Ometepe Island Legacies

by Debbie Goehring
(Ometepe Island, Nicaragua)

Our Thanksgiving Guapote

Our Thanksgiving Guapote

Our Thanksgiving Guapote
On a crowded bus, holding a sleeping baby

I never asked the universal question, "Who will remember me when I'm gone?" Instead, I wonder, "What are the hopes and dreams, the values, myths, and legends that surround two retired expats living on a tropical island, in the middle of an enormous lake, in the middle of Nicaragua, in the middle of Central America?"

A passion for cultural immersion and volunteerism, a curiosity of the natural world that surrounds us, and a search for a simple, quirky lifestyle, led us to Ometepe Island. It was no coincidence, it was the result of a service-learning project that I completed with my high school class. After our initial visit to Nicaragua in 2003, we were hooked.

My hope is to paint a vivid picture of life on the island, from the perspective of two global citizens wishing to transcend cultural borders. I want to leave a legacy of the importance of compassionate immersion in our troubled world. It is my gift to the vivacious and generous Ometepinos for their gracious acceptance of two gringo expats stumbling through the mysterious Latino culture.

So, I hope you will join me in my adventures as I explore the good, the bad, and sometimes the ugly stories of life on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua.

About the author:
Debbie Goehring and her husband Ron retired to Ometepe Island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. Read about their adventures on Debbie's blog "Rewired and Retired in Nicaragua".

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starstarstarstarstar 		Great Blog!
by: Fiona

Hi Debbie,
Thanks for your wonderful story and blog that I have been following for a few years.

I would like to share a post from your blog with a group at a "Retirement with Meaning" Retreat at Crieff Hills Retreat Centre in Canada. I wanted to ask permission to share your story and photos of creating your "path" (the stone path to your house). If you can please contact me at fiona@crieffhills.com I would very much appreciate it. Thanks!
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starstarstarstarstar 		A little more about Nicaragua
by: Anonymous

Thank you so much for your comments. I try to be real and honest about living in a developing country. There are pros and cons about moving to a country where there are many poor people. First, because Nicaragua has many impoverished people, there are malnourished animals. They may love their dogs, cats, and horses, yet not be able to feed them. Second, it is impossible to find out everything about a country and to see if it meets your needs solely by reading about it on the internet. Nicaragua is a diverse country. Most of the expats are located in Granada and San Juan Del Sur. I would recommend that you come for a visit, rent a small place for 6 months, and then decide if this is the place for you. Third, there is crime anywhere you go in the world. You just have to use common sense and be aware of the safe places to walk, especially in the larger cities. I hope you make a trip to visit. Nicaragua is perfect for us, but only you can decide if it is right for you. I would recommend joining some expat blogs about Nicaragua. Expats do tell it like it really is. :-) Best wishes to you and I hope to hear from you soon.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Ometepe Island Legacies
by: Anonymous

Definitely i would like to join your adventures and i am extremely happy with your experiences shared above. I always wanted to have an adventurous trip but couldn't make it due to my
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		go on
by: amanda

Reading a story of adventure, is a like watching a movie. It does not matter whether it is good or bad experience, there are adventures. You are a lucky man because you are enjoying the beauty of nature. You are living along with the nature. That is the greatest achievement in life.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Response to Liane
by: Anonymous

Hi Liane,
Thank you so much for the sincere comments. One of the reasons I wanted to start a blog is because I wanted to be "real" in our troubled world. I definitely am not selling anything...only a sense of compassion, caring, and volunteerism.
Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have about Nicaragua. There is no paradise left anywhere in the world, but we have found our niche and we love the people.

Debbie
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		re: Nicaragua
by: Anonymous

ave I reached Debbie? I hope so :-)
Not much of a FaceBook person so I hope I'm answering in the right place, lol
I've been doing the web research on cheaper but nice & safe places to retire, even though with this economy that may still be many years away & things will have changed by then ... this page seemed so real & not another sales pitch.. would love to know as much as you can tell me about Nicaragua.
Nothing worse than packing up all your belongings & find out that rape is the #1 pass time, or that they hate americans, etc ... Honestly that is what I've seen about some "other" locations .. pretty scary, since I may well be an old lady by then ! That same site said that you rarely saw a dog there since they were mistreated, malnourished & often poisoned by the people that were native there...Ummm, I could definetely NOT live there .. I'd be arrested the 1st time I saw anyone mistreat an animal .. This leads me to you & Nicaragua .. sounds perfect .. I'm off to read more! Thanks, Liane

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