On Monday, March 25th we began the construction of our outdoor living space or what we call "La Piscina del Jardín" (or "The Pool Garden" in English). When we began, based on the estimates given us by our contractors, we estimated the project to take 3-4 weeks. Looking back, that timetable is laughable.
What we didn't factor in is what is known here as "Nica Time", probably where the term "nick of time" was born to describe when something happens at the last possible moment. Nica Time is a way of saying that everything will be late. Rather than adopting punctuality, the culture has instead adjusted the calendar to Nica Time. If someone says tomorrow at 9AM it might happen tomorrow but it will not happen at 9. But then it might not happen tomorrow at all. The date and time are more of an idea than an entry on a schedule.
Had we factored in Nica time, we would have estimated two months, but not being from here we didn't know to do that, so we have had to reschedule our return airline tickets twice to adjust. But although it was quite an ordeal, it was worth it or as they say here in Nicaragua, "vale la pena". In English we get the term "value" from the same root as vale and "pain" from the same root as pena. In other words, the value is worth the pain. Vale la pena.
Because our casita is small, we wanted to make a really nice outdoor living space. And because it is hot here, we wanted to have a pool. Our "yard" is really just big enough for a driveway and a pool and we wanted to stick with the cobblestone-looking paving that is popular in all the historic village of San Juan del Sur. Not a blade of grass... How cool is that?! In Nicaragua they don't have lawnmowers. Instead they have cows, horses, sheep and goats. There is not the concept of a nicely mown lawn here.
As for the construction, everything is by hand. There was no backhoe, no bobcat, no cement truck, no jack hammer. The hole for the pool was dug by three men with picks and shovels. The dirt was hauled off by pickup truck, and loaded by shovel. The cement was mixed by hand with the sole exception of a small power cement mixer trailer that was used one day to pour the pool walls. Still, it was mixed probably 10 gallons at a time, and filled by hand with shovels. Since cement, rocks, plants and water abound that is what we used for our Piscina del Jardin. We feel like it turned out awesome and we think you'll agree.
