Just got back from our latest sojourn - to Nicaragua - and decided it's time to do a blog post. We've been back for almost two days, and news of the trip is already too old to be a subject for my first Tweet or Instagram post. And while I did ponder posting a few pictures to Facebook during the trip, the thought of responding to comments and likes (or dwelling on the lack thereof) wasn't all that appealing to me at the time. So it's the old fashioned blog - where I get to reflect on the trip as a whole.
This time, for our annual vacation we sought out sunshine, warmth and new experiences in Central America. Or, more accurately, I dragged my reluctant husband to a hot and humid climate where he knew he wasn't going to like the food. True enough, but like all of our travels, it was a great experience - interesting and fun, while at times also challenging and troubling. The trip was loosely planned, starting and ending in Costa Rica, with most time spent in Nicaragua. Actually, it began with a night stopover in Houston and an early evening outing to Stetson's Nightlife, where we got to sip Lone Star beer, listen to live country music and watch couples spin around the dance floor. The next day we landed in Liberia, Costa Rica and the day after that made our way up to San Juan Del Sur on Nicaragua's Pacific Coast. We spent three days in SJDS, walking the beach, renting a scooter to check out the nearby scenery, and watching sunsets. We also did a zip line canopy tour, something I've been wanting to try for a long time. Fun!
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| San Juan Del Sur at sunset |
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| Matthias on the Zipline |
While we generally enjoyed relaxing and sipping ice-cold beer (way too cold for Matthias, but fine by me) on the beach, I was generally disappointed, and Matthias' low expectations were realized, by the food. SJDS is a tourist town, and the beachfront restaurants did have a lot of delicious ceviche and fresh seafood on offer. But beyond the ceviche, most fish dishes were fried or seafood was mixed with rice in a sauce that wasn't quite right. Matthias is also no great fan of rice and beans (pico de gallo) and even I had to admit that the versions served were pretty tasteless. "Can't they at least add some pork or spices?" complained Matthias. And our hotel, perched on a hill with a lovely view, did not have air conditioning or hot water, something Matthias made me promise to rectify at our next stop - Granada.
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| Granada |
Granada was also quite touristy, but the "local flavor" started to improve. Granada had a real market, where we found some beef stew that was pretty tasty as well as a traditional dish - Vigarón - with a variation (Choncha con Yuca) that we liked. It consisted of yucca covered with a tart cabbage salad, topped with chicharones (Vigarón) or pieces of pork (Choncha). Even though we're not big fans of Chicharón (fried pork skin), and the Choncha (pork pieces) were also deep-fried, we found the cabbage salad and yucca combo to be delish. Aside from the food, we enjoyed a boat tour on Lake Nicaragua around Las Isletas - more than 300 small volcanic islands, most of which are privately owned. We were psyched to see some monkeys up close, but then somewhat disappointed that they were brought to one of the islands and fed by tour boat operators for tourists' benefit. Still, the tour was nice, Granada was quite beautiful and fun, and the next day's excursion to Laguna de Apoyo, Nicaragua's smaller, less dramatic version of Crater Lake (where we saw some monkeys actually living in the trees) was fun and relaxing.
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| Monkey (marooned) on la Isleta |
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| At Laguna de Apoyo |
Our next stop was Leon, which I liked even more than Granada. It was less touristy and seemed more sophisticated. We even had a tasty meal at the market for lunch. But it was HOT and sticky, and Matthias was starting to feel under the weather. So, instead of making the trip to Las Peñitas, a beachfront community that was highly recommended, we decided to head up to the mountains where it would be cooler. And it was. We visited Estelí, Jinotega and Matagalpa - all of which I really loved. The problem here was that Matthias got sick - a fever followed by intestinal problems - that limited his ability to be very far from the hotel rooms. He was all but out of commission for about five days (fortunately, though, he was able to make it out for beer and dinner each evening).
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| Cathedral in Leon |
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| Cemetery in Jinotega - a town surrounded by mountains |
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| View of Matagalpa from our hotel |
A quick note about traveling through the country. A real highlight for me was riding the buses. Most really were old US school buses which were fine with me (my feet reached the floor!). They were often packed, but that didn't stop hoards of people from jumping on at major stops to sell food and drinks and even hawk the latest miracle cremes and elixirs. All this, and loud music, too. Quite festive! Unfortunately, the beautiful scenery was often marred by the garbage lining the side of the road. We cringed as most people on the bus simply threw their trash (mostly wrappers and bottles from the meals they just purchased) right out the window.
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| Our bus to Jinotega |
Our final stop in Nicaragua was the Rio San Juan at the southwest corner of Lake Nicaragua. The town of San Carlos was once again hot and steamy, but also quite beautiful with a cool breeze in the evening. We took a trip up the historic and beautiful Rio San Juan to El Castillo, a village only accessible by boat, where a fortress was strategically placed to thwart the advance of pirates and other invaders on Lake Nicaragua. Matthias actually had his best meal (a whole fish, not fried!) at our little hotel restaurant overlooking the river rapids.
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| One of the views of Lake Nicaragua in San Carlos |
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| View of El Castillo and the Rio San Juan |
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| Sunset over Lake Nicaragua |
We spent the final days of the trip making our way back to Costa Rica, which involved another boat ride down the Rio Frio (misleading name, for sure) as part of the border crossing. Emerging in Costa Rica, we were struck by how much more developed and modern it seemed. The food was better (yes, they seemed to put pork and seasonings in their pico de gallo!), the markets were cleaner (with refrigeration!) and the bus rides were smoother. The ride down from the border to Alajuela, where we spent the last two nights was stunning.
