2023 - The freshest crap from farm to table

[bill_bly_ca]

Had a really nice day at the Nindri stadium - Double header with San Fernando of Masaya against the Tigres of Chinandega - San Fernando won both games soundly. Ho trouble with the camera - asked before entering and was waived off. Entrence is 70Cord for any seat behing home plate. They have "Seats" Really just plastic slabs, but still seats - the 50 cord seats by 1st and 3rd are netal bleacher/steps

Tona was C40, Vigaron was C$70

Took some other videos of the walk from Nindiri stadium to the Dinosaur park and then the walk from the Puma station to Reparto Faria just to see how good the stabilization works.

Chilo overheard people talking about a Hipica in Santa Taresa in Corazo tomorrow. She asked what time and it looks like it starts at 3, so we will probably pop over to see that.

[bill_bly_ca]

Context

SIL has 1mbps internet, phone, and cable She pays $18 a month for that.

BIL has 3 mbps internet, phone, and cable that he paid $25 for

I asked BIL to bump it to 12mbps for 2 months - He did and now I do my 3 days a week work from his place. It adds $10 to his bill a month

So I thought why not see if SIL an do the same, that way I do not have to complicate BIL's life (He is hosting 3 additional people until the paperwork clears)

SIL has a Tigo promotion paper - $23 for 20mbps and cable - She calls Tigo, Tigo comes to the door, she signs up for the promotion with a "0 Month" contract.

The Tigo box was to be installed yesterday before 5 or today before noon.

Both time stamps have passed.

Internet Come soon Man

[KeyWestPirate]

When we got the SKY installed,, some guy showed up at the farm with the dish strapped to the back of his MC

I was a bit skeptical,, but it's the one thing that has always worked.

AND,, it has Fox News in English (wonder of wonders).


I remember SKY from CR,, a lot more English programming.
Our SKY is of Mexican origin I believe.


SKY is everywhere,, so it might just be a matter of pushing the right buttons.

[bill_bly_ca]

So no internet yesterday either - excuse was "It was raining" <shrug>

On Monday we did some shopping for furniture and then got the Android box and remote squared away

Android box - We have 2 IPTV subscriptions. This gives Chilo PPV boxing, baseball and Novellas and Me, Hockey and the Canadian news feeds - It was 800 cord at the "Every thing store" They are on display between the Calculators and the Dildos oddly - One lady was taking real interest in the Dildos as we awkwardly stood beside waiting for the attendant to get us the Android box.

We Gave Marta a 32" TV back in 2017 - The remote was trashed in the past year, so we found a generic replacement - $60 cord.

Picked up another pair of repaired sandals from Masayita at the market - Complete rebuild od nylon sandals - C$200

[bill_bly_ca]

So we actually got to Super Herramientas

The store is of fair size - Not small, but by no means big - About 15x30 for the front section or new tools only and a 30x50 space in the back that is almost 80% Harbour freight returns and some New

Your run of the mill Bauer, Predator and other HF marks - A huge bin of used parts (stators bearings, switches etc etc)

Drill presses looked reasonable, compressors as well.

Then popped over to Galarias to see Siman and another appliance store.

The long and shorth of it is the range will be in the 29 to 34K cord and the fridge in the low 20's. Interesting the Whirlpool range in Galarias is made (or possibly just assembled in) Kentucky

We did stop in at hooters and I asked Chilo if those were the breast ... I mean best.... wings she had had in Nicaragua - She agreed, but no return visit has been negotiated yet.

Then stopped in at PriceSmart again - Some Eggs, 4# Ground beef, 5# Chicken breasts, 200 zip lock bags, 20 Hamburger Buns - Tona and Heiniken, 1.5# Cheese,2#Lunch meat, a cake, salad dressing, bread & lettuce And yea - We did not walk out the door for less than $150 But we are good for 2 weeks of chicken and beef intermixed with gallo pinto and the like.

[bill_bly_ca]

Here it is 1/3 of March and little to report. We got to Managua again, took care of stuff at the cemetery, walked around Galarias, shopped at Pricemart again.

Follow up visits to Hooters for more wings is off the table now :-)

Funny finding Harbour freight web site is blocked from Nicaragua - VPN it works fine, but not via VPN - No go.

Will get to Apoyo this aft I think and catch a baseball game in Granada tomorrow. Not sure what Sunday or Monday bring.

Bought the TicaBus tickets back - Two days before so I can get some work done, Some on the bus, some in the Air BnB before we fly back

Chilo is figuring on 35lbs of cheese to be brought back and those blocks in 1 and 2 lb blocks - Cheese is 90 cord /# today but who knows next week. We should be able to unload that at $13 to $15CDN a #

[KeyWestPirate]

Is there a market for Nicaraguan cigars where you are ?

I used to bring a large amount of coffee and rum in when I was in CR.
I was never bothered.

They may have some automatic recognition system going and xray bags:
They found 4 large CR avocados in a carry on once,, they seemed to know that they were there.

The avocados were Haas,, but they were huge, similar in size to the Nicaraguan avocados which I don't think are as flavorful.

Generally I have had little trouble bringing stuff into the US.
Into Nicaragua,, that is a different story.

Espino and Las Manos share people,, and they don't seem to like . . . . . anyone.
Individual people can be nice,, but the management seems to be a PIA.
Then again,, it might just be me.

Honduras on the other hand,, loves gringos at the moment,, won't even come out to look at your load.

The thing that you have to realize,, and accept,, is that it's a constantly moving target.
Individual agents vary in their friendliness, and you are dealing as much with individuals as you are with an institution.
Their computer systems are increasingly removing the flexibility that agents might have liked to extend.

Guatemala,, 90 days for a vehicle permit,, and no in and out like we do in Nicaragua.
Previously,, they used a passport number,, so if someone else was on the title,, or if you were willing to get a carta de poder, you could get around it.

Now the VIN number is what they hook the permit to, and it takes "home office approval" to get an exception.


I used to in and out in Honduras, for a vehicle permit renewal, since it was very close.
At one point, some years back,, $50 bought you an extension of your tourist permit even though Honduras is C4 and you really haven't left.

Another thing about C4 if you are driving ,, your 90 days starts when you enter the first country.
Honduras is not as understanding as Nicaragua when you overstay.
There is a $200 fine.

Everyone is busy,, but sometimes buying coffee and cookies for the whole office will buy you special attention.

I believe that clean and well dressed is important too, it shows respect for their country.

[el duende grande]

Got zinged on coffee a couple years ago mga-USA. Apparently carry-on limited is 1 400 gram bag per the Gringos, rest must go in hold luggage. I had time to back out and send it in hold baggage for about the same money the coffee was worth.
Rarely do I take a suitcase back to the states, it is not worth the trouble. I just buy a new suitcase at a thrift store for 15 bucks for the trip down. With a 24 liter personal item and a 44 liter carryon you have buku room for a quick trip, but watch out for US super economy tickets that don't allow carryon.

Is there a market for Nicaraguan cigars where you are ?

I used to bring a large amount of coffee and rum in when I was in CR.
I was never bothered.

They may have some automatic recognition system going and xray bags:
They found 4 large CR avocados in a carry on once,, they seemed to know that they were there.

The avocados were Haas,, but they were huge, similar in size to the Nicaraguan avocados which I don't think are as flavorful.

Generally I have had little trouble bringing stuff into the US.
Into Nicaragua,, that is a different story.

Espino and Las Manos share people,, and they don't seem to like . . . . . anyone.
Individual people can be nice,, but the management seems to be a PIA.
Then again,, it might just be me.

Honduras on the other hand,, loves gringos at the moment,, won't even come out to look at your load.

The thing that you have to realize,, and accept,, is that it's a constantly moving target.
Individual agents vary in their friendliness, and you are dealing as much with individuals as you are with an institution.
Their computer systems are increasingly removing the flexibility that agents might have liked to extend.

Guatemala,, 90 days for a vehicle permit,, and no in and out like we do in Nicaragua.
Previously,, they used a passport number,, so if someone else was on the title,, or if you were willing to get a carta de poder, you could get around it.

Now the VIN number is what they hook the permit to, and it takes "home office approval" to get an exception.


I used to in and out in Honduras, for a vehicle permit renewal, since it was very close.
At one point, some years back,, $50 bought you an extension of your tourist permit even though Honduras is C4 and you really haven't left.

Another thing about C4 if you are driving ,, your 90 days starts when you enter the first country.
Honduras is not as understanding as Nicaragua when you overstay.
There is a $200 fine.

Everyone is busy,, but sometimes buying coffee and cookies for the whole office will buy you special attention.

I believe that clean and well dressed is important too, it shows respect for their country.

[bill_bly_ca]

Crossing from Nicaville to Ticoville

There is no scan of the bags - You get off the bus (on the tico side) - Walk to the other side of the parking lot - get back on the bus once your name is called.

To Canada there is no limit on "dry" cheese - No wet cheese - Our flight back is SJO to YYZ direct with the obligatory on / off plane in El Salvador so it _should_ be good.

Cigars - The market is awash with people bring their 50 limit back from Cuba - Trying to tell people that a $3 Nica cigar is as good as a $10 Cuban is lost in the noise.

[KeyWestPirate]

" . . .Rarely do I take a suitcase back to the states, it is not worth the trouble. I just buy a new suitcase at a thrift store for 15 bucks . ."

What we do mostly now.
We look on CraigsList when we anticipate a flight and use the suitcase to aggregate the odds and ends we are bringing down.

A thermocouple for the coffee roaster a new engagement cable for the roto tiller, these little things all into the cracks if they are not kept in one place

Typical, sometimes less:

https://tucson.craigslist.org/for/d/...595908437.html

We then just give the suitcase away.

[KeyWestPirate]

"...There is no scan of the bags - You get off the bus (on the tico side) - Walk to the other side of the parking lot ..."


Shelley came down once with two full bags, each right at the 50 # limit.
Bussed up from Liberia.

So, a wheel broke on one of the big bags,, she has her day pack, carry on.
Oddly,, there is no help in that "no man's zone" from the tico border to the nica border.
It's a surprisingly long walk.

Once she got to the Nica building, the Conejo found her,, and he was able to to muscle the bags to where I was waiting,, a bit beyond the big gate to the north.

She arrived sweaty and somewhat out of sorts with remarks like,,

>>> "You can haul your own $h!t next time"

[Little Corn Tom]

>>> "You can haul your own $h!t next time"

Sounds reasonable to me...

Well......so much for the used suitcase idea,eh?!

[el duende grande]

The CR route is a hump, plus I gave up on those 47 lb suitcases years ago. Last time I had a 24 inch suitcase rather than a 28 inch just to constrain myself. It did bust a handle but I muddled through. Eyeball those desert suitcases well as the heat can do bad things to rubber and plastic. Next trip I may bring down a roll of gorilla tape, good stuff that gorilla tape, I'm finding it a solution for most things Nicaraguan! If gorilla tape won't fix it, then it is on to the paracord.

I'd hate to have anything go wrong in the noman's land. reminds me of an incident when I was a kid. A woman was hit by a car and fell on the double yellow line on Jefferson Blvd. Ambulances responded from L.A City and L.A. County and argued for 20 minutes about who had jurisdiction before one of them hauled her away.

[bill_bly_ca]

We got to a Tibarons game on Saturday, double header, Tibarons won the first lost the 2nd - We left in the 3rd of the 2nd to see the town.

it was the first time we walked from the Puma/Uno to the Calzada - It was a long walk, but not unbearable.

At 4 on a Saturday La Calzada was a ghost town. We split a shrimp platter at an Irish themed bar with a pool and rooms - We asked the fellow how much the rooms were and he said 35 but talk to the desk. This intrigued us as a night out by ourselves on St Patties day sounded appealing. But when we got to the counter it gave the appearance of a bait and switch as the 4 rooms they had available for next Friday were 55 or 60.

We walked a little further down the street and got a nice room reserved for next Friday for 500 Cord. In at 11 out at 12 the next day.

We then sauntered down to the lake had a brew and then started walking back and managed to catch the Alcadia happy bus with a generator strapped to the back and caught the 3rd last bus to Masaya

Yes it was EMPTY - but it was 4PM - Will see next weekend what brings St Patties day and after dark.

[bill_bly_ca]

A bit of a hiccup entering tico-ville - X-ray buddy jumped up and said no cheese - 25# to the dumper - I guess the one good thing is that his jump up either made him miss bag #2, also with 25#. We will still be up $200 cdn with the 25# - Just a bummer it was not more.

So he actually did do his job - Carelessly missing 1/2
Actually just wanted some cheese, and took 1/2
Took pitty on Chilo's facial expression and left half alone

He was blathering on about the bag of rosquillos but in the end let them go. So my vote is he wanted some cheese for him.

The wrecked Mercedes where teh 4 preachers died Monday afternoon was still on the side of hte road - I guess they don't take the car away after an accident that fast.

8 people missed the bus in Granada.

THe driver was a hoot - chatting up the girls the entire way.

This AirBnB is nice - ceiling is almost exactly how I want to do ours - Maybe snap some photos in the day light tomorrow - It is $52CDN a night so 37 or 38US - 2 Rooms with a common area.

Everything important was locked away - 2 cameras, 4 lenses, 2 Monitors android box, and the fan. A good 40# of clothes are all zipped up in ziplock bags squished good and tight.

Tomorrow work remote and then off to SJO to wait at 2:30 ish in the morning.

[KeyWestPirate]

The mental calculus required to deal with the CA variables is maddening.
Save a buck here, spend two there.

It wouldn't be so bad if it didn't change like the wind.
The next time the guy may not care about the cheese.

Was it close to lunch? He might have been hungry.

[bill_bly_ca]

So all 25# went like a flash - Even the local Tienda called to buy some after it was all gone. If we can take 100# or 150# back next trip (to drive) it would pay for the gas.

The kids did not surprise us with any thing more than a some what messy house. Not with the 1/2 finished kitchen reno they tried and failed on last year - That took 2 months to get right.

Reports of the old Hotel Masaya being seized prove to be correct. This is the closest seizure to us that I know of. IIUC the titled owner is in the US and on a list, but not the list where the citizenship was stripped - Another building was taken yesterday as well, which I do not know where it is other than in Masaya. As well the cattle men's land by Achaculinca was also identified as the new home for 450 sandie houses at 70 to 150 a month

Work was a mad house Friday and every single person I spoke to was happy I was back

In Costa Rica we had a nice get together with Oscar's Aunt and cousin. They left 2 yrs before the sandies won in 79, and have done quite well for themselves. Oscar's cousin works at a foreign office of Canadian bank "Bank of Nova Scotia" in HR and has been there for over a decade with training visits to Canada

Probably next visit will be after Canadian Turkey day, until just prior to Christmas - Maybe right after Purisima.

[KeyWestPirate]

So all 25# went like a flash - Even the local Tienda called to buy some after it was all gone. If we can take 100# or 150# back next trip (to drive) it would pay for the gas.

Or fly out of Managua.



Our latest: Drive to San Antonio and fly cheaper ($600 RT) and faster (5 hours)

Tucson is just one of those "can't get there from here" kind of places.
We are going to try it in May and see how it goes.
Of course,, we have to leave the car somewhere . . . . . or take the train.

870 miles in a Ford F150 = $200 in gas, depending ON how WOKE Sleepy Joe is on that date.
Gas was less than $3.00 two weeks ago; now it's 3.50 minimum,, closer to $5 in California where we just spent a week.
Amtrak is $96 x 2 of us.
That is one way,, 19 hours on the train.

You are going to lose the better part of a day in each direction no matter how you do it,, Fly, Train,, Drive

The solution would be to move to San Antonio.
There is really nothing keeping us here in Tucson,,
EXCEPT Shelley accepted a job as a school nurse at one of the Tucson high schools.
It came with a $3500 hiring incentive.

[RGV AG]

Our latest: Drive to San Antonio and fly cheaper ($600 RT) and faster (5 hours)

Tucson is just one of those "can't get there from here" kind of places.
We are going to try it in May and see how it goes.
Of course,, we have to leave the car somewhere . . . . . or take the train.

870 miles in a Ford F150 = $200 in gas, depending ON how WOKE Sleepy Joe is on that date.
Gas was less than $3.00 two weeks ago; now it's 3.50 minimum,, closer to $5 in California where we just spent a week.
Amtrak is $96 x 2 of us.
That is one way,, 19 hours on the train.

You are going to lose the better part of a day in each direction no matter how you do it,, Fly, Train,, Drive

The solution would be to move to San Antonio.
There is really nothing keeping us here in Tucson,,
EXCEPT Shelley accepted a job as a school nurse at one of the Tucson high schools.
It came with a $3500 hiring incentive.

Gas in TX should be about $1.50 or maybe more less than in CA. Usually about $.65 or so cheaper than AZ, if I remember correctly. A lot of your drive is EP to SA, so running TX for about half the trip, maybe more.

SAT was one of those hidden airports for MGA back in the day, no se why. Lowest fare I ever got out of TX to MGA, actually the lowest 2, were SAT to MGA, one was right at $200 RT and the other about $260, this was circa 2010 or so. And on through 2018 when I was still traveling there I would find fares in the $300's.

I am surprised you can't find a cheap ticket to CDMX and go avianca from there. I just bought a RT from MEX to MGA for $480 on Avianca for an employee. I would say maybe even ride one of those executive buses from the border to CDMX. Most arrive at the Terminal del Norte and that is close to the airport. Those buses would prolly be more comfortable than AMTRAC.

[KeyWestPirate]

I am surprised you can't find a cheap ticket to CDMX and go avianca from there. I just bought a RT from MEX to MGA for $480 on Avianca for an employee. I would say maybe even ride one of those executive buses from the border to CDMX. Most arrive at the Terminal del Norte and that is close to the airport. Those buses would prolly be more comfortable than AMTRAC.


Thank you.
Some more possibilities
I see a lot of Tufesa buses on the I-10 and know that they run all the way to Idaho

I'll look into it.

[bill_bly_ca]

So brewed my first batch of lawnmower beer, 4% lite ale, the mash stage was a bit complicated - You have to keep the mash @ 150f for one hour to liberate the sugars from the grains. The water hit up to 150F before I put in the grains and it dipped to 148 and then some extra heat - Then some stirring yielded 162f - apparently 162 is a bit to high and some of the sugars (may) be lost - <shrug>

A boil for the wort was uneventful for one hour - Simple Chez Saaz hops were used. Then a dunk in of the chiller coil got us to 70F in 15 min - The yeast (Safale 05) was pitched into the 5gal fermentation bucket and the bucket left in a 62F area for the next 14 days

Probably Wed or Thusday I will run another batch but with 10lbs of grains and a different yeast (Safale 04) and a different hop.

The grain I am using is 2 row and got a 55# bag - that bag should so about 5 batches. THe last batch was 8# and the next 2 will use 10#

In days of 'ol I used PBW (Professional Brewers Wash) to keep things clean - Apparently the newest rage is to use non scented OxyClean - Billy Maze would be proud

[bill_bly_ca]

Brewed up another batch yesterday - This one was 10# of 2 row mash and a different hop - Also used Safale-04 yeist. This batch is bubbling much more than the first - So I bet I screwed up in the first somehow. Will probably brew up another batch wed or Thursday night. This time I managed to keep the mash between 149 and 162 this time. I do think I will go to a mash-tun though as it is easer to keep the mash the right temp.


All of the new arrivals were at church today, Jenny's 19 externded family migration to Canada seems to have worked out OK in the end and now that the cold is drifting away they will probably put down some stronger roots to be tested by next winter. - It was a full house with Oscar and Herminia's youngest baptizing their youngest child's , child. She married a fellow from Trinidad so there was Curried chicken, gallo pinto, and a graze of food for sure.

Daniel sent me an ad for a new Pricesmart-ish type store by Oriental - Mega Jerusalem is the name and the promo seems to show good pricing. Need to go visit next fall. https://megajerusalem.com/

[bill_bly_ca]

Got the passport renewed this morning. It was to expire on Nov 30 of this year. Arrived at the Service Canada office at 8:35, had the formed checked within 10 min and had a place in the queue. About 20 min later I had a teller checking the papers and giving me a bump for 10 days as I mentioned I wanted to travel to the states in May. I thought it was an extra chage for expedite but that is not the case. I should be mailed by Apr 25 and in my hands by the first week of May.

The trip to the US is for Hamvention which is an electronics convention in Dayton OH. It should be a one day run.


Tonight I do another beer brew - This time it will be an amber ale - Eventually I would like to brew 2 or 3 beers a week and sell a couple briskets (sliced of course) and 2 or 3 - 20L - Either a Friday / Saturday night or Saturday/Sunday - I hope this sort of thing will keep me busy when down there. It will be a hoppy ale and an Amber ale and possibly a Dark ale as well. The first batch, which I a pretty sure it failed, will be timed to crack open Thursday, will tell for sure - The second batch, which I did this past weekend, should be ready to be cracked the 20th.

They have hired the fellow who will cover for me for camera inspections when I am off started Monday - A pretty keen young fellow.

Got a raise this week which was nice. It is back dated to Jan 1 which I guess the mother corp uses to keep profitability Artificially high for 2022 (I believe the Corp's year end in Mar 30) I amd now back to the level I had when I was flying back and forth to Asia for LCD display work and made all that overtime.

[KeyWestPirate]

Tonight I do another beer brew - This time it will be an amber ale - Eventually I would like to brew 2 or 3 beers a week and sell a couple briskets (sliced of course) and 2 or 3 - 20L - Either a Friday / Saturday night or Saturday/Sunday - I hope this sort of thing will keep me busy when down there. It will be a hoppy ale and an Amber ale and possibly a Dark ale as well. The first batch, which I a pretty sure it failed, will be timed to crack open Thursday, will tell for sure - The second batch, which I did this past weekend, should be ready to be cracked the 20th.


So,, a Country and Western themed bar with a craft brewery on the side. Here's a suggestion for one of yur brews:

Old Hopalong

[bill_bly_ca]

I think the only problem for brewing beer in Nicaragua is only hopps, grains and yeast.

basically all the ingredients of beer...

No issue there...