Archive for the ‘Nicaragua in the news’ Category
Earthship construction: Day 7
Tuesday, December 11th, 2007Today 25 crew members joined forces to lift and set the 22ft wide rebar birdcage roof on top of the living room. The birdcage roof was wrapped in chicken wire and wired together with hardware cloth. Rumor has it that the roof weighed over 1,000 pounds!
Once the roof was raised, it was fastened to the bond-beam (a concrete beam which supports the roof) with rebar ties. The entire dome was hand plastered with its first coat of cement.
Our living room finally has a roof. Raising the roof on the living-room was a significant team victory and major milestone indicating progress.
Workers, tires and oxen were sliding all over the place as a result of last night’s heavy rains and scattered daily showers. Work progressed at a steady pace despite the fact that the site has turned into a mud pit.
Mike started construction on the bond beam for the green house. Twenty-two more tires 
were pounded out today to form the front tire wall that supports the bottom of the structure. The team also finished the first seven of approximately twenty trusses which will provide the support for the green house roof.
Ted and Demian commenced building the second rebar birdcage roof and the skylight which will be used as the ceiling for the bedroom. The tire pounding continued on the middle utility room. Saturday’s extra effort was noticeable and the interior walls are finally taking shape.
The Earthship hype is spreading rapidly, and as a result most bars and restaurants around San Juan are currently saving their bottles for the project. Daily construction has become a community event.
Today we were visited by numerous photographers, journalists, real estate agents and locals. Even Eduardo Holmann, the mayor himself, made a guest appearance to check out the project and give his support for the outside-of-the-box approach to building.
Our faithful oxen duo continued to haul the dirt needed for the tire pounding and structure burial. The oxen have become trusted members of the crew.
Authored by Justin (Dirt herder, Earthship Biotec)
Earthship construction: Day 1
Tuesday, December 4th, 2007The crew arrived with sledgehammers, picks, shovels and tires in hand to help build Casa Llanta. This is day one of a project to build a house out of tires which cools itself passively, creates its own power and harvests its own water. Joining the American team of Earthship builders is a group of Nicaraguans who are being trained on how to build with this method.
Today the group started pounding tires. To do that the building had to be laid out according to the blueprints. With that done, the first tire was placed on the ground and filled with earth that was excavated from the site when it was leveled. A back-hoe was working all day to provide tire pounders and shovelers with earth, “dirt”, to fill and pound the tires.
By midday the crew of Nicaraguans and Americans learned to communicate with simple yet ludicrous hand signals and monosyllabic spanish grunts. Luckily for most of the Americans the local Earthship team speak Spanish fluently and do the real conversing.
Almost three courses of tires, approximately 175, were pounded and leveled by lunch. The local land caretakers cooked some great local Nicaraguan food that kept us going for a few more hours.
After lunch some much anticipated materials arrived. Sand for concrete, the cooling tubes for ventilation, rebar and one of the water tanks for water catchment. About 20 people worked together to move one of the cooling tubes. Not exactly what we wanted but as with any project in a new place adaptations must be made to suit local availability.
The heat rose throughout the day and took its toll on the crew about 3:30 pm. We all took a shade break for fifteen minutes. The last hour was spent pounding tires and filling in “half blocks” with concrete.
We cleaned up the site and celebrated Day 1 of the Earthship Construction with cold cervezas (beers).
(Authored by Ted Elsasser, Earthship Foreman)
Nicaragua one of “Five Top South American Investment Opportunities”
Saturday, November 24th, 2007Overseas property mall have highlighted Nicaragua as one of the five top South American Investment Opportunities. Joining Chile, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay here is the excerpt on Nicaragua.
“Tourism in Nicaragua is booming, and along with it, many buy-to-let opportunities. Tourism is currently the second largest industry in the nation and over the last 7 years tourism has grown about 70%. Nicaragua has seen positive growth in the tourism sector over the last decade and is expected to become the first largest industry in 2007. The increase and growth led to the income from tourism to rise more than 300% over a period of 10 years. The growth in tourism has also positively affected the agricultural, commercial, and finance industries, as well as the construction industry
Every year about 60,000 U.S. citizens visit Nicaragua, primarily business people, tourists, and those visiting relatives. The majority of tourists that visit Nicaragua are from the U.S., Central or South America, and Europe. According to the Ministry of Tourism of Nicaragua (INTUR), the colonial city of Granada is the preferred spot for tourists and this is where many overseas property investing opportunities are to be found.”
For the full article click here.
News on Guacalito, Nicaragua, Real Estate
Monday, August 27th, 2007Just when everyone seemed to think that the Pellas Group was going to land-bank the property at Guacalito until sometime around 2011, it was announced in La Prensa, one of Nicaragua’s major Spanish languange newspapers, that they are going forward with a $350m development.
I suspected something might be afoot as I was recently there and saw a jet-ranger helicopter departing. I chatted a bit with security personnel who were on-site at the time in an effort to learn who the visitors were. The guard had never seen any of them before with the exception of the person who was appointed to manage the land for the time being.
Needless to say, there was a reason a very expensive helicopter arrived with 6 passengers. I think we now know the reason. There are a few lots for sale there at the time which I think are a bargain at the moment.
Guacalito also features on our Nicaragua Surf Vacation tours. The reason: It’s got a great barreling left that breaks off a point on the north of Manzanillo beach.
That Nicaraguan Tourist Buzz is Growing
Friday, June 8th, 2007Yet more good publicity for Nicaragua, this time in British national newspaper The Telegraph.
Author Michael Kerr writes:
“Tourism has already overtaken coffee as the country’s main source of earnings. Visitor numbers reached 770,000 last year, representing an increase of 11 per cent in the past six years, and revenue totalled US$230 million.
Among those 770,000 were 15,000 from Britain, a market Nicaragua hopes to nurture. For the moment, though, most visitors are from the US, whose citizens – those who have noticed the Contra war is over – see Nicaragua as “a new Costa Rica”
For the entire article go here.
Live Here Cheaper – Get Here Cheaper
Friday, June 8th, 2007The news that Spirit Airlines is providing three flights a week direct from Florida to Managua, Nicaragua, is great to hear.
The fact that this budget airline is offering some incredibley priced seats is even better. Their initial announcement trumpets 8 cent and 8 dollar flights.
Now you might have to be very lucky to score one of these (sadly we missed out) but there is a promise of cheap flights to come and increased competition means good news for flyers.
So, if you do settle here, it’s easy to nip home and see the family.
Better still, fly the family down to see you.
Nicaragua – A Nice Surprise
Monday, June 4th, 2007For the author of this article on
Just like we did.
Hewriting ends:
“With the rapid rise of tourism (over 700,000 foreign visitors in 2005) in
Nicaragua ,Granada is sure to be a much-talked about place in the years to come. Its well-preserved colonial architecture, cobblestone streets, tranquil atmosphere, ideal geographic location and many interesting activities make Granada a truly worthwhile destination, and these are the reasons why you should visit the picturesque, lakeside town of Granada in Nicaragua – regardless of your friends and families’ opinions.”
We’re glad he enjoyed it. No doubt we’ll be seeing him again soon.
Surfing in Nicaragua: Gaining International Recognition as the First National Circuit of Surfing Takes Place in Nicaragua
Sunday, February 18th, 2007Nicaragua has been hosting surf contests for several years. Begun by Tom Eberley of Eberley surfboards, continued by local surfer Javier Baldovines, and now organized by Ricardo Morales, of Sands Surf Shop, the surf contests in Nicaragua are being taken to a whole new level. In 2006, I had the pleasure of representing Nicaragua womens surfing in an international event held in Esterillos, Costa Rica. Following the event, Ricardo Morales began organizing the first National Circuit for surf contests in Nicaragua, with the goal to compete internationally after this year’s first circuit. This years International Central American event is schedule to be help in Guatemala and will follow the same format as last year’s tournament in Costa Rica.
In each event there have been numerous advertisers/sponsors who help out with the event to make each contest possible. News of this last event in La Boquita was on the front page of La Prensa, El Nuevo Diaro sports page, and on the local and national radio stations as well. The event brochures and posters are distributed throughout Managua, San Juan del Sur, Rivas and all along the Coast. Surfing is quickly becoming one of the most popular sports in the country… Click here to view the article
The first event of the National Circuit was held at Playa Maderas, quite possibly Nicaragua’s most popular surfing beach. The second event was held in La Boquita. The next event is scheduled for March 10 and 11th and is located in Las Penitas, just outside of Leon. After that we take the games to Playa Santana, and the final event is scheduled to occur in Popoyo. We are very excited to see this sport gain national recognition in Nicaragua. For property opportunites near a surf break, follow this link for surf real estate available in Nicaragua and, if you want to come on a surf vacation, check out our Surf Nicaragua vacation packages. We’ll tailore the activities just for you.
Nicaragua rising: War-torn image gets a tourist makeover
Thursday, February 15th, 2007Laura Bly, reporter with USA TODAY, recently visited key real estate and tourism areas in Nicaragua including Granada and San Juan del Sur. Her article was published today.
“Long branded the black sheep of Central America, Nicaragua is working hard to erase its 1980s reputation as a war-torn outpost where gringos were more likely to encounter Kalashnikov-toting campesinos than a comfortable hotel. And campaign central is this scruffy fishing village turned surfing haven and intrepid travelers’ Next Great Place.”
A midwinter sun slinks toward the Pacific horizon, casting a flattering glow over the crescent bay where thousands of fortune seekers set sail for California during the Gold Rush. Today, it’s lined with palm-thatched restaurants where Jimmy Buffetts-in-training kick back with $1 beers and concoctions fueled by smooth, Nicaraguan-made Flor de Cana rum.
Two blocks away at La Posada Azul, a just-opened bed-and-breakfast inn owned by expatriates from Santa Fe, guests loll by the pool and contemplate dinner at a new fusion restaurant in the surrounding hills that an earlier American visitor, Mark Twain, praised as “welcome, enchanting, (and) altogether lovely.”
Real Estate: Nicaragua Optimism Despite Ortega
Friday, January 26th, 2007We were quoted in a recent article on the real estate market in Nicaragua by the Latin American Business Chroncile. Along with other commentators, we set out our perspective of the real estate market following Daniel Ortega’s recent return to power.
Despite a new, leftist government led by President Daniel Ortega, executives in Nicaragua’s growing real estate industry remain bullish. The real estate market outlook continues to be positive, says Claudia Gonella, director of the Nicaragua offices of U.S.-based real estate agency Coldwell Banker. We are selling well out of both of our real estate offices, at approximately the same rate as this time last year.
