San Juan del Sur

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San Juan del Sur was our last stop in Nicaragua. We weren't really sure what to expect; possibly a ramshackle town full of partying surfers and backpackers with little to keep us interested for more than a day or two. They do still have their Sunday Funday but it seems much lower key than it once was. We ended up chilling out there for six nights!

Nuestra Casa was a place we had already bookmarked when the friends we had made in Granada told us they were staying there. The chance of a night out with Dawn and Anthony was too good to miss so we booked in there for three nights. Located a couple of streets away from the bars and restaurants, it was an oasis of calm with an amazing, albeit tiny, plunge pool in which we cooled off every day after a hard day sightseeing. It wasn't perfect, but nowhere is in this part of the world. We only moved on because the price inexplicably doubled for the extra nights so we said no! Instead we ended up at one of their sister hotels, El Pacifico, which was on the other side of the river, blissfully peaceful, and had a bigger pool.

When it comes to eating, our major recommendation here was La Lancha where you can dine on fresh fish far cheaper than in the other beachfront restaurants. The only niggle was the night we went in a bit late and, after bringing our beers, they then told us the only fish they had were the enormous ones at 4 times the price we wanted to pay! We had something else but we did see the monster fish get served to another couple and we were so pleased we passed on that one!! On the other side of the river we were worried about the lack of choice of places to eat. We went to the ONLY restaurant (well, more of a shack) Loma Pinta three days running and honestly, we could have gone there every day if we had stayed longer, such was the quality of the food and the friendliness of the service.

SJDS, as it is often referred to, is a hot and sticky place. Walking takes a bit of effort if you go out and about exploring the local hills. We tried to get out to the lighthouse on the next cove, but Google Maps took us on a wild goose chase! It was an amazing walk with incredible views but when we were supposed to cut back up to the lighthouse, there was a ravine and there had never been a track! There was just a big, juicy scorpion waiting to greet us! Where we went was where the great and the good must live - those who don't mind driving absolutely everywhere. Some of the houses were truly magnificent with views of the ocean to match. Luckily, having retraced our steps all the way back to town, Google Maps then took us on another wild goose chase leading us to a friendly local who pointed us in the right direction. You can see our full route on Strava. It was a steep, hot and dusty climb - definitely not for the unfit or faint of heart. The wind was starting to gust at a pretty dangerous speed as we reached the top and turned the corner towards the lighthouse. It was rewarding, but was it worth all that effort? Perhaps without the exertion of the first wild goose chase, it may have been, but we were so tired by then that we didn't truly appreciate it. On the way back we had a look at an old fort that has been there since the 1850s. The walk back down was difficult under foot but not quite as hard as we had anticipated. We were definitely ready for a dip in the plunge pool after this! We called in at the market for a cheap lunch first though.

The town is divided in two by a river. It looks like it should be crocodile infested but it didn't seem to be. Once upon a time (well, until 2015 actually when it collapsed at 0730 on a busy Easter weekend with 600 people on it despite a capacity of 200) there had been a bridge across. Nowadays you have to rely on the tide not being too high to get across on the sand, but we never had a problem.

The other strenuous walk we did was a bit shorter than the lighthouse walk. The figure of a statue of Christ dominates the skyline as it looks down on the town from above the cliffs to the north of the bay. It's a tough climb but not very far so take your time and everyone should make it up there. The steepest part is right at the end as you climb up some steps to where you pay the security guard your $2 foreigner fee. There isn't a lot there but it's a great view and perfect for a selfie or two. Underneath the statue is a small visitor centre which compares this statue to others around the world. It was so windy the day we climbed that even the souvenir sellers hadn't bothered to man their stalls!

The wind was a bit of a problem during most of our stay. The long sandy beach is quite nice but when you are constantly sand-blasted, it isn't much fun. Russ did brave the waves on our last day and survived both the ocean's power and the diving pelicans! The beach is also known for its sunsets and after a disappointing first evening, we did get to see it at its spectacular best. Drinking a cold beer on a beachfront bar terrace watching the sun go down amidst intense colourful skies is a real travelling pleasure.

That was pretty much it for San Juan del Sur. We didn't do a great deal, although we did try to walk out to a nearby beach to the north. It turned out that it is now privately owned with no public access whatsoever unless you are prepared to pay $20 each for a day pass. We were not!

Moving on from SJDS to Costa Rica was no problem. We had thought about getting a $30 taxi to the border and trying to get a bus onwards from there. In the end we paid $40 each which included being picked up and taken to the border where we boarded a bus to get us close to our next destination. It was a lot less hassle and, surprisingly, cheaper than doing it ourselves. Leaving Nicaragua turned out to be a lot less hassle than entering, although it was still very slow as we had to wait for everyone on our Tica Bus to go through the exit lanes, board the bus to drive about 250m, get off and enter Costa Rica. Timewise it wasn't a lot quicker than our nightmare entry but for us, there were no problems at wither checkpoint. We didn't see any onward buses once we got into Costa Rica either, so our choice of a transfer turned out to be even better!

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Comments

[dts]

Photos are amazing
Did you use a particular camera or editing technique to achieve such vibrant colors?

[rrruss]

Canon!
I use a Canon 650D and edit a bit, but not much, in Photoshop.