I'd be lying if I said over the past few months I wasn't worried. I've got a family to think about, Eli whose 4 years old and thankfully oblivious, my wife Jomar whose Nicaraguan and worried on several fronts and then or little girl Brooke, who is due in September! Talk about stress! there were some scary moments and questions about the future and fate of Nicaragua it's bourgeoning economy and our humble little business, but worrying never helps and as it turns out, most of it was for nothing.

Our main concern, besides seeing an end to the violence, was if the route to the airport would remain open and wether guests could get to the lodge. Luckily for us the route was never closed and we were never without a clear route in and out to get food, supplies, and guests to and from the lodge. The Southern provinces were not accessible for a time and that pushed what little existing tourist traffic that remained, up North to our area. We are lucky as many business' have shuttered because of no guests. If it wasn't for our long history down here (7 years now) and a lot of faithful guests who insisted on coming, we would not have been able to keep our doors open either!

Another blessing to our continued successful operations through this plight, is the resilience of surfers. In general a surfer doesn't shy away from danger as it's part and parcel of the sport of surfing. We play where powerful ocean waves meet the rocks and shore, places normal people avoid. So despite the horrible images being depicted of the situation here, surfers wanted to keep coming because of the promise of good waves, offshore winds and low crowds...only to find that it was totally tranquil and the issues reported by the media were isolated to certain parts of certain cities spread across Nicaragua.

Much of the media, as we take for granted in this day and age, focused on the violence and we understand the need to tell the story, but it often gets exaggerated in dramatic fashion in order to gain more attention. I'm guilty of the same in my blogs and surf reports. The media outlets need to sell advertising and for that they need traffic, so the more dramatic the headline, the more urgent they are to blast it out on every public forum available! It's unfortunate the damage its caused, and Nicaragua will suffer from that damage for years, but you, as potential visitors, please understand that Nicaragua remains a very safe place to visit, the violence was never aimed toward tourists or foreigners and the clashes remained isolated between protestors and police.

If you lived in a small town in California and there were protests and violence in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, would that mean you had to leave California? We have chosen to remain in Nicaragua through these tough times and we're glad we did. Hopefully the worst is behind us. No government is without its inner turmoil, we hope and pray Nicaragua's turmoil resolves itself through due process and peaceful transitions of power as democratic process would dictate.

So while there were some scary moments and the political situation has been stirred up, it is safe to travel here, guests have been coming and going safely, and life here in the village is not only peaceful, but maybe too peaceful. We need you to come visit and help spark the life and industry that was helping Nicaragua blossom as a country, culture and economy.

Please feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions or concerns about the safety of traveling in Nicaragua, or if you just want an up to date surf report;-) gchrisman@gmail.com

sirenasurflodge@gmail.com