León, Nicaragua - November 27, 2012

washing in the detergent

If there was such a thing as an ant newspaper the headlines would read something like this: "Heavy flooding caused the evacuation of 1,000's" & "No Safe Haven for the Evacuees - 1,000's perish!"

Why are we writing about this? Well, as you know (if you have been reading the blog for a while) we have been "fighting" with some fire ants that have made our green area home. A few months ago we were advised by our landlord to try spreading laundry detergent on the ground. We tried this and had great success - however, it was only temporary.

On Saturday when we were putting the laundry on the line to dry the ants were back with a vengeance and we decided it was time to try the treatment again..... On Sunday we found a couple of ant holes and poured a little detergent on them and put a little water on it to hurry the process..... On Monday morning, as we were quietly eating our breakfast a horde of ants (carrying their eggs) arrived at "Safe Haven Casa Polden". Hummmmm, we quickly showed them the door and decided that immediate action was needed. Off Pat goes to purchase the necessary, cheap detergent and when he returned we immediately set to work. We liberally sprinkled the ground with two small bags of detergent and soaked the ground (which caused the detergent to bubble and run down into the ants nests). With that chore done we decided to head to the pool for the afternoon.

the hordes invade

When we returned we could see ants scurrying around but there didn't seem to be any cause for concern on our part.  Little did we know that the ants had been plotting revenge! Fast forward a couple of hours to just as we are finishing a lovely dinner...... just as we are preparing to clear away the dishes I look up at the front door and all you can see on the wall and on the floor are - ANTS! Literally thousands of them! This time we decided that we were no longer concerned with preserving life - we needed to bring out the big artillery! That's right - after trying many different methods to convince the ants to move to a different home we finally broke down and killed them! When Pat took a look outside he saw thousands more on the march into the house - so he had to spray them too!

The pictures I took really didn't turn out very well - but the one on the left gives you an small idea of what was happening. All those dark blotches are groups of ants (not single ones).

After a night of wondering how many ants would invade the house while we were sleeping we were pleasantly surprised to find they had left us alone. We did have the carnage to clean up though. Also, we decided to repeat the detergent and water to try and dislodge the stubborn ants that were still digging in the lawn! Don't worry - we have bought another spray can of Baygone to deal with any intruders!

León, Nicaragua - November 22,2 012

We are really enjoying all the visitors that are currently here in León English. We had 44 at our meeting on Sunday and there were 21 at the Meeting for Field Service yesterday morning. It is such a huge encouragement to our little group and also a foretaste of what the next few months are going to be like because we have a large number of visitors coming in the next little while.


On Monday we needed a beach fix so we took the opportunity to introduce Rob and Anne (fellow Canadians and new arrivals) to the joys of the beach in Las Peñitas. We have decided that we definitely enjoy the beaches here in Nicaragua far more than the ones we have visited in Costa Rica. Being able to relax at Playa Roca and enjoy some drinks and the waves has a lot to do with it!

Relaxing at Playa Roca

Anne & Rob

party at Casa Poldens

at Pan y Paz after service

Enjoying refreshments after service

Debbie

Baby chick that came into a restaurant

Experience the waves of Las Peñitas!

Just a note to everyone - it has taken me 3 days to get this post together. We have had a couple of days without any power in the afternoons as well as difficulty in uploading the video. Oh, well, it is Nicaragua!

León, Nicaragua - November 13, 2012

Pat & Debbie in Playas del Coco

Well, it seems like the "rain, rain go away, come again another day" song really works! After a very rainy October the first part of November has been sunny and warm.  With the advent of November came the realization that it was time to renew our visitor's visa here in Nicaragua and a trip to Costa Rica was necessary.  For this trip we decided to visit Playas del Coco which is along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. We also enjoyed the company of another couple in our congregation - Brad and Lydia. We stayed at a place called Casa Lora in one of their little houses. The grounds were truly tropical with a nice central swimming pool. The beach at Playas del Coco is very nice but not really spectacular in any way. The small village reminded us of places in Mexico where almost everyone you meet is trying to get you to sit in on a "90 minute presentation".

Casa Lora, Costa Rica

feeding a squirrel in Liberia

swimming pool at Casa Lora

swimming pool at Casa Lora

Playas del Coco

Playas del Coco

Playas del Coco

Playas del Coco

street scene - Playas del Coco

our travelling partners - Brad and Lydia

Coconutz Bar is a 5 cat restaurant - a real crowd pleaser!