I would like to introduce you to a very special person – our house manager, Irlanda Sanchez. We met Irlanda one Saturday in March 2024 when I was buying parts to work on my bicycle. I was trying to communicate with the shop employee by using a weird combination of hand signs, Google Translate, and what little Spanish I knew. Irlanda and her friend Yuri (pronounced Judy) were standing nearby and jumped in and helped with the translation.
Irlanda Sanchez
During the exchange, I told them that we wanted to hire a teacher to help us in learning Spanish and Yuri said, in very good English, that Irlanda was a Spanish teacher. I hired Irlanda on the spot and she came to our house the following Monday at 10:00AM to begin our lessons. She was exactly what we needed – not only in learning practical Spanish but in understanding the local culture, finding help for various house repairs, and so many other things I cannot list them all.
Over the next several months we got to know her much better and when it was time to depart for the US, we hired her to come stay in our house several nights a week and maintain the property and garden for us. She paid the utility bills and oversaw several remaining repairs while we were gone. Probably the best way to describe her value and service to us is saying she was our house manager (administrador de la casa).
Irlanda is one of those rare people who has a very positive and optimistic attitude regardless of circumstance. She has four children: Sergio (25) who has graduated from Central American University (UCA) and plays professional volleyball; and Ricardo (18), Stefany (15) and Emma (10), all attending school here in San Juan del Sur. Also pictured below is Irlanda's boyfriend of 7 years.
Photos left to right: Yuri and Irlanda, Stefany, Sergio, Emma, Ricardo and Emma, David and Irlanda. Click any image to expand.
The best way to explain what a godsend Irlanda has been is to tell you a story that could have been a disaster. Before we left Nicaragua to return to the US, we had hired a local upholstery shop to install leather upholstery in our truck. It was supposed to be completed before we left but the job kept being delayed. We left for the US and planned on having Irlanda pick the truck up when it was finished.
One morning shortly after returning to the US, I was contacted by three separate friends in San Juan del Sur, all telling me that they had seen my new truck being driven around town by a local drug dealer and telling me I should check into it. I contacted the shop owner and demanded that he return my truck to my house. He did not return it. I wrote up a complaint in English, translated it into Spanish, and had Irlanda contact the local police and report the truck stolen. The next day I received the truck back.
Not only was the upholstery not even started, but the truck had several dents and looked like it had been through an offroad race. It was filthy inside and out and had seed burns on the upholstery. Irlanda helped us immensely. While we remained in North Carolina, she arranged to take the truck to the Toyota dealer in Managua (three hours away) and leave it to have them check everything mechanically, repair the body damage and repaint as necessary, and then to reupholster the truck as was originally planned.
She was able to call on her friend Yuri, who happened to know an employee at the dealership to get me a 20% discount on the repairs, and in a couple of weeks she was able to pay for the repairs for me and pick up the once-again-like-new truck and return it to our house. I can’t begin to explain all the moving parts involved in remotely handling the mechanical repairs, the body repairs, and the upholstery, not to mention the travel to and from Managua. It was truly a massive mission but she handled it like a pro, and as if it were her own truck.
As a tourist, I am not legally able to own or operate a business here in Nicaragua, but if I were to ever open a business here, I would not hesitate to make her my manager. Her ability to handle complex problems and creatively problem-solve are as good as I have ever seen. But she is more than just incredibly talented… Irlanda Sanchez is a wonderful person, our friend, and part of our family.