Blogs from San Juan del Sur, Southern Pacific Coast, Nicaragua, Central America Caribbean

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! url=https://www.booking.com/hotel/ni/nuestra-casa.en-gb.html?aid=1769628&sid=ef6f4c27fb07edaed3e690c1da73a6ed&all_sr_blocks=190855101_93047743_2_1_0;checkin=2024-02-26;checkout=2024-02-27;dest_id=1908551;dest_type=hotel;dist=0;group_adults=2;group_children=0;hapos=1;highlighted_blocks=190855101_93047743_2_1_0;hpos=1;matching_block_id=190855101_93047743_2_1_0;no_rooms=1;req_adults=2;req_children=0;room1=A%2CA;sb_price_type=total;sr_order=popularity;sr_pri_blocks=190855101_93047743_2_1_0__6971;srepoch=1708988397;srpvid=b7baa1b5689d0062;type=t... read more

We woke up and gathered our stuff up so that we could head out directly after breakfast. The hotel included breakfast, it started at 7:30, and our ferry reservation was for 10. The dock is around an hour drive from the hotel, and we wanted to get there about an hour early (we'd read that if you're not at least 40 min early, you can lose the car reservation). We decided we'd drive a different way than we originally came, to see a bit more of the island. Timing-wise it looked like it just took about 10 min longer than the other route. Unfortunately, there was no way for us to see that half of the trip was on dirt roads. Poor Gertie! She had already been such a trooper with all the bumps and ruts, ... read more

A new day dawned, and I woke up feeling refreshed. From the house, you can hear the sound of the surf, so I decided to walk down and take a look at the beach. Sylvia was still in bed. I wandered down, and saw another couple coming out of a house just in front of ours, with their 2 dogs. They were also heading to the beach, and we talked a bit. They told me about the other beaches in close proximity, just a short walk away. I took a walk along the beach, and saw that we weren't as 'in the middle of nowhere' as we thought we were. There were several restaurants, and lots of little houses that looked like vacation homes. When I came back to our place, Sylvia was up. We decided ... read more

On Sunday morning, 22d of April, Rebecka and I left our hostel in Ometepe pretty early to catch a ride to the ferry station of the island. Unfortunately, no bus came by and no cars (most people on the island drive scooters or motorbikes), just taxis... So we decided to take one of those and for 8$US p.P. we got to the ferry station. Our driver was really nice, a young guy from Dominican Republic who lives on the island at the moment, and when he dropped us off, he even offered us a (free) watermelon! :-D He was the first to really tell us about the situation in the rest of Nicaragua. Last Wednesday, José Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua’s president, signed a new law that makes people pay more taxes and retired people get less money. ... read more

13.6. Um 6 Uhr haben wir eine Tour gebucht zu den «Islitas», den angeblich 365 kleinen Inselchen in der Nähe von Granada – bewohnt von einigen Reichen und einer Vielfalt an Vogelarten. Als wir um 5.30h aufstehen regnet es in Strömen. Als ich um 6 Uhr draussen stehe um zu fragen, ob wir eventuell später gehen können, hört es innerhalb weniger Sekunden auf und ein Sonnenstrahl lugt durch die Wolken. Wir sind allerdings erst kurze Zeit mit dem Boot unterwegs, als es wieder zu tröpfeln beginnt. Unser Capitano kann noch gerade vor dem schlimmsten Wolkenbruch in einen Bootsunterstand auf einer der Inseln steuern, dort warten wir das Gröbste ab. Unterhaltung bieten ein paar Kolibris der Grösse von Nachtfaltern, die im Busch nebenan trotz des heftigen Regens fleissig von Blüte zu Blüte schwirren. Es regnet ab und ... read more