Jonh

About town

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Today's mission was to go take out some money from the ATM so we could pay the workers who have finished the septic tank rebuild. My wife requested I pick up some ron con pasa ice cream at the Eskimo shop while I'm out. And since our daughter was bored I invited her and the dog along.

It's five blocks to the Bank Corner. On the last block before the corner, something in a shop caught my eye. I'd dropped my pocket knife while riding a horse out on the farm, and there were two knives there behind the counter of a sporting goods shop. We went inside and I asked to look at them. The young man was enthusiastic and a credit to the realm of customer service. Turns out the two knives were the same brand as the cheap Hicksville pawn shop knife I'd lost - Frost Cutlery. One was ugly zebra striped, but nice and light weight; the other had a green handle, was heavier, but much better balanced and more expensive. I chose that one, at C$350. My Visa card worked fine, but he had to use the old fashioned carbon paper device after phoning in some kind of code. The guy seemed trustworthy, but I'll keep an eye on my balance just in case. Tienda Deportiva Halcon is the name, the front is painted red.

About one third of the shop was team sports, like baseball and futbol plus some bb guns, a third was "edged" sports like hunting, camping, and general purpose knives, plus darts and such. The other third was firearms. I asked how much a box of 50 .45ACP ammo was. He said a thousand cordobas, or about U$47! About triple the price in the US. I didn't ask about gun prices, but stickers on a couple Glocks said "1200" which I assume is USD.

From there, we went to the ATM; my daughter played lookout while I did the deed. Then we set off for the Eskimo shop. I thought I remembered where it was, but we ended up walking in circles. Leave it to my daughter to remember where it was, though. One container of chocolate, and one of rum raisin (ron con pasas) came to C$80. At least we got some good exercise.

Everywhere, people commented how cute the dog was. I'm impressed with how well behaved most of the Esteli street dogs are. They just lie there and watch our dog trot by, or come up and politely smell his perro gringo butt and move along. A few behind fences bark, but not viciously. They probably want to come out and play.

We got home a few minutes before a brief rain shower cooled things down.

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Updated 06-23-2010 at 09:20 AM by Jonh

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  1. Daddy-YO's Avatar
    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.
  2. mupitara's Avatar
    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
  3. Jonh's Avatar
    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.
  4. robertharvey's Avatar
    Quote 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.
  5. Jonh's Avatar
    Quote 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?
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