Hand me a machete! - Nimboja (next to Masatepe, Nicaragua)

So today's post is a copy and paste of a message I sent to my family and friends a while back.  Scroll down for a more thorough post!

Scott gives a presentation on Antarctica to all the guests at the farm.

We still have our responsibilities as parents.  One of them is to continue providing required education through homeschooling.  

From the pool to the computer.  This is how you tackle the energy of two kiddos!

Möllky is the game of the night almost every night at the farm!  It brings us all together, a beautiful community.  To this day we are still in contact with all of these people - life long travel friends.

With so many dogs on the farm, Enzo has a connection with Chanuka.  She's his favorite - don't tell the others.

Eli tries to climb everything.  Sometimes he falls, sometimes he gets the fruits!

Snuggles before bedtime

Scott trying his hand at opening a coconut.  The secret?  Patience (and angle the machete at an angle).  

Even Enzo wants to help get the fruits. With this stick he is trying to bring down some bananas from the trees!

Life is an adventure. Our lives are so very different. So neat. We are constantly learning something new, meeting new people and we truly can’t believe how amazing 20 acres of land can be. So many trees, fruits, it’s a coffee farm, no it’s a fruit farm, no it’s a dog farm. Ha ha. It’s just a price if land with a lot on it. Would you believe there are two main caregivers that run this place in addition to the owner. Phew. I’m blown away. Oh and yes there are downsides….the creepy crawlers. We figured out how to keep things out of the house. Cleanliness really does make a difference. Living in this home for a couple of days with a daily cleaning routine keeps curious creatures at bay (or at least we think 🤣🤣🤣🤣)

A quick wrap up of the pictures....wherever we go we want to be involved.  Yes, we got a tour of the farm but instead of just asking for the fruits, we like to know how to get them.  There are so many different types of bananas and did you know you just cut the whole thing. You don't just cut one or two!  Hand me the machete!  

Calala fruits, oranges, coconuts, mangoes, olives, banana bread, limes, key limes, lemons....I mean, the list goes on.  And we made fresh fruit juice almost every day!  

And as far as the people here?  Playing Mölkky an hour before sunset is a great way to meet people.  This community is so amazing.  People from Canada, the US, Amsterdam, France....so many places and we all come together and can play this game.  Google it, it's so cool!  

And then how about homeschooling?  We use StarFall for Enzo and Easy Peasy All in One for Eli.  Scott even did some schooling and shared his Antarctic History presentation.  This counts as history for the boys and pure entertainment for our little community.  It was such a neat way to spend a Sunday morning.  

This farm is full of things to do.  Swim at the pool that is just steps away from our front porch, go for a hike on any of the trails of the farm or take a taxi to Laguna de Apollo - a volcanic crater filled with very clean water.  It's so cool!  

Speaking of cool, the farm is located between two volcanos, so we have very fertile land and a heck of a view of Laguna de Masaya and the pueblo of Masaya itself. 

The stars shine so bright here, the full moon lights up the whole farm and the sunrise colors ranges from orange, to red to bright yellow.  

People have asked us why travel, after all, isn't one piece of property the same as the other.  Each place has its own personality, unique features and stories.  For example, there is a tree called "Matapalo" next to our porch.  It grew around a tree, it's massive and is now home to so many species of everything.  It literally comes alive in the mornings.  There are so many birds singing, it's almost like a symphony....add the frogs and cicadas and its quite the tune!  Ha ha.  Ok, I am rambling.  Got questions?  Just ask.

The tree in this picture is the Matapalo that sings to me every morning.  It is to the west of our casita.  The setting sun peeking through softens the light (and heat) surrounding our property, letting us know it's time for dinner.

 The Guanacaste tree abounds on this property.  Most of these trees are protecting the coffee harvest on the east side of our casita but there are those few Guanacaste trees that adorn the property to give shade to those who need it.  Plus, what a view!  Through the Guanacaste tree you can see Laguna de Masaya as well as the pueblo of Masaya. 

I got stung by this little sucker.  It hurt for a good 30 seconds.  Then I was fine. 

The tiger spider is everywhere.  We gently help him outside.

Sometimes we will find the critters in the pool trying to swim their way out. 

In the outdoor desk we found a dead tarantula.  

Möllky fun again and again!  You should hear the French lovingly arguing with each other, the Dutch making fun of each other and the French-Canadians strategizing against us!  

Checking out the different trails on the farm.

The Möllky gang!  The United Nations of Nicaragua.

Eli's favorite fruit - the Colala.  It's a passion fruit and he makes Colala juice from it. 

Clearing the trails and having fun .

Ending the night with some photos and fun.