I’m up before 6am every day in order to login and catch up on what’s happening in the UK – busy busy – it’s peak season back there with all the headaches that come with the (welcome) influx of work as people get ready for Xmas.
With the arrival of Hans and Andrea things here move up several gears. Day one is spent poring over computers and going through in detail all that needs to be done – staffing, training, purchasing, website, transportation, start date, marketing, importing, and and and… Much achieved.
Day 2 dawns and we meet up with our potential managerial level staff to take them over to the Island.
And my bubble is burst. I knew it would be – Despite the progress which is good compared to last visit (it had to be), it still isn’t as far along as Hans had hoped and imagined from mine and others’ descriptions. The start date is still under debate and remains there.
We return to Granada and separate for an hour (Andrea to speak with candidates, Hans to sort out some administrative issues and me to buy a bike!)
Then it’s meetings with Marie Isabel (an invaluable source of information), Victor, more admin, a meeting with Matt, then Adrienne (yoga retreats) and finally dinner.. Phew..
Day 3 is shopping day, much to the delight of myself, Andrea and Claudia – our first member of staff who starts NOW as an administrative asisstant. Hans isn’t so keen on shopping although he is the first one to buy something personally. We look at silverware and dinnerware (cutlery and crockery to me), Masaya tourist market and much more interestingly Masaya regular market for baskets, bits and bobs, San Juan Del Oriente for pottery. We also manage to have lunch and a look at the rooms in the Hotel Contempo – Managua’s new trendy boutique hotel. (In true the Nicaragua way, several years behind the trend)