One big difference between the US and Nicaragua is the electricity. In the US, we take always having electricity available for granted. So much so, in fact, that there is an entire industry of whole-house generators for those rare times when we are without power.
What could possibly go wrong?
In Nicaragua, things are much different. Yes, they still have the 120 volt / 240 volt standards like the US, but the reliability here is not in the same league. Unlike most things in Nicaragua, electricity is expensive here. In the US we pay about 14 cents per kilowatt hour. Here in Nicaragua it is 42 cents per kilowatt hour or three times the cost. It is common for the power to go out once or twice a day. Normally it is for a minute or two, but we’ve had an outage for 5 hours.
Yes, we have a couple of multi-hour outages every year in Oriental, NC (our other home) but that is typically because a car hits a power pole and snaps a power line. I also remember having one pre-planned but not pre-announced, 13-hour outage on Christmas Eve, 2022. That one was caused by the Biden administration intentionally rerouting red-state power to New York to supply his political allies when they had a severe shortage of electricity.
In San Juan del Sur, we also occasionally have intentional outages. There was a week in October when we had a planned outage for several hours every day while crews trimmed trees along the power lines. But we also have outages routinely because the grid is severely overloaded.
A very typical corner. It's amazing we ever have power!
It is like everyone had been off-grid and the electrical system was very minimal and then everyone in Nicaragua discovered electricity at the same time and the infrastructure expansion simply couldn’t keep up. Imagine trying to run the Christmas lights for an entire city block from one extension cord running out your back door.
Unlike the US, they are very responsive and fix the problems quickly, probably for lack of the bureaucratic constipation that has become the normal state of affairs in the US. So the lights might go out, but when they do, everyone just comes outside and sits on their porch and waits while the power is restored. Tranquillo.
So if you come to visit or decide to stay in Nicaragua, be prepared to have regular power outages, as they slowly build out their power grid. And plan to get outside and enjoy the breeze when the fan won’t blow in the house and it’s 85 degrees. Such is the charm of San Juan del Sur, our quaint little village in Nicaragua.