Each town in Nicaragua has its own Patron Saint.  Nicaraguans of all ages honor the saint’s birthday annually with celebrations called fiestas patronales. 

While the purpose is religious, the focus is on music, dance, games, rodeos, and more – including the occasional cervesa or Nica Libre.  Along with San Juan de Oriente and San Juan de Jinotega, the community of San Juan del Sur celebrated its patron saint, Saint John, with pride this past week.

Saturday, June 20th, marked the beginning of San Juan’s 2009 fiesta patronal with a hípica (horse parade) and the coronation of Miss San Juan del Sur.  On Sunday, the church held a mass in celebration of all the “Johns.”  Monday-Wednesday played host to a series of neighborhood processions of the image of Saint John, as well as to three rodeos. 

The festivities went into high gear with an all-night celebration on Tuesday evening, complete with a fireworks display, mariachis, marimbas, and a Gigantonas dance-off.

San Juaneños officially honored the birthday of Saint John on Wednesday with folkloric dancers, a final procession of Saint John…

….and my personal favorite – Juegos Bufos (silly games).  The games consisted of Palo Lucio (wherein men attempt to climb to the top of a very tall, greased pole), a bicycle race around town, and Chancho Lucio (a greased pig is unleashed in the streets of the pueblo and grown men and children attempt to capture it). 

The week of festivities wrapped Wednesday night with a concert on the beach featuring the band Macolla.

By my estimation, Fiestas Patronales was one of the best celebrations in San Juan del Sur, not to be missed!  To find out when Fiestas Patronales take place in your town, visit http://www.hechoennicaragua.com/feriados.asp

This past Sunday, we treated ourselves to a baseball game in Rivas, where the team played a double header against Boer.  We caught a few innings of the second game and watched Rivas shut out Boer with a final score of 6-0.  

Watermelon instead of Fenway Franks?

"Rivense de Corazon"

Ads for Jesus instead of Giant Glass

Rivas stadium with Volcan Concepción in the background

The baseball park in Rivas

No Ortiz or Youk, but there were some Red Sox...

Casa de la Mujer: Mayra Calderon is a collective voice for those who share a commitment to issues concerning women in the greater San Juan del Sur area. Our mission is to facilitate the empowerment of women by providing support, education and alternatives.  Most recently, the Casa de la Mujer received a generous donation from two non-profit organizations, allowing the women of the Casa to begin two soccer teams – one for youth, ages 10-12 and one for older women.

Please visit the Casa’s blog for more information and consider a donation to support a teacher, a youth soccer team, supplies and more. Feel free to contact me for more info.

Camp Shaka is an overnight surf experience for kids between the ages of 12 and 15 located in Santana Beach on the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua. The summer camp consist of 6 days / 5 nights and includes daily surf lessons for beginners, community service, teambuilding exercises, and awesome activities and excursions.   Visit www.campshakanicaragua.com for more information.

A number of people have emailed me requesting information on the cost of living here in Nicaragua.  At long last, here it is.  Please note that this is based solely on my experience here, with my husband.  Each traveler will have a different set of needs and therefore, a different budget.  I would also note that if you are seriously considering a move here, it is helpful to have a minimum of a few months of living expenses already saved, as well as money set aside for a trip back home, if necessary.  Do not operate under the assumption that you will be gainfully employed here, as Nicaragua currently has an unemployment rate of 3.9% and an underemployment rate of 46.5%.  The exchange rate is approximately 20 Nicaraguan Cordobas to the US Dollar.

Rent:

This number varies greatly depending on where, within Nicaragua, you decide to live.  San Juan and other more touristy areas tend to cost more.  San Juan, 1-2 bedrooms: anywhere from $250-$600/month.  We are currently living in a furnished 1-bedroom for appx. $500/month, but it includes water, electric (plus back-up), security, housekeeping 2x/week, Internet, and cable TV.

Water:

This cost also depends heavily on where you live.  If you have an apartment that draws from the town water supply, you are likely to spend approximately $10.  If you live in a development, outside of town, you might have significantly higher water bills, especially if you have a pool.

Electricity:

A basic monthly electric bill will run you approximately $15 via Union Fenosa.  However, if you have air conditioning and intend to use it, expect to pay a significantly higher monthly bill. 

Propane:

Most homes have propane-powered stoves/ovens.  They typically come with a gas tank that you refill as needed.  A small tank costs approximately $15 to fill and will last you a few months.

Cell Phone:

Cheap, burner phones can be purchase in town starting at approximately $20.  Minutes can be purchased as needed. There are 2 phone companies here – Claro and Movistar.  People claim that Claro has better coverage, but most people I know have Movistar.  It’s helpful to know that calling between the two companies (i.e. Movistar to Claro) is almost as expensive, if not more expensive, than calling back home to the States.  But, calling within your company (i.e. Movistar to Movistar) costs very little.  So, if you already have friends here, find out what they have and consider getting that.

Cable TV:

You have 3 options for television (cable via Estesa, satellite TV via SKY or pirated satellite tv).  Cable runs about $18/month, SKY begins around $32/month and pirated is free once you buy the dish and the box.  

 Internet:

In order to have internet, you need to have a cable connection, via Estesa.  Internet costs anywhere from $30 – $50/month depending on your connection speed.

 Car Fuel:

Cost of fuel is hovering around 15-16 cordobas/liter for diesel.  We can fill our tank (a Trooper) for about USD$50.  Regular gas is slightly cheaper.  Premium gas is slightly more. If you plan to own a car, don’t forget to figure in the cost of minor repairs, as well.  We take our car to the mechanic on a monthly basis down here.  We haven’t had any major problems, but maintenance takes on an entirely new meaning when you are driving on unpaved roads.  

 Groceries:

A loaf of whole wheat bread = 32 Cords (appx. USD$1.70)

A dozen eggs = 35 cords (appx. USD$ 1.80)

1 lb butter = 62 cords (appx. USD$3.25)

Imported items, such as granola bars, JIF peanut butter, will cost more.  There is a Pali grocery store, here in San Juan del Sur.  You can also purchase many of your food needs at a local pulperia.  La Colonia and La Union are larger grocery stores, located in Granada, Managua, and other larger towns.

Entertainment:

As for entertainment, during the day, you can rent a surfboard ($10), an ATV ($20), take a canopy tour ($30), or hike to the lighthouse or Jesus, swim, bike ride, hit the beach, etc. for free.  You can also take Spanish classes, which range in price depending on the number of hours you want to study.

 Bars:

At night, bars are usually free to get into.  Beers are typically less than a buck.  You can also order a media, which consists of a half-liter of rum, a bottle of coke, and a bottle of soda water, a bucket of ice, and some limes for under $10.  A few places in town also have either a DJ or live music at night, including Coquito’s Bar.

Restaurants:

For dinner, you can treat yourself to one of the finer restaurants in town, like El Pozo, and spend C$220 on an awesome steak with sides (about $12).  On the flipside, you can visit one of the fritangas (Chicken Lady) and get half a chicken, gallo pinto, salad, and tostones for C$80 (4 bucks) or the local market for a hearty $2 breakfast.  And then there is everything in between including a great Mediterranean Restaurant (El Colibri) with awesome Sangria and stuffed chicken (for under 7 bucks), and Bambu (Nicaraguan cuisine with an Asian twist) which serves incredible pizza on Monday nights and panini sandwiches every day.

Health Insurance:

My husband and I both have international health insurance through International Medical Group.  It was on the more expensive side, but we purchased it prior to moving here, wanting to ensure that we had some coverage.  We have yet to use it (knock on wood).  Since moving here, we have learned of local companies that provide coverage – Seguros America, being one that I think is less expensive and provides tiered coverage.

Medical Cost:

We have both had regular appointments with physicians at Vivian Pellas Hospital in Managua and were very pleased.  The hospital was like any hospital I’ve visited in the States and the equipment was state of the art, including a lab and pharmacy.  My entire appt., including consultation, lab work, etc. was about $50.  I would steer clear of the Centro de Salud here in San Juan, unless absolutely necessary.  However, there are local pharmacies here in town that employ doctors.  If you have a run of the mill cold or rash, you can pay C$30 (less than 2 dollars) for a consult with the physician.  

 Dental:

I don’t know anything about dental insurance, but I do know that there are plenty of reliable dentists in Managua and that you can get a cleaning for about $25.  When Justin and I first visited Nicaragua over 2 years ago, I ended up having an emergency root canal while in Leon.  It was the exact procedure my husband ended up having 2 weeks later back in Boston, but mine cost $150, while his cost $1,000 after insurance!  So, needless to say, we have been very pleased by both the quality and cost of medical care here so far.

I hope those of you reading this find it helpful.  Feel free to email me with any questions!

Just always thought this sign was funny – guess I’m not the only Jew in Nicaragua…

I am trying to start a bakery out of my house, in Nicaragua.  This is my kitchen.

On Monday, our friends ordered a cake for a dinner party at their restaurant on Tuesday.  On Tuesday, the power went out.   The fridge defrosted and 4 pounds of butter and my $10 bag of chocolate chips melted.  On Wednesday, the fridge door wouldn’t close because I had forgotten to drain the water in the freezer from Tuesday’s defrost.  On Thursday, I got tired of propping the fridge door closed with our dining room chair, so I attacked the freezer with an ice pick, making Sharon Stone proud.  The ice was stubborn, yes, even in this unrelenting heat.  Go figure.  On Friday, I hooked the fridge door shut with a bungee cord and some muscle. 

Our oven is a Mabe oven. Maybe it will work, Maybe it won’t. 

Instead of a temperature gauge on the oven dial, it is marked with the numbers 1 thru 5.  Even using an oven thermometer, I pretty much guess at the temperature.  Today, 1.5 on the dial was 350 degrees.  Yesterday, I cranked it to 4 and couldn’t get it above 200 degrees.  Last week, I ran out of gas, both propane and my own.

Somehow, I still managed to deliver a pretty impressive triple layer chocolate cake to the restaurant at 5:30 on the dot. 

They say that cooking is an art and baking is a science.  Well, doing either in Nicaragua is a miracle - at lease in a Mabe kitchen.