Still Happy in Nicaragua

You may have heard news of civil unrest in Nicaragua and wondered what is really going on.  I encourage you to get more information, if you desire, from publications online (there are always two sides as you will quickly see).  I will say that in early April there were protests against the government including organized barricades throughout the country that severely slowed traffic and the transportation of goods.  Tourists and temporary residents left the country and most Granada hotels and restaurants, with no business, closed their doors. Talks between government and civil leaders quickly broke down. The government ultimately took back control, ended the chaos, and for several months now life here has felt calm and almost normal.  Thousands of Nicaraguans, though, lost their jobs with the decline of tourism and this hurts countless families.  I will also say that after being here almost five years, we believe in the Nicaraguan people, in their spirit, and ultimately in a bright future for this country. We stayed put throughout the unrest.  We were inconvenienced a bit but felt mostly safe. Daughter Brett and her partner Mark spent three weeks with us in May and June; it was an interesting shared experience.

Another big project was to lay stone paths and make stairs and bridges to connect all buildings on campus.   It is so great to keep shoes dirt-free when walking from one place to the other during rainy season.  Even the dogs like using the new paths.

We were the happy recipients of some beautiful mosaic tile pavers made by our friend Lee. We are making  attractive groupings throughout the place for all to enjoy.

I had a lot of fun creating this frogs and flowers mosaic backsplash for our guesthouse sinks.