Casa Verde

The following post is part of our catching up on blogging about our time in Nicaragua. We were here Dec. 24-26.......

After a long day of travel from Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica across the border into Nicaragua, we were warmly greeted at the Guzman's where our friend Amie had arranged for us to rent a casita.



Recently I was invited to join the advisory board for an international education center for youth and young adults being developed just outside of the Limon dos community. We feel lucky to have been able to visit the property on this trip.
My friend and colleague, Amie Riley, and her husband bought property here that has sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and began developing a plan to host young people there to foster a sense of global citizenship and promote sustainable building practices. This fall a
Amie and Joe introduced me to Casa Verde and I was struck by the beauty of the photos and also found their plans to be aligned well with my passion for youth development work and learning across cultures. Having just finished three years on the board of Seattle Young People's Project, I found this to be an exciting opportunity to support youth education and leadership on a global scale. Also as someone who has traveled a great deal, I want to support sustainable tourism - meaning tourism that treats the local environment responsibly both the land and the people. As many of you know, I also love being involved in the start up phase of programs.
So it was lovely to arrive and be welcomed by Carmen Guzman who a runs a panaderia (bakery). Her daughter, Lidieth, showed us around. Shortly after arriving we went on a bike ride through Limon uno and Limon dos. These are two small communities about an hours drive outside the city of Rivas in southwestern Nicaragua. You won't find them in any travel guides but you will find some nearby beaches listed such as Playa Gigante or Playa Popoya. Apparently these are some of the best places to surf in the world. We bicycled about 15 minutes from Limon dos to the nearest beach- Playa Jiliquiste (sp). This beach is where we spent most of the next three days and both Carol and I agreed that it was one of the most beautiful pristine beaches we had ever been to. We also were delighted to have it almost entirely to ourself.

We didn't surf but we did a lot of great body surfing. The waves lived up to their reputation- muy grande!
After a very lovely Christmas day at the beach, we returned to our casita at the Guzmans and a big Christmas day party. We cooked a very simple meal of spaghetti and had some tortillas, beans, and a delicious avocado we got at the market in Rivas. Meanwhile there was a lively secret Santa gift exchange going on outside our casita.
The day after Christmas Lidieth graciously arranged for her nephew to guide us to the Casa Verde property or what they referred to as "la Loma" which means the hill. It was about a 45 minute walk from the Guzman's through many fields and finally a rather steep ascent to the top of the hill. As promised, there were great views!

My photos here don't capture the views of the ocean as well as my other camera and the naked eye but still gives you a sense of the beauty.
Spending time both in the community and on the property highlighted the great possibilities for education while in a beautiful setting. You can check out more info on Casa Verde at www.casaverdeconnects.com
Another highlight of our time there was practicing our Spanish since not a lot of English was spoken here. I was grateful for Carol's spanish speaking skills here especially. Lidieth also was
great about speaking slowly and helping us conjugate our verbs correctly. I was pleased to hear that she will be one of the Spanish teachers for Casa Verde.
Our visit here has definitely been a highlight of our trip! I look forward to future visits as Casa Verde grows.

Location:Limon Dos, Nicaragua