Blog Comments

Originally Posted by robertharvey

I have a gas powered BB pistol and wondered if one would have trouble transporting it and the cylinders in checked luggage. It is not a firearm but may present me problems? Anyone got an answer.

Maybe ask the airline?

Originally Posted by mupitara

Enjoyed your post Jonh.

I bought a cheap pellet gun for a miskito friend here a couple of years ago. He wanted a rifle to eliminate a squirrel problem he was having in his cacao plantation. The pellet gun was the closest thing I could come up with.

I tried out the gun before giving it to him. It turned out to be a major disappointment. I would have had a better chance of hitting a snowball in the tropics than doing any harm to a squirrel with that thing! The other day my friend asked me where he could buy more pellets. I asked him if he´d hit any squirrels with the gun. He said no. I guess he just likes to put a scare in ´em!

Aisabe,
Papatara

I have a gas powered BB pistol and wondered if one would have trouble transporting it and the cylinders in checked luggage. It is not a firearm but may present me problems? Anyone got an answer.

I eat a lot of beans and for the price they are hard to beat. I usually add some onion, peppers (hot and sweet), tomatoes, and of course on occasion some of Daddy-Yo's favorite herb culantro.

Plantain, I got 2 acres of it, you can only imagine.

Frescos, you name it, here it is Calala and OJ, one of the best. Week before it was fresh Sorrel (Jamaica), nice.

This morning I got 2 Avocado and a woman gave me a Mamay down the road, so along with the 3 Yellowtail Snapper I got in the fridge, some beans, and some plantain I will cook up something, also have a few pounds of a neighbors green beans I may cook.

The past few weeks the cheese has been very good, little salt. A nice addition to the line-up.

I've evolved to the point where I crave red beans; I've become a committed frijolero. Not that I'm no longer un pinche gringo, however, my wife is directly working on that aspect of my personality. I would like more yuca, but I only get that dependably when my mother-in-law visits, and, believe me, she's welcome anytime. Daily we eat gallo pinto con queso seco frito y madura frita, mmmmmmmm tummy smile, washed down with plenty of smooth Selecto café. Quequisque isn't regular fare, but I like it with meat & carrots. I've gotten very accostumed to my wife's refresco de granadilla + OJ. Her guiso con ayote tierno, a squash & cheese casserole is to die for.

Her favorite Nica food is güirila, tortillas made in Matagalpa with maiz tierno, con quijada. (There is no close second for her.)

Comfort. I'm comfortable with what she sets before me. Even a cup of milk with pinolillo can sometimes bridge the hunger gap in style.

Tostones are Awesome! You can actually spread some refried beans and a piece of mozarella cheese, or queso ahumado(smoked Nica cheese) and bake it in the oven until the cheese melts, once out of the oven top them off with some pico de gallo, And We're Rockin and Rollin

If the plantains are in the form of tostones, I will eat them all day long like candy. The other way, split and fried, are good but only in limited quantities.

Throw in plantain, and you are at my house. I actually love beans, but have never adapted to beans and rice, unless it is done Island Style with coconut oil and milk, and even that I can only take in small portions. A neighbor boils beans to sell so a pot is never more than a few steps away. My late morning meal most of the year, especially the dry months when I am outside all day is fried plantain and beans, maybe a scoop of rice on the side if there is some on the stove. Just enought to keep you going, but not slow you down.

I figured pulperia bread would be less likely to be fresh than supermarket bread. Depends on the individual store, I guess.

I was going to try the same thing at the ATM, get either 400 or 600, maybe with 700 they'll have to spit out at least one 100 peso note. It's like Vegas, the house always wins!

I did get to a panederia later yesterday to buy picos and cinnamon rolls, and they changed my 500 no questions or rolling of eyes.

Most of the pulperias here in Managua sell pan de molde. Esteli isn't there yet? Usually if I am too lazy to walk to the Pali 2 blocks away from me, and want to make a sandwich, I will buy the bars of bread, and either crema de queso, or queso para freir, tomatos and mustard can easily be found in the pulperias as well. Only thing missing is the lettuce.

My trick to the ATM's used to be to ask for an extra 100 or 200 cordobas above 500 or 1000, that way if the machine gave 500's then I would get some 100's for my small purchase, however now that the machinces are dispensing 200 notes, and at times they are just as useful as 500 notes in small purchases, its hard to say what you will get. I have found certain machines that now only give 200's and 100's rather than 500's, so that helps.

My first BB gun was a piece of crap "Marksman" pistol shaped vaguely like a 1911. If anyone else had one, you know what I mean. Cast in cheap white metal and painted black, it was sort of a muzzle loader and shot either BBs or little darts and you pumped it by racking the "slide." I used to try to shoot squirrels, not because I disliked them, it was just something to do when you're a kid and, besides, they made an ungoldy mess when they ate pine cones. The "Marksman" (sadly misnamed) only pushed ammo out the end with just enough force to give a person a love tap at point blank range, and it seemed to take a whole carton of BBs to be able to hit a squirrel up a tree due to its dreadful inaccuracy. But once I finally did hit a squirrel, he dropped the pine cone he was eating and scurried off to his nest.

Now, with a better BB gun, I only shoot balloons tied to the bushes or paper targets in the garage.

Enjoyed your post Jonh.

I bought a cheap pellet gun for a miskito friend here a couple of years ago. He wanted a rifle to eliminate a squirrel problem he was having in his cacao plantation. The pellet gun was the closest thing I could come up with.

I tried out the gun before giving it to him. It turned out to be a major disappointment. I would have had a better chance of hitting a snowball in the tropics than doing any harm to a squirrel with that thing! The other day my friend asked me where he could buy more pellets. I asked him if he´d hit any squirrels with the gun. He said no. I guess he just likes to put a scare in ´em!

Aisabe,
Papatara

A very nice journal entry, Bigh Jonh, well-written and an enjoyable read. Thanks for sharing.

Sometimes it's the simple life that brings us the greatest joys. To be able to take a stroll with your daughter & dog, while on a "mission", and get a little shopping in on the side. It's part of the joy of being in Nicaragua. Think of the hassles driving around town in the States, in & out of the car, no dogs in the mall, etc.

You mentioned the guy used one of those old fashioned devices to get a copy of your visa. I always dread that those machines will slice my card in half someday, stripping me of a credit card.

As for "seemed trustworthy" I'm like you. Or more like Poe's raven, "Nevermore." I check charges online frequently when I'm in that neck of the continent. I got stung twice for several thousand dollar charges I didn't make. Apparently in Honduras' coastal region some place, where I paid by visa, recorded its magnetic strip (in the process of swiping it through a reader hooked to a computer), sent it to Europe where a duplicate card was made & used. Visa was good to me, thankfully, I was not liable and they express-mailed me another card.

When He rolls up His sleeves
He ain't just puttin' on the ritz
(our God is an awesome God)
There is thunder in His footsteps
And lightning in His fist
(our God is an awesome God)
Well, the Lord wasn't joking
When He kicked 'em out of Eden
It wasn't for no reason that He shed his blood
His return is very close and so you better be believing
that our God is an awesome God

REFRAIN
Our God(our God) is an awesome God
He reigns(He reigns) from heaven above
With wisdom(with wisdom) pow'r and love
our God is an awesome God

And when the sky was starless in the void of the night
(our God is an awesome God)
He spoke into the darkness and created the light
(our God is an awesome God)
Judgment and wrath he poured out on Sodom
Mercy and grace He gave us at the cross
I hope that we have not too quickly forgotten that
our God is an awesome God

Refrain x3

Our God is an awesome God
Our God is an awesome God
(Our God is an awesome God)
(Our God is an awesome God)

Hahaha, who in the hell wants to eat "Dry" food.....

I want a plate of food that has a little "Love " in it......

I thought for a minute there you was going to say, he walked up to it, sniffed it, and then pissed on it....

Too late, he's a more reliable alarm clock than the electric kind. Little paws tapping the side of the bed, "Let me out to pee, please."

Careful, John, he'll start training you soon!