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Archive for the ‘Nicaragua’ Category

State of Bliss

Posted in Guatemala, Living in Antigua, Nicaragua, Restaurants, Shopping, Travel, central america, guatemala, tagged , , , , on February 27, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

Bodogona has Flor de Cana 7 yr old rum!…that, plus the 1.75 liter jug brought in from Nicaragua today has me in a minor state of bliss…look, I’m a simple guy, ok?

check out La Cuadra’s latest issue: page 16 for Frank of Nim P’ot’s Top Ten Reasons to visit Guatemala…I’m kinda fond of ‘most laws not enforced’…send in your suggestions for next month’s Top Ten…this is fun..speaking of fun..

http://www.examiner.com/article/the-story-of-ruth?cid=db_articles

Jason of Lava’s birthday bash tonight…a roast pig and a lamb…fabulous…the usual scoundrels plus a few new additions….the Gang of Four goes fishing in the morning…telephone calls at 4am…’Wake up!”

this may well be my favorite time of year…the purple blossoms of the jacaranda trees, the purple of bouganvillea vines, the purple bunting hanging from the windows around town…warm days, perfect nights..

guess who’s back? Pat F…..g Farrell!…been gone almost a year and shows up? yep…welcome back…he mentioned visiting Don Marco in  the pen…remember that FBI bust in the park? Don M gets out in September but he’s restricted from traveling for two years, but as I said..’hey, he’s got his brother’s passport, eh?’…and yes, the PNC in action last night! caught a 16 yr old perp(the other 6 got away)trying to crack into Gaia..upper 5th, ok? if they were and the cops think so, this is/was the gang responsible for the 11 or so break-ins around town recently…bypassing alarms, eh?  hmm..who used to work for an alarm installation company?

the ex-restaurant Panchoy on 6th ave sur, by dos Reilly’s? major renovations…its a big  place and going up against Las Cebollinas? no  worries from the better place, Da Vinci (my favorite per decor) who is going the ‘pizza-pizza route’…why? a class joint? I guess pizza is better than nothing..same could be said about Christophe but I’m not going there..and another shop opening next to dos Reilly’s..what? who knows? probably a travel agency/spanish school/pizza/mayan crafts…getcher t-shirts here, altho I see that more than one clothing store is going the ’50% off’ route…

the very elegant Catherine D, dining alone at El Sabor Tiempo…when she mentioned rabbit stew I had to mention ‘Thumper’…I left before she threw her wine at me..and yes, the March issue of Our Man is up on Amazon.com….getcher Christmas shopping done early (I need the $$)a few more outlets in town and thanks to the recent influx of tourists it’s moving…thank god..where’s the Flor of Dasha? haven’t seen her on the streets nor seen any sign that she’s opened a new store…damn..she is  a ‘visual treat’…my Flor? on the counter, waiting for a refill…have a great Thursday, the end of February and so on..

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Two Weddings and a Funeral

Posted in El Salvador, Granada, Guatemala, Living in Antigua, Nicaragua, Restaurants, Shopping, Travel, central america, guatemala, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 24, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Blooie! the mortar bombs at La Merced were great….the earlier aerial fireworks show at what might’ve been Capuchina…I try not to get to close to wedding ceremonies, as I break out in a cold sweat thinking about one.

‘the Perfesser, Mike Donley, is back in town…with a tale of two boats…ask him…it was a narrow escape and a….per he, Reid the Choate is due back, once his son graduates from the Police Academy..no, not the movie…

Alabama Bob, likewise back from El Salvador (and Evelyn)….rumors starting to build about another ‘road trip’, this time up the Pacific Coast towards Take a Lick Abaj…look out Reyo!

our loss…the delightful Miss M aka Marbel…left us for India…actually Nepal..yeah, she had her ‘issues’ but I liked her: we laughed well together. What the hell did she do with her drum set? in the living room of her apartment on 6th avenida, was a full on pro drum set…kinda makes sense, in that her ex-boyfriend of ten years was a drummer for Lenny Kravitz…god speed and vaya con dios. I suspect she’s in for a bit of culture shock.

der Henrik, back from an inspection tour of the new Reillys in Granada, Nicaragua…yeah…2 thumbs up…Granada, unlike this burg, likes to party and is officially encouraged to do so, fueled by Flor de Cana rum and Tono beer…it’s like Antigua, visually except they paved their cobblestone streets and its hot and humid…perfect for ordering another round of adult sports beverages.

4th Calle, the ‘golden gulch’ of A-Town…quiet…Micho’s doin’ a bit of biz, and El Cazadore Italiano packed with the glitzy city crowd..Caffe Bourbon doin’ well…Da Vinci a dead zone but the annual Christmas tree and decorations are xlnt, as usual…worth a look…Flor(escent)of Dasha open late, doing biz..Travel Menu doing two tables of 4, the bartenderess complaining….and where’s my book holder? 

dos Reilly’s filling up early…Ocelot/Lava quiet but it was early…Ixcot other known as the Cemetery, dead..stick a fork in ‘em…Sangre? with a 25q cover charge and some kinda ‘all you can drink’ special? folks..wrong concept: pay people 25q to get in and then hit ‘em with the ‘all you can swill’ idea…La Casbah lit up, music on and a full staff…welcome back!

the funeral? Figueroas on 6th avenida norte…a full crowd..business is dead concept in full play…and another ‘only in Guatemala’ adventure…

http://www.examiner.com/article/the-brakes-failed-on-the-way-to-thanksgiving

Ricardos’ Tabacos y Vinos, by the Arches? packed to capacity..!

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Who Hit The ‘Snooze’ Button?

Posted in Granada, Guatemala, Living in Antigua, Nicaragua, Restaurants, Travel, central america, guatemala, tagged , , , , on October 24, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Antigua….safe, sane and sedate. Maybe INGUAT can use this in their literature but for those bars/restaurant owners counting on foot traffic ($$) it’s a deadly trap…but there are bright spots…Wayne Hooper, Mr Smooth Jazz himself, is back…playing at Panza Verde and no, i didn’t take notes(no pen) and my memory(sic) is like a sieve…Piano Mike mentioned something about he and Moriah doing a gig(ask him)…

Hillbilly Tom, back from being unwell…goin’ to the races on Sunday…what good ‘ol boy could resist the roar of V8′s?…Plumb Bob wanted to go but he’s on a bus to Tapachula to renew his visa.

Angies’s birthday? not….the FB posting was bogus but I got to see her and the improvements at AA’s…art on the walls(and good)plus Ay! Robot is in the front portion…yay…they’ve survived…good move, Dan…probably a better location.

check out Sobremesa’s new art and Fusion’s new look…very very ‘bistro’ now..well, I like it..fine.

per Henrik of dos Reillys, the new location in Granada opens in December…and that town knows how to party(unlike the new Antigua)…some folks starting to get the concept that Zone 1 is/has sucked a lot of bar biz from A-Town…and why not? looser, closer and a lot more exciting…walk up 5th avenida norte and fall asleep, for example.  La Sala? great art/walls and rockin’ music…unlike the Sunshine Grill: I stopped for a slice of pizza to go and on the TV was vintage Prince, ’80′s, doin’ Purple Rain…the owner had the sound off: WTF?  the sound  off? ah…some folks just  don’t get the concept…I’da stayed and bought a beer just to hear Purple Rain and watch Prince do his moves..

Bull Durham,aka Santiago, out of action for a week…getting new fangs…which means no pork orders this week…fine…didnt’ wanta bbq anyway…oops, wrong…’grill’ is the proper word..  

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Is Some Gnus Better than No Gnus?

Posted in Granada, Guatemala, Living in Antigua, Nicaragua, Restaurants, Travel, central america, guatemala, tagged on September 10, 2012 | 1 Comment »

the marching bands are practicing every day, gearing up for this Saturday’s celebration of Independence Day..the blue and white bunting is everywhere…Da Mayor, looking sharp as usual, huddled in conversation outside City Hall this morning..will he be leading the parade again?

some disgruntled(long time upaid)employees complaining about a certain 5th avenida bistro…this isn’t new…and a long-time hostel closiing their doors for 2-3 months…’the season is over’ and they’re doing renovations..is it really over? not, at least, for a group of eight o-so-earnest Mormon missionaries on 5th calle this morning, coming to town to save…and save…ever wonder about the name of the angel that disclosed the location of the ‘golden tablets’?…Moroni…is that plural for morons?

zo! drumroll…or cinnamon roll…the first European sale for “Our Man’ in Antigua’ this week…whoopee…just how much is 3.23 Euros in dollars? 4 bucks or so? ‘paid for my cocktails tonight, it did..

plus reports that the Beige Bomb is running again…road trip! ‘thought tht the V8′s were unning at the cofino track this month..nope..november..

Reilly’s Granada surging ahead…got their logo done and they might have found a location…could be a good move, since unlike Antigua, Granada is a party town with no excuses, cheaper rents and the Managua crowd down on the weekends($$$)..

‘been hearing for a while that U2/Elton John are coming to G-mala for and ‘end of the world’ show…they have been ‘invited’ but beyond that, it’s the usual swirl of rumors..a four month lead time for major rock/n/roll acts is a bit short, given the huge logistics involved, but we’ll know more..maybe.

and for the sake of the retailers/bars/restaurants, let’s pray that this weekend is good..

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Labor Day Wienie Roast

Posted in Granada, Guatemala, Living in Antigua, Nicaragua, Restaurants, Travel, central america, guatemala, tagged , , on September 2, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

where have all the gringos gone? if I saw ten today that’d be about it…flown the Guatemalan coop for the YouEss of A?…today, Sunday? a totally Guatemalan buncha people, in the park, the streets and watching our own Andy the Mime…the largest crowd I’ve seen so far, blocking the section of 5th avenida north for a few hours.

so…if the Spanish school folks are gonzo, and the Christians likewise…leaving a few backpackers who haven’t figured out that school starts soon, what does that mean for A-town? biz-wise, it means that until the 15th rolls around(Independence Day) they’re sucking wind…last night, an almost full/blue moon and the first of the month($$)? emptiness…El Cazadore Italiano and Epicure doing a few tables and that’s all..folks..

part two of the  firework factory up/out…’el rancho de rockets’…I’ll paste a link tomorrow..the September version of Our Man in Antigua-stan to the printer and Amazon.com..tomorrow..this weekends’ weather has been superb and reminding me of why i live here..

again, major kudos(congrats)to Henrik of dos Reilly’s for the Granada idea…killer! I like  to think (sic)that i know Granada somewhat and….it’s a perfect fit.

Lili and her paper-selling compatriots are exempt…they get to stay…thank you, unnamed person, for stepping up..it just wasn’t fair. As someone mentioned, this place is being Disneyfied…day by day…ok…but use some common sense/logic….if you’re going to a gringo picnic tomorrow, get your wienie roasted (I’m not)..gotta little interview  to do.

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