5 on 5 League

Last Friday, April 24, the local men’s basketball league started up the 2009 season.  This 5-on-5 league holds evening games every week in the Sports Park and is a very popular social occasion.  While most of the players are local Nicaraguans, there are a few extranjeros that take part.

There are six teams in the league at the moment, but room for more.  It might still be possible to start  a team, or join an existing team.  If you are interested contact Alejandro Nogueraat  803 3395.

Sponsors interested in promoting their business should contact Jon Thompson (jon@communidadconnect.org).  Opportunities include courtside advertisements and sponsorship of the new half-time shootout for fans.

This Week’s Events – April 27-May 4

Mon April 27

Water Aerobics @ Pelican Eyes Family Pool 10am

Margarita Mondays @ Pelican Eyes 6-9pm

Movie Night @ Bambu Beach 8pm

Tues April 28

Wed April 29

Water Aerobics @ Pelican Eyes Family Pool 10am

Beach Bonfire and Acoustic jam @ The Pier 7pm

Happy Hour @ Pelican Eyes 4-8pm

Wild Ladies Wed @ Bambu Beach 8pm

Ladies Night @ Henry’s Iguana Bar 5-8pm

Thurs April 30

Ladies Luncheon – 12pm – Las Cascada @ Piedras y Olas (Pelican Eyes)

“Terrazo de Palermo” hosts Sunset Hour 5-8pm 2 for 1 drink specials. Palermo Hotel (just outside of town on the road to Rivas.)

Fri May 1

Water Aerobics @ Pelican Eyes Family Pool 10am

Happy Hour @ Pelican Eyes 4-8pm

Sat May 2

Farmer’s Market @ the Sports Park 9am-noon

Festival Espresso @ Espresso Coffee Bar 10am – 10pm

Karaoke @ Bar Restaurant Lago Azul 8pm

Live Music @ Coquitos 8 or 9pm

Fundraising party for local surfer “Rex Calderon” – Crazy Crab Disco

Sun May 3

Buena Vida Fitness Centre Open House – 11am -5pm

• 11am – Free yoga class
• 1pm – Welcome and refreshments
• 1:30 – Fun fitness competitions
• 3:30 – Free salsa class
• 4pm – Free belly dancing class

Happy Hour @ Bambu Beach 4-6pm

Mon May 4

Water Aerobics @ Pelican Eyes Family Pool 10am

Margarita Mondays @ Pelican Eyes 6-9pm

Movie Night @ Bambu Beach 8pm

If you have an event you would like listed here, please email Sandy Iverson directly at sandyiverson@mac.com

This Week’s Events – April 20 – 27

Mon April 20

Water Aerobics @ Pelican Eyes Family Pool 10am

Margarita Mondays @ Pelican Eyes 6-9pm

Movie Night @ Bambu Beach 8pm

Anciano’s Luncheon @ Piedras y Olas (Pelican Eyes) see: Fundacion A. Jean Brugger for more information

Tues April 21

Wed April 22

EARTH DAY

Water Aerobics @ Pelican Eyes Family Pool 10am

Beach Bonfire and Acoustic jam @ The Pier 7pm

Happy Hour @ Pelican Eyes 4-8pm

Wild Ladies Wed @ Bambu Beach 8pm

Ladies Night @ Henry’s Iguana Bar 5-8pm

Thurs April 23

“Terrazo de Palermo” hosts Sunset Hour 5-8pm 2 for 1 drink specials. Palermo Hotel (just outside of town on the road to Rivas.)

Fri April 24

Water Aerobics @ Pelican Eyes Family Pool 10am

Happy Hour @ Pelican Eyes 4-8pm

Sat April 25

Farmer’s Market @ the Sports Park 9am-noon

Karaoke @ Bar Restaurant Lago Azul 8pm

Sun April 26

Happy Hour @ Bambu Beach 4-6pm

Mon April 27

Water Aerobics @ Pelican Eyes Family Pool 10am

Margarita Mondays @ Pelican Eyes 6-9pm

Movie Night @ Bambu Beach 8pm

Upcoming….

May 2 – Festival Espresso 10am-10pm

May 3 – Buena Vida Fitness Centre Open House 11am – 5pm

If you have an event you would like listed here, please email Sandy Iverson directly at sandyiverson@mac.com

Unique Ship to Overnight in San Juan del Sur

“The World” cruise ship is a condominium resort community that continually travels the globe.  This floating luxury resort is scheduled to arrive in the bay of San Juan del Sur on the 23rd of April and stay for two days.  Although “The World” is the same size as ships that would typically carry 1200 passengers, “The World” has a maximum of 400 passengers and typically carries only half of that.  The ship has a total of 110 apartments ranging in size from 2-6 bedrooms.  Apparently the 4200 square foot, six bedroom, bow view penthouse is currently for sale for well over $6 million dollars.

The Coral Princess cruise ship will be in harbor on April 20, and the Island Princess will be the last ship of the season on May 1.

Art Gallery to re-open in 3 months

Galeria del Sur, the local community based art gallery operated by the Fundacion A. Jean Brugger recently announced that they will be closed for 3 months for renovations. The Gallery had to close a few months ago, when they discovered the building was infested with termites. Despite being temporarily homeless, they are continuing with their work. The art classes have moved to the home of the art teacher, and the shop has moved to Hotel Piedras y Olas for the time being.

Beach and Bay Clean Up

Paso Pacifico, a U.S. / Nicaraguan NGO focusing on conservation efforts, is sponsoring a beach and bay clean up on May 9th. Everyone is urged to participate in the beach and estuary cleanup, and if you know how to dive they are looking for volunteers to help with the underwater clean up of the bay. Contact liza@pasopacifico.org or cantursanjuandels@yahoo.com

Retiring in Nicaragua

The President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, recently announced that he wants to make it easier for foreign retirees to live in Nicaragua.  Details of the plan have not been announced, but in a recent speech the President said a bill that promotes foreign retirement will be presented to the Chairman of the National Assembly of Nicaragua.  The current retirement program is reported to be too complicated and difficult to access.

25,000 vacationers in San Juan for Semana Santa

According to the Nicaraguan Tourism Institute (INTUR), 25,000 people visited our little town last week… more than any other Nicaraguan beach area.  People also flocked to other beaches, and Lake Cocibolca (Nicaragua) for some relief from the 99 degree F. heat that Nicaragua’s lowlands have been experiencing this month

The  Ministry of the Environment reported that Nicaraguan beaches were cleaner than usual due to groups of young people from the Luis Alfonso Velasquez Children’s Movement, who passed out garbage bags to families on the beaches, which they later collected.

It was a week of travelling – INTUR reported that some 28,000 people from outside Nicaragua (mainly the US and Canada) visited Nicaragua for the holiday week – up 7.7% from last year,. Also, some 25,000 Nicaraguans working in Costa Rica returned home for Semana Santa and on Sunday boarded buses to return to work in Costa Rica.

As with holidays anywhere, there were the usual mishaps.  Authorities from the Inter-Institutional Commission that was formed to protect public safety for Holy Week reported this Monday that 67 people had died from unnatural causes, including 33 from drowning, 18 from traffic accidents and 16 homicides.  The good news is that homicides were down compared to last year, traffic deaths were up however, and drownings were the same.

This Week’s Events – April 13-20, 2009

Mon April 13

Water Aerobics @ Pelican Eyes Family Pool 10am

Margarita Mondays @ Pelican Eyes 6-9pm

Movie Night @ Bambu Beach 8pm

Tues April 14

Wed April 15

Water Aerobics @ Pelican Eyes Family Pool 10am

Beach Bonfire and Acoustic jam @ The Pier 7pm

Happy Hour @ Pelican Eyes 4-8pm

Wild Ladies Wed @ Bambu Beach 8pm

Ladies Night @ Henry’s Iguana Bar 5-8pm

Thurs April 16

“Terrazo de Palermo” hosts Sunset Hour 5-8pm 2 for 1 drink specials. Palermo Hotel (just outside of town on the road to Rivas.)

Fri April 17

Water Aerobics @ Pelican Eyes Family Pool 10am

Happy Hour @ Pelican Eyes 4-8pm

Sat April 18

Farmer’s Market @ the Sports Park 9am-noon

Karaoke @ Bar Restaurant Lago Azul 8pm

Toreno de Motonautica / Jet Ski Tournament (Sat & Sun)

Sun April 19

Happy Hour @ Bambu Beach 4-6pm

Mon April 20

Water Aerobics @ Pelican Eyes Family Pool 10am

Margarita Mondays @ Pelican Eyes 6-9pm

Movie Night @ Bambu Beach 8pm

If you have an event you would like listed here, please email Sandy Iverson directly at sandyiverson@mac.com

Crime in Paradise

This is a very poor country and whenever you put desperately poor people in contact with tourists, there are bound to be incidences of theft and Nicaragua is no different. Everyday we hear stories of tourists, unsuspecting or not, being robbed of their possessions. It is not an uncommon story, and by no means particular to this country. In fact, it is probably far more common in many other tourist destinations.

The local bilingual newsletter here in San Juan del Sur recently reported on an attempted robbery that was thwarted by a group of both local residents and tourists. Apparently, when a woman’s purse was stolen from a local bar, staff and customers ran after, and caught the thief. The purse was returned to the owner, and the police were fetched to arrest the would-be thief.

There is crime, yes… but there are far more incidents of honesty and integrity. What gets talked about the most is the uncommon. The more common… when people behave with honesty and integrity is accepted as normal and therefore not talked about as much.