Moving Abroad: Happy to Finally Be in SJDS

We knew it wouldn't be easy to give up our life in Calgary and relocate to a new country, but in hindsight, the process treated us pretty well.  

Packing up an entire house - selling the furniture on Marketplace (what a nightmare that can be!), finding places to donate anything in good shape, and multiple dump runs (which sadden me each time) - is a LOT of work!

We slowly, without a lot of intention, began selling off our less important stuff in June / July of this year.  But, Bryan being a project manager, created an actual plan of attack at the end of August.  

In 2 months, we cleared out our house, sold our vehicles (good-bye wonderful Alero!!), set up some documentation for people to be able to help us out while we're abroad, had the cats deemed healthy to travel (more on this below...), and prepped our house for sale.

Somehow, Bryan and I managed to pack our lives, including what the cats needed, into 4 big suitcases and 2 carry-ons.  It seems crazy now, especially once I unpacked all that I brought.

Did I need to pack 3 hoodies?  Absolutely not.

Do I wish I'd found a way to pack a couple more pairs of workout pants?  Yup.

Are the cats going to use the big cat bed that took up 1/2 my suitcase?  Probably not.  

Sigh...this has been a huge learning experience, for sure!

Traveling Abroad With Cats - My Tips & Experience

I am forever grateful that I was able to bring my babies with me to Nicaragua.  While they are still adapting to the heat and exhausted from the stress of this move, I can already see - 3 days in - that they are having fun.  

Walker is our little explorer and had me up bright and early the first morning for a walk around the complex.  He found our (temporary) neighbors in the complex, too.

Zeta is more timid, as always.  She's content to watch the gecko living in our flat (or maybe she's staring at the caretaker out the window...who knows?).  

But last night, she was out on the walkway rolling around on her back, having a grand old time!

Getting the cats here was supposed to be easy...everyone said so!

I spent months seriously researching how to move with cats to Nicaragua.  I found travel blogs, advice on Trip Advisor, and even reached out to people who live here already (which is soooo outside my comfort zone!).

The is a company called Pet Passports that specializes in getting all the latest information on what's needed for your cat or dog to travel to each country.  And they even give you copies of the origin country's documentation.  Super easy and convenient.

Everything that I read and was told stated that the cats needed 3 vaccinations 30+ days before travel, a deworming treatment within 14 days of travel, and a sign off by the CFIA 14 or fewer days before travel.

So, off we went and got ALL this done!  Poor cats - Walker had a new microchip installed for this!  While awake! (Look up the injection tool for this to see how awful this was for him...)

I was taught to get things done early, so, yes, I had all the documentation signed 13 days before travel.  Or 14, depending on how you look at the calendar.

Anyway, long story short, we had no issues flying from Calgary to Miami.

When we went to check into our flight with Avianca from Miami to Managua...

The Avianca check-in staff wouldn't let us!  They were confused by the Canadian documentation, even though it was stamped and signed and exactly what was needed to travel. Three very long hours in the airport waiting for the Avianca staff to "call Nicaragua" later...we were denied check-in and missed that flight.

Avianca said they (the airline) were expecting to see this signed within 10 days.  WTF!

So, in a panic, we actually booked a flight to Liberia, Costa Rica the next day but...

That Avianca experience spooked us so badly and our documents were right on that 14 day cusp, so we cancelled that and had the pets' documentation redone.

We found an amazing vet clinic - the Miami Pet Clinic - located in Little Havana.  The veterinarian and vet techs had clearly filled out many, many travel documents for pets and knew exactly what to do.  They helped us get everything from the USDA signed and sealed, and we felt good to go.

A week later, we went to check-in with Avianca again (I should have learned...) and we felt like they were going to deny us boarding again!  They scrutinized the documents, looking skeptical and asking for more documents.  We got a bit angry with them because it was THE AIRLINE STAFF (them) who wanted to see the USDA docs signed within 10 days!

Anyway, finally they checked us in and we boarded.  (Avianca as a whole is a frustrating airline to deal with when it comes to checking in, baggage allowances, etc.  There are so many little restrictions and rules that they have, plus a few that feel "made up" that I highly recommend NOT flying with them.  Unfortunately they were the only airline flying direct to Managua.)

Now...

We arrive in Managua and I felt sick to my stomach.  Worrying about what would happen with the Nicaraguan customs over the cats and their paperwork.

We went through Immigration and told the guy about our cats. He just smiled.

We went into the next area (which was Customs but unlike any Customs I've been in before in a 3rd world country).

Bryan ran 4 of the suitcases through the x-ray scanner, and was flagged for a search.  My bag was fine, so I took it, then ran my others through.  No one paid me any attention, so, a cat on each shoulder and cart full of luggage, I told Bryan I'd go wait by the door for him. 

As I was looking for a place to stand, a Customs guy came up to me and said if I had cats I had to pay $10 per pet.  I apologized because I had been waiting for this but no one had even noticed me yet!  I was essentially all the way through Customs before anyone came up to me.

Anyway, I gave this guy the paperwork and he came back with a form to sign and asked for the $10 per pet.  

Easy peasy.  

So, would my Canadian documentation have been fine?  Probably.  

Relocation Assistance

Moving to San Juan del Sur isn't the same as vacationing.  

Originally, we thought we would get an AirBnB for a month or two, and spend that time looking around for a more permanent place to live.

I did something I rarely do early in this process:  I asked for help!

I reached out to a couple of women in San Juan del Sur expat groups and asked a few questions.  I connected with one woman who has been SO helpful, SO kind, SO sweet and who connected me with a few other women.

She had flown down with her cat, so gave me a ton of extra information about logistics of flying with them.

She connected me with another woman who gave us her WestJet credits so we got 30% off our flight to Miami (so sweet).  

And she had created this amazing document of all the things she's learned and uncovered through her own relocation - services like transportation, COVID test requirements, shops for specific items, etc.

And, throughout all this, someone suggested a relocation service company based here in SJDS - In Nica Now.

The owners - Elisha and Gordon - are Canadian and have been here for 10+ years (they have residency).  

Bryan and I had a 1-hour Zoom call with them before committing to ask questions and here their advice on moving, where to live, what to look for, etc.

They must have done a bang-up job on that call because he was sold on using them to help us find a place to live!  (He's very skeptical about people asking for money for anything...)

Anyway, within a few days, Elisha sent us 4 properties to check out.  Not only did she send us property information but she had recent pictures she, herself, had taken and a video walk-through of each.  She even mentioned that some places will show you pictures from 3 or more years ago so she always ensures she checks the place out before signing on a client, making sure it's still in good shape.

Elisha found us this wonderful, quiet, modern, clean 2-bedroom flat located about 25 minutes away from the center of town (on foot). There is a pool and a wonderful outdoor area to hang out in.  Plus, our Internet is very good here!

She even bought us some groceries to get us through the first couple of days, which were waiting here when we arrived (a life saver when you've been traveling for 12 hours and you're exhausted and hungry in a new place, at 10 PM).  She helped us out many times during our Avianca hell, and she arranged a driver for us from Managua to this flat.  

I would highly recommend her services to anyone looking for a long-term rental and help navigating the area!  Today, she's taking us on a 2 1/2 hour walking tour of the town to meet the local shops and see where to find many of the necessities we need.  

Day 3 - It's Sunny & Hot...Again

We've only been here for 2 full days, and it's lovely. 

It still feels like we're on vacation, but hopefully we settle in over the next couple of weeks. 

I feel like I need to find something more to do aside from working and reading.  I'm excited to reach out to the women I've met online and meet up with them soon.  I'm excited to take part in a few activities, maybe go to a few fitness classes, and become more involved in the community.

And, we need to enrol in Spanish classes very, very soon!