Costa Rica / Nicaragua: Weeks 6-9

Between working, visiting with my parents, and sightseeing, I neglected keeping up the blog. So, here's a recap of our final 4 weeks.

My parents had an adventure just getting here. Their flight was delayed which made them miss their connection, resulting in a day 10-hour layover in Panama. By the time they arrived at 1:30am, they had been traveling more than 24 hours.

We welcomed my dad with a Corona and a donut - two of  his favorites.

Birthday cake for mom

We took my parents to Playa Hermosa (what we referred to as Survivor Beach), but the wind that day was horrible. We lasted just a few hours of getting sandblasted, before calling it quits and taking a drive to sightsee.  We ended up in Rivas, which is a town about 30 minutes away, and stumbled on a crazy maze of streets filled to the brim of outdoors markets. Kudos to Brett for driving through it! It was the kind of scene you picture in India - loads of people, cars, animals, everything, and not much room to maneuver.  We loved it!  (And ended up going back two more times before the end of our trip.)

Dad reading at Playa Hermosa

Brett sleeping at Playa Hermosa

The first weekend they were here, we did an overnight trip to Granada. We took a boat tour of the isletas in Lake Nicaragua, which are 365 small islands formed by a volcanic eruption. Lake Nicaragua is massive, covering 3,191 sq miles (for our CA friends, that's almost 17 times larger than Lake Tahoe). The islands are small, most with just enough land for a single building, however they do have their own community - 8 islands house restaurants, there's an island with a school (the children take small rowboats to school), one with a church, one is even a cemetery, etc. Two of the islands are inhabited by monkeys - one with spider monkeys and one with white-faced monkeys, both of which apparently like cookies. Our guide brought cookies and we could hold them out off the bow of the boat and the monkeys would come take them.

Mom feeding the monkeys

After touring the isletas, we boarded a horse-drawn carriage for a 3-hour tour of downtown Granada, where we stopped and visited sites, including a number of churches, the chocolate museum, and the San Francisco museum.

The doors in this church were massive

We then loaded up and went to our hotel, which we thought was going to be just a few blocks from downtown - or at least that's what the tour operator told us when we booked. We drove about 10 minutes out of town, turned on a bumpy dirt road, passed a few houses with armed security, and arrived at our "fortress". I wish I had taken a picture from outside. It had a concrete wall surrounding it with pictures of castle/fortress type pictures on the concrete. Once inside, our room was more of what you'd find in a private room hostel, but it was all we needed. Since we were far from anything, after checking in, we asked our driver to take us back into town so we could get dinner. We found a place where the road is closed for traffic and there are multiple restaurants with outdoor seating in the street, a vendor marketplace, and all types of entertainment. Fun vibe!

Hotel room in Granada

The next day, we went to White Town, where the local artisans set up shop outside their homes and sell their wares. We met with a potter and he gave us a tour of how the pottery is made. He let me sit with him and "assist" in making a piece. I'll sum up that experience by saying I am no artist! Poor guy, I messed up his piece twice!  So, then we were going to just take it off and call it quits. He handed me some fishing line to hold under the piece as he spun the wheel and I'd pull the line through the bottom so that it would come off the wheel. I couldn't even do that right! I couldn't hold the line tight with my slippery muddy hands, resulting in a tangled mess of fishing line and potters clay.

Pottery oven

We then proceeded to the Catalina viewpoint where we got a magnificent view of the Apoyo Lagoon. We took a Tuk Tuk ride around Catalina and Brett and I also took a horseback ride for a different view of the Lagoon. Afterwards, we headed to Laguna Beach Club for lunch.  After lunch we went to the Masaya Crafts Market. Our guide said we were the fastest shoppers he's ever had. We did a quick walk through, but shopping really isn't our thing. To end the day, we headed to the Masaya Volcano. Because it's an active volcano, we wanted to see it at night so that we could see the glow. What we didn't expect was that we could actually hear the lava as well.  Eery.

Brett with the Tuk Tuk

Peering into the volcano

Later that next week, we took a day trip to Rivas as we wanted to experience it again, this type up close and personal. We hired a couple of bicyclists to take us on a tour. Near the end, my dad asked his driver to switch places with him and he rode the bicycle while the guide got the tour!  We then drove north a couple of hours and checked out the local scenery.  We stumbled upon a quiet beach that had more pigs than people.

Dad giving the tour guide a break and doing the peddling.

Local grocery in Rivas

One of several HUGE pigs wandering the beach

The following weekend, we went to Ometepe Island (also in Lake Nicaragua). Ometepe is formed by two volcanoes, Concepcion (active) and Maderas (dormant) connected by a low isthmus. There, we visited a museum that showcased a private collection of artifacts found on the island, hiked through a coffee plantation to petroglyphs that are thought to be 1500 years old, saw howler monkeys, swam (or at least I did) in Ojo de Agua, which is a natural spring pool filled from an underground river from the Maderas volcano, toured a butterfly garden, heard the tales of Chico Largo, and just enjoyed the varied scenery.

Another ferry coming in while we were heading out.  Thankful it wasn't ours. We were wondering about all the buckets. it looks like one per passenger just in case!?

View of Ometepe from the ferry

Howler monkeys

We met a group staying at the hotel next door and joined them for bonfire on the beach - complete with marshmallows and s'mores.

Sunset from the hotel on Ometepe

Our room had the world smallest sink and tallest mirror - it was way over my head!

Other random photos -

That sums it up pretty well!

Buying fresh tortillas (she's making them over an open fire inside)

Mom couldn't find dad.  Found him in the top bunk reading.  Too funny!

Want to get a tattoo?  This is the tattoo shop for you!

Brett in a Tuk Tuk

Brett found a vendor on the street selling meringue cookies

Brett petting a friendly cow on the street while walking into town

Our water taxi "captain" - he gave us a ride into San Juan just about every evening

Operation "Escape Winter" is now over, but we have tons of wonderful memories!

Costa Rica / Nicaragua 2018: Weeks 4 & 5

Last weekend was our last in Costa Rica. Our plan was to rent a car and check out more of the country, but they were out of cars again in Samara, so we went to Plan B and hung out on the beach again. We decided we would get up early and get the first bus to Samara. We went to the bus stop at 6:45am only to realize the 1st bus wasn't until 7:45. A little before 7:45, we see the bus pass the condo and we'd missed it. There is no 8:45 bus. So, at 9:45, we finally caught the bus and headed to the beach. This pretty much sums up Brett's luck with the bus system for our entire stay in Costa Rica.

Brett smiling at the bus stop because he KNOWS he didn't miss the bus this time!

We got into town and stopped for breakfast. If you ever order an omelette at Franks in Samara, do yourself a favor and split it. In fact, find another couple and split it with them as well. I believe they are meant to feed four or more!

We met several interesting people while staying in Puerto Carrillo. One was a young girl, 10 years old, who started a conversation with us at the pool one afternoon. She was fluent in Spanish, English, and German.  She was very animated and I told her she could be an ambassador for Costa Rica. We learned so much about the country from her, both geographically and culturally. I could have talked with her for hours, she was so much fun. She wanted to know what foods we had tried, and she insisted we needed to try a copo.  So when we saw the lady come by on the beach making copos, we knew we had to try one. 

To make a copo, they first start with shaved ice. Add syrup. Add powdered milk. Add more shaved ice. More syrup. Drizzle with condensed milk.  Top with marshmallows. I don't have much of a sweet tooth and this was way beyond what I could handle, but I could see why a 10-year thought it was the best thing ever!

Speaking of interesting people, Brett and I are big fans of the show, Survivor.  Last week, Neleh Dennis, the runner-up from Survivor Marquesas was staying in the condo above us. We had a good long chat with her husband who told us about her Survivor experience. Very cool. But oh, how that must have hurt to lose out on the $1M by only one vote!  They now own a food food truck selling corndogs and fried pickles outside of Salt Lake City. Super nice guy. We only talked with Neleh for a few minutes before they were heading out, but she seemed just as nice.

The guy next to us last week has a niece who owns a 100% gluten-free restaurant in San Jose, Costa Rica. We'll be in staying in San Jose the night before heading back to the USA, so we got the information and we'll give it a shot. And hopefully we'll be able to meet up with Stefen on that last night as well. Stefen was another guy who stayed in the room next to us for a few days. We enjoyed hanging out with him and his two boys while they were here. Meeting new people from other areas is one of our favorite things about traveling. We have so many wonderful friends that we've met "on the road".

Back to our weekend...I finally made it to the beach with the tidepools.  

All of our walks are starting to look the same.  Here's the road to the tide pools.  Gravel. Hilly.

But the scenery at the end of each walk is always worth it.

And then on Wednesday, it was time to say goodbye to Costa Rica and hello to Nicaragua. We took a taxi from Samara to Liberia (2 hours) and then took a shared shuttle to Nicaragua. The shared shuttle was interesting. The van was very crowded and we were the last to get in, so I was in the front middle seat and Brett was in the back. The rest of the group were all backpackers, mostly from Europe. The driver was nuts, loco, crazy, however you want to say it. Since Brett and I weren't together, we spent most of the time texting each other, trying to keep our minds off the driving. By driving, I mean, talking on the phone, driving on the other side of the yellow line, watching a music video (radio on the dash had video player), all while on a curvy road. I said lots of prayers. Thankfully, we picked up a different driver on the Nicaragua side, and he was very good.  

Tip:  Don't wear a skirt on a super windy day when you have to walk across a border crossing while lugging multiple suitcases. Just trust me on this.

I think this "government" building was also their home.  The toothbrushes in the bathroom kind of gave it away.  (This is where you paid your exit fee to leave Costa Rica.)

Miles of trucks waiting to cross the border. We saw several using gas cans to fill up.  Makes you wonder how long they've been waiting.  Thankfully, passenger vehicles use a different lane.

We made it!

After getting settled in to our new place, we headed downtown to have some lunch and check out the town. While the population of San Juan del Sur is only 15,000, it's four times more than Samara and about eight times more than Puerto Carrillo, so it's much larger than where we've been staying.

Sunset in San Juan del Sur.

We've already started making friends here at our new condo and it feels comfortable. The views are amazing, it's secure (24-hour armed guards at both the street and beach entrances), San Juan del Sur is extremely colorful, and it's relatively easy to get to town. We found we can walk the beach and get to town in about 15 minutes, whereas taking the road would be several miles. There is an inlet between the river and the ocean that you have to cross. We've made it at low tide a few times and were able to trek across where the water was just above my knees. Other times, we've walked down a bit to where we could use the water taxi, which is just a panga that they pull across using a rope.  For roughly $0.35 per person, it's well worth it to ensure you get to the other side dry.

Statue of Christ overlooking the bay.  It's directly above our condo complex.

View from our condo

Water taxi

On Saturday, we headed into town again and made arrangements for two overnight weekend trips. My parents are coming down next week, so we wanted to get those things planned before they arrive. Saturday night we played Farkle at Dave and Susan's (condo neighbors who are from Texas) until almost midnight.

On Sunday, we rented a 4x4 side-by-side to check out the local beaches. We went to two beaches north of town and 3 beaches south of town. Long and dirty day (a few miles were on brick roads, yes brick, but the vast majority was dirt), but we saw some really pretty beaches.

Our favorite one was Playa Hemosa. Survivor Nicaragua was filmed in this area and there were many Survivor items at the ecolodge and restaurant. There's a $3 per person entrance fee at this beach, but it's well worth it. The have tables, hammocks, restrooms, showers, as well as a restaurant and spa. Loved it. We'll definitely be coming back to spend a day here.

They've filmed 3 seasons of Survivor here.  Two were American versions, but these two flags were from Survivor New Zealand.

Brett recognized the columns in the restaurant were actually the poles from the Get a Grip Challenge, so we had to see if we could do it. Hats off to those that can do this for an hour in the hot sun!

Our second favorite was Playa La Flor, which is a natural reserve (to protect the olive ridley turtles). They had a large amount of turtles that they were releasing at 6pm, but we wouldn't be coming back as we didn't want to drive at night. Since it's a reserve, there was an entrance fee (roughly $6 per person), so we paid that and headed to the beach. This beach had lots of colorful rocks (blues and greens) and shells at the shoreline. I wandered and collected until I figured I'd better stop. I don't think Brett would be too happy if we had to pay an overweight luggage fee on return because my suitcase was full of rocks! As I was busy wandering, Brett headed for the shade and I heard him whistle for me. I ran up and he had found a baby turtle that had apparently just hatched. Generally, a nest all hatches at once, so we looked for more, but he was alone. Brett went back and got the ranger and he collected him to be released with the others that night as it was too hot and he wouldn't have survived the trip to the water in the middle of day. There wasn't a single other person on the beach the entire time we were there. Lovely.

The little guy Brett found.  He named him Fred.

We ended the day by heading up to the statue of Christ. It is a VERY steep hill. We were able to drive most of it, but the last bit can only be walked.

View from the statue.

The last bit of the walk.  Yes, it's as steep as it looks.

A few more sights from our Sunday drive.

We saw four different baseball games.  We didn't realize it was a big sport here. 

A boy and his cows.

Horses on the beach.

Happy faces of some kids we gave a ride to. Too bad we didn't get a picture of the backpackers we gave a ride to earlier.  Those were some amazing dreadlocks:-)

Is that a 1-horsepower generator?  Hehe