Villa Espiral

May/June 2011

2011-06-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos,

It never ceases to amaze me how, after just a couple of weeks of rain, Nicaragua can be transformed into such a lush verdant landscape. This first picture, taken between Tola and Rancho Santana, shows it. I love how the Malinche trees bloom with vibrant orange color.

The roads are better than ever, now that the Pellas Group is actively bringing its 5 star resort at Guacalito toward completion.

The closer you get to the gates at Rancho Santana, the more you settle into that rural, laid back state of mind, confirming why you came here in the first place.

More life springing forth, inside the gates at Rancho Santana.

Villa Espiral is looking good, thanks to the hard work of our groundskeeper, Salon.

All the Coco's along the driveway are bearing fruit.

Same with the Coco's by the pool.

Salon is keeping the pool in good shape too.

Follow that curve around to where the hammock is hanging, and take a siesta in a quiet setting, where the birds sing their lullabies.

Nothing like throwing back some Tona's after a great surf session! Gray, Pete and Warren, soaking it all in.

The Rosada clubhouse is just a block from Villa Espiral.

On this afternoon, the clubhouse pool's only swimmer was gracious to let me take her photo.

Gray is building these beautiful new bed frames for Villa Espiral out of Teak and Laurel.

Gray's buddy, Jose, from Venezuela, got behind the camera for this shot. Behind us are the doors to the master bedroom.

The surf was really big during the better part of this trip. We were stoked! Crowded surf? Nope. I paddled into an empty lineup out in front of Villa Espiral, on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Never more than 7 people out and most of them were friends.

Hope you can join us sometime soon. Saludos!

Villa Espiral 2010

2010-08-29T10:40:00.001-07:00

Here's a link to some video and stills from our August, 2010 trip to Villa Espiral, Rancho Santana, Tola, Nicaragua.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfglmzZa0uI

July 2010

2010-07-25T11:02:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos,
Villa Espiral has been mostly booked this year, and folks are having a great time! We've had several repeat guests so far this year, including Brian Bridgford and Darrell Hawkins, the Chekarian family, the Arguello's and others. Good to see you coming back! Thank you! We hope all of you who follow this blog will join the Villa Espiral family and make it your home away from home in Nicaragua. Here are some pictures from Darrell Hawkins, John Hanusek, and last week's guest, Gene Manako. Enjoy!

Marco Foreman, stoked!

Check it out! Chess, a book, playing cards, wifi internet, and beer. Just a few options....

Getting ready for some fun.

Gene Manako was celebrating his 40th birthday with friends and family. We get happy when we see smiles like that!

Gabe Kling, surfs Rosada so beautifully!

Sometimes the water is so clear that it's like surfing in a tropical aquarium.

This is either Brian Bridgford or Darrell Hawkins. Nice positioning.

Somebody from Gene's crew is in there somewhere.

Gene, reaching for the rail.

Matt, on a glassy one.

Gene, high and tight on a fast one.

Marco, keeping it tight to the pocket.

It's not easy to surf vertically at Rosada.

Power fan.

Fresh watermelon, a beer, and a firing left beyond the pool.

Gene, attacking a dark, gnarly beast.

It rained really hard one night and the critters were lining up to get into the house and out of the deluge.

Yoga instructor Audra Glyn Smith, in tune with her surroundings.

underwater.MP4

2010-07-23T18:27:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this video

This little video by Villa Espiral guest Gene Manako shows the diversity of life in the waters out in front. Use the password Manako.

March 2010

2010-03-18T17:36:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos,

Bienvenidos from Villa Espiral, Rancho Santana, Tola, Nicaragua!

These beautiful ladies are Isamar and Yamali, from nearby Gigante, where Villa Espiral manager, Gray Gardner lives. You will see lots of pretty smiles in Nicaragua.

Folks have been waiting until right before a planned trip to inquire about the availability of Villa Espiral. Lately, I have been sending quite a few replies, saying, "sorry, but it is already reserved for those days."

This is the hammock, the pool and the ocean you will be missing if you wait too long. So if you want to visit or return to Villa Espiral, please contact us as far in advance as possible.

I just returned from Villa Espiral and, while we didn't score the greatest surf or throw a big birthday bash like last year, we still had a great time. There are so many cool people, beautiful places, and fun things to do (including just hanging in the hammock), that you can really get energized by the experience.

Our friend Mateo knows how to enjoy the moment. He also manages a boat and can take you to various surf and fishing destinations in the area. You can contact him at
http://justinthenicatime.shutterfly.com/
At his site, you can also check out recent boat trip pics, like our March 14th surf at Manzanillo, shot by our friend and Iguana Beach resident, Bob Schmidt. You can see the boat being launched from the beach at Gigante, as well as some of the scenery on the way. Manzanillo wasn't great for surfing on that day, but it was still as beautiful as ever, and always a pleasure to be there. If you don't have a car, I'm guessing that Mateo would pick you up right out front of Villa Espiral. All you would have to do is paddle out to the boat.

Ok. The obligatory surf shots. Thanks again, Mateo for the boat trip, and thanks Bob for the photos.

Gray, cutting back.

OK. Yes, I did drop in own my own son, but he was too far back!

Rob and Gray's boat will be getting upgraded with killer gear, including a Suzuki outboard motor and will be put into service soon . So folks, there are some handsome, enterprising young friends down here, with a very compelling product...Great Experiences!

Gray is the manager of Villa Espiral. Chico is his loyal companion. Don't worry, Chico is a loving pal. On the other hand, nobody is gonna mess with you when he is around. Gray is your go to guy when it comes to Villa Espiral and the adventures and experiences that are available in the area.

Despite the lack of rain in October and the long dry season that followed, Villa Espiral is keeping it green.

We had a blast going to the ladies softball playoff game in Tola. Yamali's team won! Here she is, hitting a grand slam!

And she pitched!

It was a fun crowd, with the girls and ladies in the crowd whooping it up and stomping on the bleachers.

For many of us, Playa Rosada is the main draw.

Villa Espiral's neighbors, the Brown family girls (and Oro). Contact Marc Brown if you are interested in property at Rancho Santana marcb@ranchosantana.com

Diving is really fun at Rancho Santana. Here, Ryan, Raquel, Gray and Chico prepare to jump off the rocks right next to the blow hole at Rosada.

Gray, Yamali, Ryan and Raquel wish you the very best and hope you can come down soon!

We have these cool new T shirts available too! $20.00 plus tax shipping and handling. They come in white, sand, olive, dark blue, light blue, brown and black. Sizes are medium, large, extra large and double extra large. Shoot me an email at lincolngardner@sdmnica.com. You can pay by check or paypal. Saludos!

Tola is the municipality where Rancho Santana and Villa Espiral are located.

Olas Gigantes is Gray, Ryan, Cody and Zach's hotel on the water in Gigante.

www.villaespiral.com

September Update

2009-09-14T16:13:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos,

We are delighted to report that our architect, Pepe Tercero, won 3rd place in the Cemex architectural awards for his design of Villa Espiral. Here are some pictures of the event.

Here is Pepe, with his friend Maria Esperanza Lang, Sales Manager for Cemex.

Pepe has one more reason to smile. The beautiful Tri, from Denmark.

Thomas Kerkevan, Tri and Peter of Vamos Group, who are building another Pepe Tercero house in Iguana Beach.

Lovelies Sherri Grbavac of Wanderlust Properties and Ashley Blaylock from Chica Brava Womens Surf Resort were also at the awards ceremony.

We posted a video from our last trip to Villa Espiral. Thanks to Rob Plath and Gray Gardner for most of the camera work. Hope you enjoy it.

Saludos!
www.villaespiral.com

August 2009

2009-08-21T15:17:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos,

We just got back from another great trip to Nicaragua. Villa Espiral has been very popular during this surf season. The house was booked through nearly all of June, July and August.

The house is great for entertaining. We had some feasts, and even a birthday party. Lots of our friends came by, including, Ryan, Rob, Yamali, Eric, Trevor, Bubby, Mateo, Sheri, Bob & Sherry, Marc, Cathy, Michelle and others. My buddy Jack, and Dominique, a Selva Del Mar lot owner (and French surfer/professor) stayed with us too. Oh, and Gray's dog Chico.

We also visited Bob and Sherry at Iguana, where we checked out their beachfront house at Colorado, also designed by our architect, Pepe Tercero. Sorry, I forgot to take any pictures of it.

There's is Apollo, at the bottom of the pool, wearing "the cosmos as a halo." Hermes Trismegistus.

Rosada.

Jack took some great photos, and some of the best are included here, along with some that I took.

When the swell dropped, we went on the Flying Frog Canopy Tour in San Juan del Sur.

Angela charged the zip line.

These pictures are of the Playa Escondida area of Rancho Santana.

There was a kid staying Gonzalo's place on the beach. He was taking digital photos of the surfers to burn onto a cd and sell. I bought a cd from him over breakfast at Gonzalo's beachfront restaurant (just north along Playa Santana).

The boys did some diving out front and kept us in fish, and Gray brought up a beautiful shell from a very deep free dive.

Fresh lobster, fish, and grass fed beef from nearby Limon.

Dom's birthday party.

Hanging out around and in the pool was a favorite pastime.

Our gardens have culantro (a stronger version of cilantro), basil, oregano, rosemary, citrus, platanos, callala, papaya, carrots and more.

The back wall is almost completely covered with peanut grass now. and the Callala is starting to grow over that. Another one of Pepe's ideas.

Here is our caretaker, Salong, checking his email. You can also get the signal from the bar where this photo was taken. So you can sit at the bar, answer emails, and keep an eye on the surf too.

If you hear funny noises around the pool at night, this guy may be one of the culprits.

Our friend Jack, with our architect, Pepe Tercero. They are standing at the top of our project in nearby Gigante, called Selva Del Mar. This picture was taken from lot 5.

We had lunch one day at the Pelican Eyes restaurant in San Juan del Sur. Our architect, Pepe Tercero designed it too.
We got bumped off our flight and had to stay an extra day. We intended to stay in Granada, but it was too crazy with the Hipico celebrations, so we headed over to Norome, on the lake at Laguna de Apoyo. This crater in a volcano is forested and serene. The water is clear and clean. It is said to have health benefits. No motorized boats are allowed on the lake.

The fruit platters were so good!

Morning glass on the lake. There were so many different birds calling during sunrise, more than I hear along the coast. There are also a lot of monkeys. The howlers always let you know they are there, especially in the morning.

Jack sure takes some pretty photos. These were taken right out in front of Villa Espiral. Don't you wish you were there now? I sure do. For more pictures of the fun, check out Dom's website at http://www.yukango.com/Countries_visited/Nicaragua/Rancho_Santana_and_my_birthday/index.html.

Aloha.

Semana Santa!

2009-04-12T10:14:00.000-07:00

This just in from Villa Espiral. The surf is still going off! Check the latest pics, along with the grins of Brian and the boys. www.villaespiral.com

April 4, 2009

2009-04-05T08:55:00.001-07:00

This just in from Villa Espiral. Brian Bridgford, Darrell Hawkins, Reggie Pooley and friend are scoring some good surf!

I believe this is Darrell, showing nice form. Feet not too far apart, hand in the wave on a solid bottom turn, tight center of gravity, in flow.

Here are the boys, hanging out the Rancho Santana Clubhouse restaurant.

And this is the view from Villa Espiral on the evening of April 3. Saludos!

March 2009

2009-03-28T18:42:00.000-07:00

On March 8th, 2009, my son Gray had a birthday party at Villa Espiral. I videotaped my arrival during the party and some of the action. What a blast!

Later that week, the surf got really good too. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the video and the pictures.

The back wall is starting to fill in.

In two of the bedrooms, we have one double and one twin bed. The middle bedroom has one double bed.

We have satellite tv with a dvd player and an Ipod ready stereo.

Salong, our caretaker, is also a surfer. He can give you tips about the best spots for the conditions. He can also take photos for you and give you a cd of them.

Saludes!
www.villaespiral.com

November Update

2008-12-04T15:41:00.000-08:00

Hola Amigos,
We are back from our Thanksgiving trip to Villa Espiral at Rancho Santana. This is a wonderful time of year to visit Nicaragua. The air is a little cooler than other times of year. At times, the weather reminded us of San Clemente. The rainy season is over but everything is still lush and green.

As you can see, the house is ready for use. Our son, Gray did a beautiful job with the landscaping.

The skilled carpenters at Granados Construction company have finished the desk units in each bedroom.

Now that the front steps are done, the veranda feels even more open and accessible.

When the weather did get hot, we didn't need the air conditioning. We just opened the folding doors and turned on the fans. We have an ipod player just inside the doors, so we were listening to our music, poolside.

We also now have Sky tv as well as dvd. By the way, you get good cell phone reception on the veranda and there is wi fi too.

Do you see the yellow breasted bird on the coconut tree?

Here it is, sitting on the edge of the pool. Birds like to stop here because they can easily take a little drink and bath. I think this one is a Great Kiskadee.

Our assistant gardener, Fernando, aka "Tripper", shows Gray's girlfriend, Yamali, how the make a little creature out of a palm leaf.

Here are a couple of his creations, displayed on the dining room table.

The kitchen is complete, with lots of space for everybody.

Here's Gray on a business call, wearing his working suit. Rough day at the office.
The pool is still the place to be when you aren't surfing, diving or fishing.

Apollo keeps a watchful eye on the proceedings, from the bottom of the pool.

The drip system for the back wall has been installed and the peanut grass is planted. Soon, that wall will be all green. Grass is going in now in the dirt areas.

Our housekeeper, is Ivania. She is a great cook. Her mom, Yolanda, has a really good restaurant in Limon, nearby.

If you would like to book a visit to Villa Espiral, just send me an email to lincolngardner@sdmnica.com

Saludes,

Lincoln

September Update

2008-09-17T12:49:00.001-07:00

This is a recreation of some tile art of Hermes, the mythical messenger of the gods. The original was created centuries ago, and includes the words "set up in the midst, he wears the cosmos in a wreath about him."

This recreation was done through the skill of our architect, Pepe Tercero, the talented craftsmen who work for Granados Construction Company, and Rivas artist, Tifon, who painted Hermes in the center of the tile work at the bottom of the swimming pool at Villa Espiral, Rancho Santana, Nicaragua.

And here it is, submerged.

The infinity perspective of the pool is clear in this shot. How do you like that left peeling off in the background?

Here is my wife Angela, enjoying the view from the edge of the pool.

You can sit at the bar in the kitchen and watch the waves too.

The folding doors open up to bring the outdoors and the indoors together. That's my son, Gray hanging out with his Mom on the first day the pool was filled. This shot was taken from inside the kitchen.

The banana fiber lounge is a great place to lay down after a swim or a surf.

Here I am, enjoying the view and about to take a mid day siesta.

This is the view from the living room.

And the view from the veranda.

Here is the view from the master bedroom.

And here is a shot of the master bedroom with the folding doors open. We woke to the sound of parrots who hang out in the trees just outside this room.

Here is the view from the bed in the 3rd bedroom. We still have some landscaping to do, and some of the lights weren't installed at the time these pics were taken, but they should be in by the time you read this.

The living room is a great place to hang out and take in the sunset, or watch a dvd.

My high school buddy, Jack Ridley, came down with us to celebrate our first stay at Villa Espiral. Here, he and Angela enjoy chips made from Yolanda's hand made tortillas. If you haven't visited Yolanda's in Limon (about a kilometer or so north of the gates of Rancho Santana), you are really missing out. The guacamole was made by Gray and his buddy Ryan, from avocados, chiles, limes, and culantro, grown at our nearby eco-project, Selva Del Mar, where they live. The chiles give it a tasty kick. It was heavenly!

This is the best place to hang out if you want to watch the chefs in action. Those squash were grown at Selva Del Mar, in nearby Gigante.

A couple of beers later, I didn't hold the camera steady enough to clearly catch Ryan and Gray making the inaugural Villa Espiral dinner.

But I held it together long enough to get this shot of the result. Fresh lobster, caught by our friends in Gigante. Gray and Ryan cooked them up with butter and garlic. There's the squash and limes from Selva Del Mar, along with locally grown rice.

Here we are. celebrating our first meal at Villa Espiral. Special thanks to Gray and Ryan for this dinner and to Jack for all his help getting the house together so we could enjoy this special moment. Thanks also to Jack for some great shots of Rosada and these sunset pictures.

You can see why they call our beach "Rosada". Villa Espiral is now available for your living pleasure. Contact me at lincolngardner@sdmnica.com to schedule a visit and to arrange other adventures in Nicaragua. And don't forget to check out our progress blog for Selva Del Mar. http://www.sdmnica.blogspot.com/

Saludos, Lincoln

August Update

2008-08-26T17:25:00.000-07:00

July Update

2008-07-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

Villa Espiral, at Rancho Santana, Tola, Nicaragua, is nearly complete.

The doors and windows are in.

The sealer is on the flagstone tiles.

The kitchen is ready for the appliances. Cupboard doors are about to go on.

The swimming pool is in the rough cut stage. Note how the roof extends over part of the pool.

Villa Espiral will be available for rental starting September 1. For more information, contact me at

lincolngardner@sdmnica.com

Saludes

Late June

2008-06-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

June Update

2008-06-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

It's June and the roof is on Villa Espiral. The surf looks pretty good too. Actually this picture was taken in late May, but before the rains started. Right now, it's more cloudy than this. Soon, everything will start turning green again.

Water runoff from the roof goes into the underground storage tank in the back yard.

Soon, we will begin planting the flowering creepers. If all goes according to plan, we will have a wall of flowers.

That's the storage tank. Rancho Santana has several wells that supply water to the houses here, but it's better to conserve and reuse as much as possible.

These are the renderings for the pool area. In this shot, the veranda roof is omitted to show the whole pool area. We actually modified this and got rid of the bar. The pool will go right to the edge of the veranda.

The workers are cutting the flagtone into rectangles for the flooring.

Here, the cut flagstone is being laid.

That's the kitchen bar, looking from the kitchen.

And looking from the kitchen toward the sea.

The bar is already being put to good use.

This is one of Granados Construction Company's master carpenters. I need to find out his name so I can update this blog entry.

He's working on the window frames.

Here is is installing them.

Our banana fiber furniture is almost done.

Aloha.

May Update

2008-05-03T20:30:00.001-07:00

Aloha friends. This shot was taken at the left point break where Villa Espiral is taking shape.

Pepe wrote some notes for me on these pictures.

That dirt is the future swimming pool.

This wall behind the house will be a cascading garden with each of the slots planted with flowering creepers. Under the concrete base is a storage tank for runoff from the roof. This water will be recycled .

We are moving into the finishing stages and it is all very exciting. Our target completion date is June 15th. There is still a lot to do by then, but good progress is being made so we are optimistic.

Hope you enjoy this season's south swells.

April 2008 Update

2008-04-04T20:43:00.001-07:00

Surf season has arrived, but the point looks blissfully empty in this shot. That wave looks glassy and fun.

The zinc roofing is up and they are texturing the walls.

Manuel and Jose keeping a close eye.

That's my Selva Del Mar partner, Rick Flanagan, looking out from the master bedroom.

Aloha.

March 2008 Update

2008-03-08T20:16:00.001-08:00

Hello from Rancho Santana, Tola, Nicaragua. With the dry season, progress on Villa Espiral has picked up. They are putting on the roof. The cane ceiling is in throughout the house and now the zinc roofing is going up. The clay tiles will go on top of the zinc.

Oh Yeah, the surf has been good!

I don't know what these guys are looking at. Maybe you are looking at the pool outline. But I keep looking beyond, at that left reeling by.

The curved part of the wall, above Luis Manuel and Gonzalo, will hold the indirect lighting.

This is how the indirect lighting form is made. You bend the rebar to the shape of the template.

So where do you get your inspiration for the shape of the template?

What better than Jennifer Lopez's famous curvature?

You get the picture. Thank you Jennifer!

This part of the cane ceiling has been varnished, and the cords for the lights are hanging down.

Meanwhile, out in front of Villa Espiral, one can see why they call this beach Rosada

Pretty close. By the time it dries completely, and adjusted for the differences in light, we have almost matched the beach.

Aloha.

February Update

2008-02-12T13:06:00.001-08:00

Hi Folks,

Last week, I took these pictures of the progress on Villa Espiral, Rancho Santana, Tola, Nicaragua. This is the view from the road going up to Casa Ensueno. As you can see, dry season is upon us. They call this area dry tropical area because of this seasonal change from October's drenching rains to April's windy and parched austerity. Some of the trees lose their leaves, but they begin to blossom.

This picture is taken from Antonio Granado's lot next door. He tells me he plans to turn it into a garden, to preserve the view from his house behind it. This will make Villa Espiral look even more beautiful.

The prevailing offshore wind will funnel through this area and pull warm air out of the house, keeping the interior cool.

Did you notice how Jose is in most of these shots? He is an excellent, dedicated foreman. This man is on task. "Siempre," as he says.

Note the curvey entrance steps. Pepe used these at Pelican Eyes and Piedras y Olas in San Juan del Sur. Next to it is a planter. I have some ideas for plants that would creep out of the planter and up that adjacent post.

The curved cement form they are finishing is for the indirect lighting that will illuminate the Cane ceiling and soften the light from the more energy friendly flourescent lights.

Aloha.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-06T00:31:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year from Villa Espiral. We wish you a bright and fulfilling year. Our villa is coming along well as you can see. This is the view from the dining room. The road you can see leads up to Jan's place, called Casa Ensueno.

This is the view from the living room. Did you notice that left peeling off, with another one coming in behind it?

This is the view from one of the kitchen windows.

When this part of the roof is done, there will be 3 skylights and the rest will be covered in bamboo cane.

This is the backyard area.

Aloha

December 30, 2007

2007-12-30T09:29:00.001-08:00

This might be the first person to sleep in one of the Villa Espiral bedrooms. He looks pretty comfortable, with his shoes off, relaxing in the shade.

They are now cementing the gap between the beams and the wall. Each bedroom has a nook like this.

The frame for the skylight is in. This will become a cement form, with some dome skylights in it

This is the view looking into the master bedroom from the dining room area.

The curved veranda along the bedrooms is coming along well.

This is area in front of bedroom 3.

And this is the view from the veranda at bedroom 3.

The veranda will continue all the way along the front and will shade part of the swimming pool.

My architect, Pepe Tercero, sent this pic to me with an email explaining that the veranda will not block the view of the horizon from the dining room. Looking up from a delicious turkey, December 27th, 2008, Pepe tells me, this will be our view.

I will be heading down to Nicaragua in early February to select some of the finishing materials like flooring, countertops, etc. Hasta Luego. Aloha, amigos.

Furniture and other questions

2007-12-23T18:34:00.000-08:00

There are so many choices to be made. Like what kind of furniture will be best. Here are some pics of Banana Fiber furniture that Pepe suggested.

We really like it. With comfy cushions in an earth tone color pallete, these could work really well under the veranda and in the dining and bedrooms. But we want to feel and sit in them before we decide. And we don't necessarily have to go with all one type of furniture. We'll see how it unfolds.

First Entry

2007-12-15T13:05:00.000-08:00

Hi Folks,

As many of you know, I fell in love with Nicaragua when I first visited it in 2004. It was during my first trip, that Chad Unser of Snider Realty, showed me some lots at Rancho Santana (www.ranchosantana.com) .

When Chad showed me lot B7, and I walked up on it and saw the left point, I knew this was a special place. Here is a picture from that first time I stood on the lot and checked the surf.

The picture was taken in February, when there usually isn't much surf, but I later discovered that it is a beautiful, challenging, fast wave with consequences. Many of you already know the name of this wave, but the focus of this blog is on the house, so let's leave the name to be discovered through a little investigation.

The next year, I brought my wife, Angela down. Nicaragua, in her words, "exceded my expectations."

So why is the house named Villa Espiral? Well, when I first talked to my architect, Pepe Tercero, I said that Angela and I liked curves, arches, organic shapes, natural local materials, raw logs, and tile roofs. Using that information, Pepe found inspiration for the house in a snail shell, and its logarithmic spiral shape. Espiral is spanish for spiral. Here are the floor plans and a drawing.

The whole house spirals into the dining area. A curved bar divides the kitchen from the dining area.

There are 3 bedrooms. We are tentatively planning a queen bed in the master bedroom and second bedroom, with two twins in the third bedroom. Each bedroom has its own bathroom. Each bedroom has a different view. Both the master and the second bedroom have at least some ocean view.

The house is designed to take advantage of the prevailing offshore winds to passively cool it. We also will have a rainwater catchment system that will store the runoff in an underground tank for reuse on the landscape.

With the open design, you are always connected with your housemates. If you are in the kitchen, you are still part of the action going in the dining room or the living room.

There are lots of cool places to hang out, like under the veranda at the end of the pool, or on a hammock hanging outside one of the bedrooms.

Part of the pool is shaded and part is in the sun. It's a two level pool with a cascade down to the lower level.

Here is Pepe's concept drawing of the view from the master bedroom. The swimming pool is right out in front of this bedroom.

It's taken longer than we expected to go from conception to construction, and the observation tower had to go to make sure we didn't block our neighbor, Antonio's view, but the rest is pretty much as originally conceived.

We are hoping to have Villa Espiral completed in May and available for rental. We haven't yet set rental rates, but you can check with
http://www.wanderlust-online.com/aboutus.php
to see what is currently available for rental at Rancho Santana and for what prices.

Here some of the recent pictures of the construction progress.

The three windows look out from the kitchen area, but even if it is your turn to cook, you will also have a view of the surf looking from the kitchen toward the living area.

The living, dining and kitchen areas are all integrated for easy interaction among guests. But you can also find private nooks all around.

Here you can see the use of the raw logs for the veranda.

That's bamboo cane being used on the ceiling. Our focus is to use green and local materials to the maximum extent possible.

The house is designed to have a nice open, airy feel. It is also designed to create air flow and move warm air out. Passive air conditioning is the way to in Nicaragua, where you can usually count on some offshore breezes. The verandas will provide enough cover so the house won't get cooked when the sun is low in the sky.

The bedrooms will have air conditioning too, and we will have a battery backup system for those days when the power goes out.

How's that view from the dining area?

We are thrilled to be employing the wonderful people involved in this project. Many thanks to our architect Pepe Tercero, our builders from Granados Construction Company, including Manuel Granados, Hanley Malianos, Gonzalo Martinez, and Miguel Angel Murillo, and to Engineer Luis Manuel Lopez. We also want to express our admiration and gratitude to all the workers on the house who have done a great job so far. We appreciate your craftsmanship and hard work.

Stroll down the driveway, cross the street, and you are on one of the prettiest little beaches in the world.

Stay tuned for more progress reports.

Aloha,

Lincoln