San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

After another wonderful Nicaraguan breakfast of eggs, gallo pinto, fried cheese, and plantains, we headed back to our cabin to pack up and prepare to catch the ferry. On the way we ran into our second snake. Steve spotted it first and he swears it was BIG. As the folks at Totoco continued to remind us, “Welcome to the Jungle.”

We were sorry to leave the peaceful confines of Totoco but excited to reach our final destination: San Juan del Sur. Before catching our taxi to the ferry on the other side of the island we once again relaxed in the hammocks and enjoyed the roars of the howler monkeys. It would be easy to get used to this, snakes and all.

Once we made the journey across Lake Nicaragua to the mainland, our driver Sergio greeted us with a big smile. It’s been nice to have a friendly face at each transfer and we are beginning to make friends that keep turning up at each of our stops. It seems we are on the tourist path: Leon, Granada, Ometepe, San Juan del Sur. When we planned the trip it all sounded so exotic. Now it is just “what everyone does” when they visit Nicaragua.

San Juan del Sur will be our home for the next four nights. It is the main beach destination on the Pacific coast and is a mecca for surfers. Cruise ships occasionally stop in SJDS and today there was one in the bay. In fact, we were on a holiday cruise two years ago that stopped at this port, but we were only here for a few hours. We are excited to explore this little beach town more than we were able to before.

As soon as we checked into our base hotel for the next four nights, Hotel Victoriano, we found the closest pizza place. Wood fired four cheese pizza with a cold beer at a beachside restaurant never tasted so good! Next Steve and Sam continued a ritual they started years ago in Costa Rica of getting a haircut while traveling. For $3 they each got a haircut and Sam got a shave thrown in for a few more dollars.

While sitting the barberia, we met the barber’s family. They own and live in the building in which the barber shop is located. Dad used to cut hair and now the son has taken over. Mom came out of the home and welcomed us to Nicaragua. She was playing loud latin music inside the home and when we asked her if they had started the New Year’s party early she said, “No. Solo alergria.” “No, just happy.” Nicaraguans really are a happy bunch.

After returning to the Victoriano we hit the pool, which overlooks the beach. The beach road runs between the hotel and the beach but we look right onto the action.

We were even able to swing an upgrade to our room for the first two nights so that we overlook the pool and beach. It’s only for two nights, but it’s nice!

Nicaragua is fiercely proud of its local liquor: Flor de Cana rum. We just had to try it and the pina coladas were spectacular. Note the photo below of Steve and Sam in the hot tub with their umbrella drinks.

Our plan is to spend the next four nights in this little slice of paradise. It appears to be the center of everything New Years in Nicaragua. The hotels are packed, the crowds are growing, and they are setting up big mobile discothèques on the beach. We are looking forward to just hanging out and watching it all unfold over the next few days. In between we plan to do a little local hiking, hit the beach, and continue to learn what to do with Flor de Cana rum. We’re also hoping to meet up with several friends we’ve met along the way so that we can all celebrate together.

We’ll post reports and photos along the way but you can probably predict that they will include the beach and umbrella drinks. Stay tuned and thanks for reading.

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Ometepe Island, Nicaragua

Our full day at Totoco EcoLodge was a mixture of experiences. Marnie, recovering from her stomach “event” took it easy and rested at the lodge. All day… in a hammock…with a book. And a dip in the swimming pool. And a nap.

The highlight of the day was finding a snake in the cabin that looked like a coral snake. Eric, the receptionist, came to the rescue and helped the snake back to its home in the jungle. Eric says the snake was not a coral snake, but just looked like one. Yeah, right.

Steve and Sam, along with a new friend Karen climbed Volcan Maderas. We left with a guide at 7:30 a.m. and finally returned at about 4:30 p.m. We were told this would be difficult, but nothing we’ve done in the past (the Inca Trail, Kilimanjaro, and the Tour de Mont Blanc) was as difficult as this hike. The mud was intense, the roots were slippery, and there were areas where you had to use your hands to get through some parts. We’ve got few pictures of the hike, only because we spent most of the time trying to not fall.

This is a hike you can’t do without a guide and our guide was expert. He was patient, young, and informative. He was 24 years old and says he does the hike at least 100 times per year. Wow!

Along the way we encountered packs of howler monkeys and colorful butterflies. We hiked through coffee plantations and cloud forests. Everyone returned in one piece and ended the day with a beer (or two).

Tomorrow we head back across the lake and to our final destination: the beach. Stay tuned!

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Ometepe Island, Nicaragua

For those of you who may be wondering, “How did they come up with the idea of going to Nicaragua?” here’s the story. Over the years the three of us have traveled extensively together. We spent a month in Costa Rica at a language school and three weeks in Peru and the Galapagos Islands. When we began to plan our next trip it was a good excuse to call the same company who booked our previous trip. Adventure Life is a US-based company specializing in Central and South America travel. Originally we considered going to Guatemala for this trip but Nicaragua offered many of the same kind of experiences (volcanoes, colonial cities, wildlife, etc.) at a lower price. Nicaragua’s tourist infrastructure is very young and it is growing rapidly. Adventure Life didn’t steer us wrong and they’ve put us in the most beautiful, convenient, and luxurious accommodations we could imagine and our guides have all been top notch.

This morning we were greeted by driver Sergio and a new guide Raymundo. Sergio and Raymundo drove us for about an hour south from Granada to the port of San Jorge. From there we took a crazy ferry from the mainland to the Island of Ometepe.

The ferry was packed beyond imagination and our travel companions included tourists, locals, and a large colorful bus. You gotta see the pictures.

Once at the port of Moyogalpa on the island of Ometepe, we were met by another guide Francisco and driver Fernando. Both men are residents of Ometepe and speak English well. They drove us to the other side of the island, with a stop for lunch at a beautiful beachside restaurant.

Lake Nicaragua is one of the largest fresh water lakes in the world. One guidebook says it is as large as the island of Puerto Rico. Ometepe is the largest island in Lake Nicaragua and consists of two volcanoes, Concepcion and Maderas.

Maderas is a dormant volcano and Concepcion is active. In fact it was acting up just six months ago! The island’s fertile volcanic soil, clean water, wide beaches, wildlife population, and archaeological sites have landed it on the shortlist for the new Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

Our home base for the next two days is the Totoco EcoLodge. Totoco is located on the slopes of the Maderas Volcano and is surrounded by coffee and plantain farms. We each have a private cabin that is 100% eco-friendly. That means that we have a composting toilet, renewable solar energy power, and all the food is organic, mostly grown on site. This afternoon we could hear the howler monkeys as we lay in the hammock on our patio.

Totoco has only four cabins and it appears that most everyone here is either American or Canadian. We are learning a lot from our fellow travelers, most of who are on the same path as we are (Leon, Granada, Ometepe, San Juan del Sur). In fact, we plan to see some of the same people on the beach in San Juan del Sur for New Years. Nicaragua is a pretty small country.

Here on Ometepe our plan is to enjoy the beautiful views of Concepcion from our patio, hike in the cloud forest of Maderas, and enjoy this beautiful natural area. Stay tuned…

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