Bluefields - Arrived

We arrived in Bluefields around 7:30am & we were EXHAUSTED. Bro Vargas met us at the wharf & brought us to a nice lil coffee house for breakfast. After that, we went to our dear Kriole sister's house where we'd be staying for the next 3 nights. Elsa lives here with her 2 daughters, Mavis & Josely. This is a typical cute lil' Nica house:

A mosquito net hangs above the bed (with a Star Wars sheet on top to keep the dust off LOL). When you unfold the net, it's fitted at the bottom, so it tucks in perfectly under the mattress. The trick is to make sure the fan is INSIDE the net with you

Elsa & Josely are wonderful cooks & SO HOSPITABLE!!! They always made sure that there was breakfast, lunch & dinner made for us. Josely made a wonderful shrimp dish that Bryan loved. When Elsa found out that I'm allergic to shrimp, she brought out an entire pan fried fish!!! It was a bit scary/intimidating, but I ate the entire thing...so good. We unknowingly ate sea turtle for dinner one evening :-/ We thought it was beef until we found liver, heart,  tongue & tripe. I gave Bryan all of the "fun" bits & I ate the rest...turtle's actually really tasty. On the Pacific side of Nica, sea turtles are protected, but a major part of the Atlantic coast diet.

Tarantula that Bryan found in the bathroom!!!

Photos of the beautiful hillside view from Elsa's home

This was the home that we stayed in for the last 3 nights in Bluefields. A lovely Aussie couple, Mike & Amy, live here with their cute lil' pup, Matilda :-)

On Friday, the congregation had a gathering in the back yard of the Kingdom Hall. The Kriole sisters brought their fryers & made awesome treats: Bunuelos which are balls of mashed yucca, cheese & crema that is deep fried & dipped into simple syrup (all of us Americans swear it tastes like Burger King French Toast Sticks LOL). Also, Pati which are like small fried empanadas stuffed with ground beef & tamarindo drink to wash it all down with

The kids & "big" kids played volleyball...the line of shoes serves as their net :-)

These are photos of all of the older Bluefields homes...reminds us of Galveston, TX!! There's only a handful of these homes left, as most of them have burnt down over the years...replaced with typical cement Nica houses

This poor guy is "weedwacking" with a shovel :-( Taking a shovel to the curb & pulling the overgrown weeds away.. ,he'll be there ALL DAY!!!

Downtown Bluefields: In general, Bluefields is a poor community with a lot of unemployment. Many work on fishing boats, cargo boats & ferries. The weather is very similar to Houston summers, 90's w/high humidity. The cost of living is lower compared to the Atlantic coast: Seafood is cheap, shrimp can be as low as $0.37 per lb, electricity for a foreigner's Nica home is approx. $14 per month compared to San Juan's $47. The exception is veggies...scarce & more expensive because all are imported from the farms on our side. The largest store is a "Mini Mart" with 2 aisles. They have one fast food restaurant with A/C (Tip-Top Fried Chicken) & a few  nicer restaurants...San Juan has better  restaurant food, hands down. The Krilole food is SO much better than Spanish Nica food, but unfortunately there are no Kriole restaurants & no Kriole street food :-(