Re: [Debconf-team] Fwd: san juan del sur NOT managua
2011/8/23 Leandro Gómez <leo.telsen@gmail.com>:
> On Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 9:30 AM, Dave Taht <dave.taht@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> I would argue more strongly in favor of the more relaxed, fun SJDS
>> area for a conference over managua.
>>
>> There are sufficient hotels, etc, to fit in lots of geeks... as well
>> as surf, music, and good food...
>>
>> and I have lots of contacts down there that could help sort it out.
>>
>
> Hi Dave!
> Here's the response I sent to -team:
> San Juan del Sur is indeed a much nicer place than the city of Managua. It's
> on the beach, 140 km. south of Managua, near the border with Costa Rica.
> I've always wanted to organize a conference in SJS, but for DebConf it's not
> an option.
> SJS is far more expensive than Managua. An hotel room costs aprox. $50 per
> person per night. The hotels are much smaller than in Managua, most of them
> with barely 15-20 rooms. One of the exceptions is Villas de Palermo, with 50
> 'villas' and a total capacity for 250 people. It's one of the more expensive
> places; $60-85 per person per night. Villas de Palermo is a spa/resort, so
> there's no conference facilities in place.
> Another potential problem with SJS is connectivity. It would be difficult
> (and too expensive) to have a somewhat decent Internet connection.
> Oh, and we don't have locals in SJS. Planning and logistics would be a
> nightmare for us (just travelling by bus MGA-SJS-MGA could take up to 5-6
> hours).
Adalante express gets you there in under 2 hours. Expresso busses do
the same. Both are cheap. The roads have improved dramatically in the
last few years.
There are plenty of youth hostels and the like with rates as low as
7/night. Plenty of other houses/etc to rent as well.
I found managua pretty expensive too - and dangerous - and steamy hot,
and not much uniquely central american, and expensive to get around
in, where in SJDS you can walk everywhere and/or get a cheap trip to
places like this:
http://www.nicaraguasurfreport.com/reportlist.php?id_secc=3&x_date=2011-08-18&z_date=%3D%2C%27%2C%27
As I lived there for 4+ years (I left during the survivor TV show's
filming stay last summer), as one of the few geeks there (I was
somewhat part of the OLPC project and spent most of my time working on
wisp6), I so wanted to pull together a conference, and get a few geeks
down there to experience the good parts - ocean, beach, sun, bars,
music, people - that SJDS had to offer, that are far more unique and
wonderful than what a random hotel in a
still-recovering-from-earthquake capital city can offer.
As for conference facilities, depends on how much you need... you
could easily take over several restaurants during the day...
Anyway, I've made my pitch. I was planning to be back there by january
myself, and could help.
--
Dave Täht
SKYPE: davetaht
US Tel: 1-239-829-5608
http://the-edge.blogspot.com
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