How to develop a hobby if you don’t have one?

I noticed that one hobby is scrapbooking.
Not that it would be for me, but I wonder, what is so interesting about this activity to make it so popular?
If you want a time capsule you can take pictures, or have a blog or make a home movie.
Or maybe it’s just envy because I don’t have any hobbies.
How to develop one? My father used to collect stamps. I am not sure if he really liked it or it was just a way to invest in something that could have had a high return after a few years.. like maybe for the next generation.
Well, I did not like it.
The next one: freshwater aquarium.
We had two aquariums and my father spent lots of money to offer all the comfort to his precious fish.
I had the ‘honor’ of cleaning them up. Not funny at all. First of all I had to move the fish to clean bowls until the sand and all the plants were rinsed, then fish went back. The aquariums were pretty big, heavy and full of fish poop.
I like to watch fish in aquariums, I am just not very thrilled about the cleaning part.

What is a hobby?
According to the dictionary it is “An activity or interest pursued outside one’s regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure”
Meaning that watching TV it’s a hobby? It does not sound like one, more like an addiction.
Actually, where do we draw the line between hobby and addiction?
I guess doing drugs it’s not a hobby, right?

In the past some of the most popular hobbies were:
Birdwatching, metal detecting, postcard collecting, gardening and so on.
With Internet explosion I could only presume that we have new hobbies.

Take a look at the following classification, as per Harris:

‘The proportions of those online who use the Internet “very often” or “often” for the most common activities are, in descending order of use:

* Sending or receiving email (67%)
* Doing research for work or school (45%)
* Getting information about products and services (41%)
* Getting information about hobbies or special interests (36%)
* Checking news, weather, etc. (40%)
* Surfing the web to explore new and different sites (32%)
* Shopping online (22%)
* Obtaining information on local amusements and activities (19%)
* Paying bills (18%)
* Downloading or playing games (18%)
* Financial management and investing (15%)
* Making travel plans or arrangements (15%)
* Obtaining information about health or disease (15%)’

Based on hobby definition it means that making travel plans could be a hobby.
Therefore I must declare that I found my hobby: Making travel plans!!

Cancun or Puerto Vallarta?

This was the question on Friday.
We are in the middle of the pissing rainy season and I can feel the seasonal depression creeping slowly into my tired being.
With some mental and emotional effort I started looking for a nice sunny vacation spot.
It took me over 5 hours to gather some information and by the end of the whole process I got angry with myself, with the way information is scattered over the net, with everything. I put the blame on the same overcast that keeps driving me bonkers.

This is the situation: we are a family of three, with a four year old son, who gets bored pretty fast and is a picky eater.
Therefore I had to find some decent hotel, family friendly, with activities for kids (just in case, because I am too paranoid to leave my son out of my sight) and with less night life if possible, as in no disco activities until wee hours of the morning because we need to sleep and relax in preparation for another round of job duties.
All my friends who used to travel to Mexico chant the ‘all-inclusive’ mantra, which fits well with us as well. So all-inclusive is part of the quest equation.

Let’s summarize my findings:

Cancun:
- Nice beaches, super beautiful warm blue water
- Lots of things to do and see
- Organized tours to Chichen Itza where, for about $250 per family you travel by an air conditioned bus, with a bilingual guide and even get lunch while there
- Other tours, including an eco one
- Family friendly hotels with kid’s clubs
- Going there until May will ensure nice weather, because who wants to spend $6000 per week to enjoy- NOT- the rain? I can do it for free here
- March tends to be busy due to the spring break
- In the third week of April starts the mating season of the thimble jellyfish; their stings are not deadly but can cause allergic reactions or fever; the mating last for about 10 days
- It’s more affordable to go there on low season, between May and November, but the area is subject to hurricanes during this time; my friends had their trip to Cancun booked for August last year, and it has been canceled due to hurricane warnings
- Summer is not interesting to us to go there, because with a little bit of luck we may have decent weather here
- June and July are expensive months to go there due to European summer vacation; it may sound bizarre but I have heard about people from Europe coming to Mexico. Why bizarre? Because they have Tenerife and other Canary Islands there, they have lots of sea resorts along the Mediterranean shore, along the Black Sea shore, plenty of sunny places, but hey, people do what they want with their money.
- I had a very hard time finding a direct flight from Vancouver to Cancun. Finally I found it with AirTransat. For about $980 + $280 in taxes/ per person, you can fly without worrying about stops in Houston or other US cities. Traveling with a small kid makes you think about convenience vs. price. I don’t want to see us running like crazy in any given airport to catch a flight, not with the little one taking his sweet time doing everything. Another down to not having a direct flight: it takes longer to reach your destination. With a direct flight you should be able to be there in about 6 hours. One with at least one stop will take you there in at least 11 hours. This difference is a lot while traveling with kids.

Puerto Vallarta
- The beaches are mostly with pebbles and the water is cold and dark; it’s Pacific Ocean right?
- On many beaches the surf is too strong to swim in the ocean, therefore you have to spend your time by the pool
- Not so many things to do
- Time wise is closer, you can reach Puerto Vallarta in 4 hours I guess
- Cost wise it might be a little bit cheaper, depending on the quality of accommodations

Based strictly on the above and considering that on both scenarios the all-inclusive means bottled water in the room along with all the taxes and transfers paid, Cancun will be my preference. It is more expensive but not with much.

The biggest problem: the cost of the vacation. It came to a total of around $6000 per family per week.
Even if our kid will stay and eat free, the plane ticket is the same price as ours.
Based on the above mentioned amount listed by Airtransat, only the plane tickets for the three of us will come up to $3600.
The rest is the hotel, some tours, because we want to see at least Chichen Itza, and now I am sad.
We are not going to afford to spend $6000 on a short vacation.
I have to face the reality and maybe purchase some light therapy kind of lamps to deal with my seasonal disorder.

Nicaragua- Tamarindo Beach and Ocean Estate

A few months ago, we started thinking about investing some of our money in a home-away-from-home kind of property.
Someplace where it rains only a few times a year, as opposed to beautiful Vancouver where rain is like a second nature.
And honestly speaking, the almost continuous overcast drives you bonkers after a while.

One of the local financial advisers recommended Tamarindo Beach.
This is a typical view from an ocean front property

Photo from Nica Projects Ltd
The development spreads over 247 acres, between Tamarindo River and the Pacific Ocean and boasts a lush tropical landscape.
Tamarindo Beach consists of 62 freehold beachfront lots (from $64,680), 28 ocean facing/river front properties (from $18,008) and 36 townhouse villas.
Future plans include an ocean-facing clubhouse, a town center, fishing lodge, hotel, family recreational area and full recreational facilities.

This is proposed view of the houses from the beach:

Photo from Nica Projects Ltd

Tamarindo Beach and Ocean Estate is located between the two largest cities of Nicaragua: Managua and Leon, 75 minutes from the capital Managua, and 30 minutes from the city of Leon.
The fine sand beach is pleasant underfoot, child friendly with no undertow, no rips, debris or garbage.
The weather is consistently 82° to 92°F (28° to 33°C) every day, the most comfortable months being from November to June.
Only that information would make me consider this investment opportunity!

The development includes beautiful trees, flowers, sea turtles, iguanas, hot springs, fish, monkeys, flamingos and great vistas.

Nicaragua is benefiting from massive aid programs, one of them is the USD $175,000,000 USAID package that is to be used, among others, to improve infrastructure, land title registration and environmental enhancement.

If the political climate would remain stable, which is always a big question mark in my opinion, Nicaragua would be an interesting place to invest in a beach property.

What you should know if you want to invest in Nicaragua

Back in time, in 1980s, the Sandinistas confiscated properties, foreign owned included.
People say that these days the situation is much more stable and it’s less risky to own a beach property in Nicaragua.
I am still not confident it’s the most secure place I would put my money into, but I am not an aggressive investor either.

But if you are and consider buying your small piece of paradise in Nicaragua, these are the things you should know before doing it:

- There are no restrictions on foreigners buying, owning, or selling properties in Nicaragua
- Residency requirements: an income from outside of Nicaragua of at least $400 per month, and you must be over the age of 45
- Documents to ask before buying: A copy of the deed, the clear title form the public registry, and proof form the local municipality that property taxes have been paid to date. It’s highly recommended to retain an attorney to handle the purchase.
- Additional costs at the time of the purchase: The closing costs are between 2.5 and 3.5 percent of the purchase price and include a transfer tax of 1 per cent and the attorney fees.
- The real estate commission is usually 6 to 7 per cent and sometimes it’s paid by the seller; you have to ask and make sure who is going to pay it.
- Property taxes: 1 per cent of the value of the property paid each year for the previous year; if paid by March there is a 10 per cent discount.
- Title insurance: First American Title Insurance Company allows you to buy title insurance (available now to foreigners) in the U.S., Canada or the UK. Title insurance are important in case legal challenges do not work in your favor.