Last weekend, we had an excellent fish trip with Captain Joe and his crew. One of the best areas was four kilometers off shore directly in front of Tamarindo Beach. We also went out 24 km's off shore looking for Sailfish and Dorado (mahi mahi). The weather was perfect as usual and the fish were biting. 

We experienced areas of "boiling" water around our boat and we filled the cooler. The catches of the day were Mackeral, Yellow Fin Tuna, and Snapper. We saw the sailfish but the big ones got away.  In all, the trip was fantastic and alot of fun.  Thanks again Captain Joe, we had a great time!   

Baseball is huge in Nicaragua.  It is widely played and followed. Almost every town has a field tucked away where the kids and adults go to swing the bat and toss a  ball around.

Unfortunately, the costs of outfitting local and regional teams prevents most teams from buying the proper equipment, including balls, bats, uniforms, and other similar essential equipment.

In May 2007, Nica Projects donated some of this essential equipment to a local team and we were very happy to watch them play their first game. (There are more images are available in our gallery)

Everyone was impressed by the uniforms. The score was respectable. And everyone had a great time. Isn't that part of the game!

Upon leaving Managua to Tamarindo Beach, you travel on one of the best highways in Nicaragua for 55 minutes. This is a two lane, smooth asphalt highway.

As you turn off the highway towards the Pacific Ocean, you are on a gravel road -- until now! The Leon Municipality is beginning the asphalt paving process on this road in 2007, with the first phase to include engineering, preloading, compacting, drainage and grading. The paving crew will apply the top after the rainy season in 2008 Q1. At completion, this will leave the road to Tamarindo Beach in complete first rate asphalt condition with the exception of the last 3 miles consisting of an excellent four season crushed rock road. By mid 2008, we expect to be able to claim one of the best access routes to the Pacific beaches in Nicaragua.

In addition, we will be working diligently on the remainder of the Tamarindo Beach development road construction in 2007 Q4.

This is the view of the shrimp farms along the road to Tamarindo Beach.  The shrimp are cultivated for consumption or make great bait for fishing in the estuary.

On one side of the road to Tamarindo Beach & Ocean Estates is the large shrimp farming pools, while the other side supports sea salt harvesting.

As the dry season comes to a close, so too does the shrimp farming and salt harvesting seasons. During the months November to March, the shrimp and salt farming flats are drained and become an excellent place to view the flamingos, herons and other estuary birds. The shrimp also make excellent bait for the red snapper fishing in the estuary system.

Sergio E. Gonzalez of the Jaco Beach office of Realty Executives is the winner of 2 nights stay at the El Convento Hotel in Leon, Nicaragua. Sergio is a seasoned realtor in Jaco Beach, Costa Rica and has numerous projects in his sales program including the six tower beach front Ramada Resort & Residence.

The United States has a long history of extending a helping hand to those people struggling overseas to make a better life. The Millennium Challenge program is dispensing $175M in the states of Leon and Chinandega over the next 5 years.

The mandate is to invest it all in infrastructure, health, education, anti corruption, agriculture, natural resources, a land registry, family planning and transparent governance. This greenhouse is nurturing seedlings with assistance from the US Forest Service. Many plant species will flourish in this area. For more information, please send us an email.

On Dec 9, Jaime Morales the new Vice President of Nicaragua from the Sandinista (FSLN) Party spoke to a group of investors in San Juan del Sur.

Mr. Morales takes office mid January 2007 with a minority government of 38% of the assembly (Congress) for a five year term. The FSLN message is clear and repetitive: 'Our mandate is to raise living standards and improve education. Foreign investment is critical. No change from the present investment model is being considered.  Nicaragua continues to be open for business'

John Bramwell of Nica Projects, (on right), notes the assembly is 62% liberals, dissident liberals, and dissident Sandinistas. Thus, all proposed laws must be moderate to receive the required majority vote.

Over October to December 2006, a completely new island access road has been cut through the bush connecting two municipal roads en route to the island. This circumnavigates a difficult road building area that was both a river drainage area and contained settled volcanic ash from the most recent eruption in 1590. This 2 mile section features dry, elevated, rocky ground with a culvert system to divert water.