La Llegada a Granada - "The Arrival to Granada"

Apologies for the delay in our first official update. Five days ‘in-country’ before blogging isn’t that bad, right?

Well, as you can read, we arrived safe and sound in Granada. We only endured two or three setbacks – you know, our airplane needing an hour of maintenance before take-off, the difficulties that arise when you stick nearly 400 lbs. of gear with two girls that each weigh about 100 lbs. and change, and the re-entrance into Spanish speaking culture which always makes things interesting.

Again, for the millionth time, thank you to everyone who donated gear this summer – the teams, the schools, the individuals. And a special thanks to Puma – who generously donated over 50 pairs of nearly unused cleats and cleat bags, as well as the bins needed to transport it all to the bodega (storage closet) here in our office in Granada.

And so the journey begins. BWI Airport, 4:30am, Checking las maletas (luggage).


We watch in horror as the pounds keep adding up...fees, fees, fees! Nervously we do the math in our heads. "$100 + $100 + $100...Um, did we fundraise enough for this dude?!"








Gracias a Dios, American permits us to ship our equipment free of charge. Besos (kisses) American. You're lovely.

And after all of it is checked and it disappears on the conveyor belt...there remains only two...


Two planes and three cities later, we arrived in country. We emerged from Baggage Claim into 90 degree heat and immediately received un monton (a mountain) of hugs and kisses from Chepe, Cesar, and Suyen, three of the youth leaders who have been running the office in the interim, as well as Neyton, our friend and official airport shuttle man. After the gear was loaded, we hopped in the cab of the pick-up and we were off.

Cesar (left) and Chepe (right) guarded the rear while we rode an hour south from Managua (la capital) to Granada (where la oficina of Futbol Sin Fronteras is located).


13 hours later and voila! Operation Transport-the-Gear...Complete.


We've been on-the-go since we hit the ground. So far we've emptied and taken a complete inventory of the equipo (equipment) in la bodega, and we're working on constructing brand new shelves to replace the plywood that's sagging under the weight of the dozens of cleats and shinguards, shirt and shorts, sports bras, socks, and backpacks that have found their way down to our office. We'll report back on that project in a bit.

As always, besos a todos (kisses to all) back in the States. We'll do our best to keep your abreast of the progress down here. Thanks to everyone who continues to support the SWB Granada site stateside.