Highway 1 All the Way

We love Nicaragua so much that we do not want to leave. However, we are now only 20 miles from the Costa Rican border and would have to do some major backtracking to stay, so we decide to proceed to Coast Rica.

After Granada, we take a ferry to Isla de Ometepe, a lake island in Lago de Nicaragua with two volcanoes (interesting factoid: the largest lake island in the world). We attempt to reach a finca that Steamboat Scott tells us about, but the minivan can’t handle the bumpy dirt road and we stay in for one night in Playa Santa Domingo on the lake. The cabana is small and expensive, however the common area is lovely and the beach is good for swimming. After our morning coffee, we come back to our cabana to find Quinn riding on a horse at the neighboring finca. He negotiates a 45 minute ride for $5, and even digs into my wallet for the money. I both appreciate and unappreciated this kid’s independence…

The next day, we head to a different finca along the island’s only paved road and end up at Hotel Finca Venecia. We have large cabana right on the lake. The finca has horses and cows, and Quinn quickly befriends the ranch-hand, Santiago. One morning, he wakes up at 5:45am in order to help with the horses. At one point, all of the horses get loose through an open gate and Santiago yells at Quinn to jump on a horse and help round up the lost horses. Quinn and Santiago gallop rapidly down a dirt road and finally appear in about a half hour with all of the horses. Quinn spends all day helping at the finca and the owner offers to let him stay. It is tempting, but we take Quinn with us.

Isla de Ometepe seems to be a bit too close to nature for the rest of the family. On a simple five minute walk down the beach, Connor, Paul and I run across poisonous snakes, pigs, cows, horses, monkeys and lizards. After being attacked by a crazy monkey last year in Guatemala, I am nervous as I walk by a tree filled with about 10 monkeys. Connor does not like passing huge cows and bulls. Amazingly, Paul, the City boy, seems to be the least worried. Needless to say, we do not take that walk along the beach again.

The island is like a blast from the past: men driving horses with carts, young boys herding cows and sheep on horses without saddles, kids bathing themselves in buckets, women washing clothes in the lake. I definitely appreciate my washer and dryer at home after watching these women wash clothes by hand…

Now, we are in San Juan del Sur, a thriving beach town on the Pacific Ocean. The town is picturesque – on a crescent moon bay with anchored boats bobbing in the water. Lots of beachside restaurants with fresh fish and seafood. Also lots of hotels and residential developments – and Gringos. The beach in town is not too good for swimming so we rent ATVs to explore the northern beaches. The first, Marsella, is deserted with several luxury houses. The second, Madera, is packed with young surfers. Quinn and I swim for awhile, trying to avoid the beginner surfers, then we take the dirt road back to town. The area is booming and seems to be on its way to becoming the next Huatulco or Zihuatanejo. Regardless, I enjoy running on the beach (the first run in one month!) and dining while watching the beautiful sunset. Still a lovely place.

We cross the border tomorrow to Costa Rica. I have mixed feelings, as many people have told us that Costa Rica is “like the U.S. with a Spanish accent” and very expensive (“3 beers in Nicaragua cost the same as 1 beer in Costa Rica”). We are used to spending $50 or less for accommodations and $1.50 or less for beer (we can always measure cost based on beer). But as Connor says, “no reservations”, so if Costa Rica works for us, we’ll stay for awhile; if not, bienvenidos Panama!

We spend a glorious week in Granada. Immediately upon driving into the city, we are enamored with the colonial architecture, colorfully painted buildings and lively plazas. We find a lovely hotel, Hotel Posada del Sol, on a quiet street, with a spacious room and large pool. The garden is filled with fruit trees and plants: bananas, mangos, watermelon and maracuya, which has a hard rind filled gooey sweetness – so yummy!

We spend our week sightseeing. Some highlights:

– Carriage city tour: We take a horse-led carriage tour and stop at an old fort and climb to a look-out point for a beautiful view of Grenada.

– Boat trip to the isletas: 365 tiny islands are near Granada in Lake Nicaragua. We go to the ”Beverly Hills” of Nicaragua – small private islands with nice houses. Several high ranking officials, wealthy businessmen, and foreigners have private islands there.

– Fort at Masaya: One time a fort, then converted to a prison in the early 1900s. The Sandanistas and later Somosa’s military used the prison as a torture chamber. Some of the walls are still splattered with blood. High ranking military prisoners were taken by helicopter to Volcano Masaya and dropped into the crater in order to eliminate their traces. A very eerie and spooky place, but an important monument to ensure that history does not repeat itself.

– Volcano Masaya: Our amazing guide, Ramon, leads us on a hike to view five craters in the volcano. The last part of the hike is treacherous, but Quinn manages to scale up the volcanic rock to an incredible view.

– Pottery studio: Ramon also takes us to a pottery studio that teaches locals about the ancient art of making pottery. They still use their feet to stomp the clay and spin the wheel. The process is much more intricate than studios in the States (they carve, paint and repeatedly polish their pieces) and takes over a week from start to finish. An extremely interesting demonstration.

– Ziplines on Volcano Mambacho: Ramon accompanies us to the ziplines and encourages us to do all kinds of tricks: upside-down, superman and bungee bouncing. All of us laugh AND scream! – Bell towers: On different occasions, Connor, Quinn and I climb bell towers of churches. The staircases are winding, skinny and steep, but well worth the climb for the incredible view. At one of the towers, the bells start ringing while we are on top. Quinn and I practically jump out of our skin!

– Local market: After getting our laundry done, we are missing several pairs of Quinn’s shorts. We venture to the local market, and Quinn makes out with 4 new pairs of shorts and a Boston Red Sox baseball cap (all for less than $25). Unfortunately, the SF Giants are not popular here, so Connor does not get a cap.

– Restaurants and sports bars: Granada offers a plethora of great places to eat and socialize. We eat ½ pound hamburgers and watch American sports at Zoom’s, eat fish and chips at the Irish pub, eat blueberry waffles and pancakes at Kathy’s Waffle House, and go cheap at the pupuseria. We love local food, but enjoy the splurge on good ole’ American food.

At our hotel, we meet a nice group from the U.S. One of the guys, Scott, coincidentally is from Steamboat Springs and is 6’5” tall, just like my brother, Scott. When we return from dinner one night, Scott is wearing Paul’s naked lady board shorts. We question why and he explains that the shorts were in front of his room and blew down from our second floor balcony. Paul remarks that the shorts look better on Scott and offers a trade. Now Paul sports a fancy pair of orange, brown and white plaid board shorts.

The next destination in Nicaragua is Isla Ometepe and San Juan – more in the next blog…

Here are some pictures from our 2 days in Honduras and the ranch and lake in Nicaragua. Enjoy! http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AYt27do4ctmJ6

Our first days in Nicaragua are spent at fincas (ranches) and lagos (lakes). We go to a mountain town called Jinotega and sign up for our first organized tour of the trip. We take a shuttle ... [Continue reading this entry]