Its hard to believe another quarter has passed by and we are now half way through 2008! Where does the time go? Before we know it we will be loading our bags on the plane heading down to Nicaragua for our E-travel adventure in January. Rather than take a trip in the fall this year, we will be planning logistics for an Entrepreneurial Travel Adventure and Winter Excursion. We were in Nicaragua last January and it is the BEST time to visit this incredible country!
We want to bring 5 business minded entrepreneurial types who would jump at the opportunity to spend a week in an emerging tourist destination running around the jungle looking at potential investment sites and witnessing first hand the development opportunities available to investors today.
This trip is not for the gated community or five-star resort traveller. We will not be sitting by the pool sipping Pina Coladas or riding in tour buses with air conditioning. We will start in Northern Nicaragua and we will end on one of the best beaches on the South Pacific Coast. We will visit some developments that are just dreams, some that have concrete and construction, and some that are in final stages of development. So let us know if you will join us for this fantastic and exciting travel experience, We guarantee that this trip is unlike any other tour available.
Wes & Reader
| | Coastal Dreams Website is up!
 After some initial challenges outsourcing our web site development we now have a baseline version of our website up! The intent with the website is to act as a brochure for the company, its services and real estate offerings. You will also be able to find investment resources, upcoming events, information about our 'E-Travel' offering as well as archived newsletters, and more. While the blog will still be the primary vehicle for news and current events, the website will create the backbone for company content. We are very excited about the launch and hope to expand it with more content soon. We wanted to send out a special thanks to Leilani and Ramon de Vera. They helped us craft our new header that you see on this newsletter as well as the blog and website. Leng and Mon are very easy to work with and come highly recommended for graphics work, and although we are managing the web site ourselves they also offer web development services. They are highly dependable resources.
| | Recent Trip Summary: Work and Play  All work and no play made Jack a dull boy. Most of my trips to Nicaragua are jam-packed with work activities. I have so much fun looking at land and developments and visiting with all of the people I work with I usually do not take the time to experience Nicaragua's adventure opportunities. Thanks to my wife, Paula, I was able to experience some of Nicaragua's fun activities. Last month Paula and I spent 10 days in San Juan Del Sur and had a fantastic trip. In between work activities Paula suggested I try a few new things.
First, Me and my partner and friend from Paradise Holdings Development, Ken Ross, took Scuba lessons. We spent one afternoon in the pool at Pelican Eyes with our instructor, Glenn Campbell from Scuba Shack, and then we took two dives in the Pacific Ocean. I loved it. I had not been diving since 1985 when I lived on Isla Mujeres, Mexico. I learned that San Juan is home to some great dives for beginners to experts.
Next, Ken took me out on the boat for my first ever surfing lesson. We went to a beach I will not mention because I want to keep it a local secret. After 30 or 40 minutes I was able to get up on my knees and feel the surf take the board. I will be starting a new physical training routine for next time, I was exhausted. The beach was the perfect place for a novice to expert surfer. Nicaragua is rated as one of the top 10 surf destinations in the world. Just don't tell anyone about it.
Paula and I went South to another beach we had never visited for a beach day. This quiet 1 mile half-moon beach is amazing. We were practically the only ones on the beach. We had chairs and shade and a great lunch at the beach-side restaurant. We took a nice long walk and enjoyed the Pacific Ocean at 84 degrees. It is going to be difficult to get me to go back to the cold water in Hawaii ever again. For anyone interested we have 8 ocean view lots available on this beach. Now that I remember I did end up working on that trip to the beach. Fortunately Paula puts up with me. All I can say is that the more I travel to Nicaragua the more I want to do. This country has so much to offer I can't wait to return. For anyone interested in learning more about the the travel opportunities in this wonderful country give me a phone call (208-869-8456), I am always excited to talk about Nicaragua.
| | Impacts of Increased Fuel Prices
 It is really amazing to watch what the dramatic increase in fuel prices is doing to many aspects of the world economy. It is literally starting to change the way people live especially here in North America. SUV's are no longer hot. Commuting to work is becoming a big expense, when and where people vacation to is changing, and even where people will retire!
In Nicaragua where fuel prices are currently even higher than in the US with wage rates much much lower, we saw the impacts of this first hand. Immediately after Wes arrived in Nicaragua on his recent trip, there was a well organized but peaceful fuel/transit strike in Nicaragua to protest the high prices. This produced some interesting discussions about the impacts of this strike and the relationship between the fuel strike and Nicaraguan democracy. Before Wes departed the fuel strike was over but even now prices still remain very high, and will likely climb higher.
As an investor - no matter where you are investing, it is important to understand these types of trends and how it could impact investments currently and in the future. Even though much of it is guessing, it is the act of thinking that will prepare you. Plus - we have hope that in situations of upheaval such as this innovation will grow to solve the energy problem.
| | Las Laderas Update
 Our Las Laderas Development is continuing to make smart progress forward. Originally we were not planning on making any significant investments this year to improve the property, however, based on some advice from our partners we have moved forward with fencing in the property, and hiring a cuidador. (What is a cuidador?) This may not sound overly exciting, but making smart value added investment choices at the right time are crucial. Spending money too quickly and too soon without being aware of the current investment climate is foolish. For those of you who aren't aware of this piece of property. It is a 200 acre tract of land in the Northern Cosiguina Peninsula on the West/Pacific Coast of Nicaragua. It is a very early stage investment area, however, this year the roads will be paved to within 6 miles of the entrance. This alone will bring many many more travellers to this remote and beautiful region of the Pacific Coast.
When we walked a small portion of the property earlier this year, it became very clear that 200 acres is very large, and frankly hard to mentally take inm much less, physically. Imagine fencing rolling jungle foothills around the property! Fencing is a early stage investment in raw land. What is the importance of a fence in a land development like this?
- It is a cost effective and incremental step forward to add value to the property
- It establishes ownership and a presence
- It establishes and protects the property boundary
- It allows you or a potential investor/buyer to walk parts of the boundary to get a feel for the land
- It creates a fire barrier (clearing a 2 foot wide boundary on each side of the fence will often stop advancing fire)
You can read more here about the importance of fencing.
While the exterior boundary of this property has been surveyed, the interior is still only known from geo survey or google earth...The next step on this property likely later this year or early 09 will be an interior survey. We will talk about this process and the importance in a future newsletter.
Contact us for investment information: | | Attention Canadian Investors!
 The fact that the Canadian Dollar continues to stay on par with the greenback is not news - for every Canadian reader who has travelled to the US recently it is pure bliss. Canadians are shopping and bringing home everything from clothes, to electronics to cars! Even as of this writing the dollar continues to maintain its power. (For the current exchange rate click here)
Although getting a great deal on a set of wheels is great, its probably about the worst investment one can make with that sum of money. Why not think about US dollar based real estate - especially offshore real estate. Many offshore investments including those offered by Coastal Dreams Worldwide are priced in US dollars. Just like the bargains on US based goods, so are the bargains on offshore real estate! With the US and world economy slumping, it is now a buyers market for investment real estate in locations such as Nicaragua, and with the Canadian dollar on par, you have the potential to make even higher returns than US investors over the next 5-10 years.
History as well as many analysts say that the Canadian dollar will eventually start dropping against its neighbor to the south. Even in a global economy, the Canadian economy is still closely tied to the US economy through trade. Think about the Canadian auto manufacturing market as a prime example. The point being, investing in US dollar priced foreign real estate can and will earn you a currency return as the loonie slides back and this will be in addition to the returns from the actual real estate itself.
| | Seminars & Events
 In late May we presented our seminar "An introduction to Offshore Investment in Nicaragua" to a Boise audience. The seminar was very well received and presented a number of topics ranging from 'Why Invest Here', Different Investment Vehicles, as well as Opportunities & Success stories.
Our next scheduled seminar will be a lunch event on July 29 in Boise co-hosted with Entrust, a self directed IRA company. This presentation is similiar to our intro seminar and it will have a greater focus on utilizing self directed IRA's for offshore investment. See their events page for more details about the event location and time.
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