Hostal Tortuga Booluda

Owners

La Tortuga Booluda is owned by two former Peace Corps Volunteers, who combined have traveled in over 40 countries. From Africa, to South America, to Eastern Europe, Olin and Josh recognize that the hostel can make or break the trip. They have battled restless nights on lumpy beds in crowded dorms. They have also stayed in gems, where a one night stay turned into weeks. Cultural understanding, good books, intelligent conversation, and strong coffee (Olin) keep them going. Olin moved to Nicaragua in 2001 and lived in the rural community of Padre Ramos where he worked in schools teaching environmental education. In 2003 he founded a non-profit doing environmental and social research in rural protected areas throughout the country. Josh moved to Nicaragua in 2006, directed the language center at UNAN Leon, and is currently getting his Masters in Education Leadership in Canada

Manager

They call him "Baba" in Leon because his German name is "Soeren" and the Nicaraguan people have a difficult time with the pronunciation. Baba came to Nicaragua in 2005 as a volunteer with the sister city project Hamburg-Leon. After one and a half years in Leon, he returned to Germany. As soon as he stepped foot in his home country, he know he would return to Nicaragua as soon as he could. In 2008, Baba began to search for internships in Nicaragua and he found one with Victoria, the Nicaraguan brewing company (He is German). Baba lived next door to La Tortuga Booluda in '05-'06 so he knew the hostel well. In September 2008, he was hired as the hostel's manager, and is happy to be working in such a unique and multi-cultural environment.

Staff

Our staff includes Carolina during the days, who is in charge of cleaning, interior design, the pancake recipe, and smiles a lot. Santos is our night guy, and is a biologist and has done research on mangrove forests in the north-west department of Chinandega. He has worked at the hostel since 2007.