we're staying in is owned by a lovely lady named Chanelle who is originally from Vancouver Island.  She runs a cool little restaurant/bar on the beach in Gigante and is the ultimate animal lover.  Besides caring for her pack of dogs (some hers and some stray), she has a pet squirrel named Brad who comes to her kitchen window every morning for his plate of peanuts and avocado.  We were a little concerned about Lea's obsession with small, fuzzy, moving creatures, but over the last couple of days, trekking through people's backyards containing pigs, piglets, cows, horses, chickens, more dogs and cats, has seemed to desensitize her from the whole hunting scene.  It's become apparent, that being surrounded by many, many animals is what she's needed all along.  I think eventually, she will completely lose interest.  (Though, she's not over the cows on the path from our house to the beach yet.)  And today, for some reason, Puna developed a fear of pigs.  She refused to go around them, just like monk seals on the beach in Hawaii.  She chose the most round-about way possible, actually dipping down to the beach before meeting up with us again on the trail.

We got to see the property today - the most exciting part thus far.  It's coming along for sure, but is not much farther from the last video update.  It's so amazing to finally see it in it's wooden, thatched-roof flesh.  The exterior walls are almost complete and it's bigger than we expected.  Standing in the loft, we could feel the cool breeze of the valley which is a relief after spending the last couple of days in the sweltering heat of Gigante.  The view from the ridge is amazing.  We spent the afternoon with Seth whom Ian knows from Tahoe and who also owns a condo in Hacienda Iguana.  Seth has got his finger on the pulse of the area and is good people, for sure.  He has high hopes for Ian and the business opportunities that will come with the growth of La Vista.  He has already paved our destiny by introducing Ian and myself to his friends as 'the people who bought in La Vista and are going to open up a restaurant.'  Wouldn't that be a dream come true?

After touring the property, we paddled out to Colorado's.  It's exactly what I expected : a dumping, barreling shore break, that wasn't even really barreling this particular day.  Ian got some nice waves and I cowered in the channel which has seemed to be my definition of surfing lately.  I refuse to get down on myself this early and can see the potential for some fun, fast, challenging waves as soon as it comes down a little bit.  I need a good session but I also need to muster up some confidence which I've been gravely lacking recently.  There are waves up and down the coast here, and I know there's a spot for me.  I've got plenty of time to find it.

So, that's our first couple of days in an extra-large nutshell.  I'm on the computer in the downstairs part of our rental casita, while Ian is in bed already.  We've been rising with the sun and retiring with it's setting.  As of now, she sunk hours ago though, so it's safe to say, it's officially past my bedtime.  More later ya'll!