First things first, Finca means farm and we'll get into Earthships later. Okay, ready?

San Juan Del Sur is a lovely little town with it's original roots in the fishing industry, but that is slowly changing as tourism begins to take over here. There are a few beach breaks nearby for surfers, lots of good restaurants and a beautiful ocean view, two giant cliffs almost embracing the water which is lined with fishing boats. The locals are friendly, the gringos have consciences and the weather has been nothing short of fantastic

The main reason we made this our destination was for The Earthship. Now for those of you who don't know what an Earthship is, I recommend reading this. But for those that want a simple explanation, an Earthship is a house made from completely recycled materials (usually tires) and is completely self sufficient. Pretty cool huh?

Now upon hearing of this Earthship in Nicaragua I immediately sent a flurry of e-mails to all those I could find on their website. I received a reply from Tim and Brooke, both who live in San Juan Del Sur and are very involved in the Earthship project. In one of my e-mails to them I mentioned the music festival I helped with in Saskatchewan called "Ness Creek Music Festival". So they tell me it's been a plan of theirs to have a music festival at the Earthship when it's near completion. Now we're getting somewhere..

After many e-mails back and forth I find myself behind the Finca house they rent, sitting in a VW van with two sleeping daughters brainstorming poster ideas for a music festival at an Earthship that I'm headlining. Talk about realizing a dream. Our timing was perfect too, the main project leader Dave was returning for a few weeks to really get some work done. It happened to be 2 days after we arrived that him and his crew showed up. Perfect.

So the last little while I've been out at the Earthship working away on a variety of jobs. Roofing day a couple days ago, needless to say I got fairly sun-burned - bound to happen when you're roofing with very reflective metal in a Central American Country. A couple days ago I only did a half day but came home with an interesting story.

Back on the roof we were pulling out some stray pieces of wood so that we could finish putting the metal sheets up. I was asked by Ted (one of the original Earthshippers in U.S.A.) to climb over the roof and pull some pieces out. No problem, I'm fine with heights what's the worst that could happen. Well I'll tell you.

The worst that could happen is that you are banging away with a hammer and knock a giant wasp nest. I was immediately surround by wasps, being stung on every part of the right side of my body. Trying to a hold of some footing, I scrambled up the roof with amazing dexterity considering I lost a flip flop in the process (yes I wore flip flops on the job site, something I won't repeat after what happened today). So I managed to get onto the back of the roof, still being chased and stung by wasps. I managed to get away with more than a few stings and a hell of a story. Thank god I wasn't allergic, that would have sucked.

Anyways for the last three days at work I've wired all the plugs and pounded tires for the retaining wall. Pounding tires sounds like it may be easy work let me assure you it's not. When the sun is beating down on a hot sunny day and you are outside with a sledgehammer, pounding clay into a tire until it looks like it's going to burst, it's hard work. But it's gratifying and feels nice to come home tired, not to mention how good a cold beer tastes after a day like that. Thank god, Tim, Brooke and Dave keep their cooler well stocked with beer for the ride home.

Anyways, I'm going to do my best to keep you updated with progress out at the Earthship and all things San Juan Del Sur. I should mention that we've re-connected with some friends from our school in Guatemala, Brendan and Jason have decided to stay in San Juan until February so we're in good company. Adios mi amigos, mas llantas manana.