San Juan del Sur

November 01, 2017

Tonight is our last night in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. This small surf town is quite pretty and very easy to get around. I think it would be fun to stay here a bit longer.

We took a surf lesson yesterday with a very helpful and patient instructor named Saul. He works for San Juan del Sur Surf and Sport here in town. We were driven over dirt roads full of potholes and rust from the rains to Playa Remanzo by another guy who works at the shop. It was a bit rough!

But, the beach was worth the rough ride. All down the coast there are surf beaches that are accessible via back roads and still basically untouched. A few higher end homes have sprung up (because, let’s face it, you cannot beat the views) and some small food shacks are set up to keep the surfers happy. But, unless you know where to go and have a 4x4 vehicle, you probably wouldn’t find most of these surfing spots.

Playa Remanzo is the beginner beach. Our waves were 1-3 feet and pretty sporadic. They get smaller and less frequent later on so we only got a couple of hours on the water. But, I started to feel the surge or push and began to understand how to read the waves. I wish now that we had booked 6-7 days here, taken the lesson as soon as we arrived and then had the entire week to practice. I’m not going to get better if I surf only once every 2-3 years!

We had fun. If I lived at a beach, I can see myself surfing most days.

It’s been decided that we must learn Spanish because this trip really proved difficult and frustrating for communication. Sure, a lot of people spoke okay to very good English but it only seems fair that we at least try to understand their native language. When we get back, we are booking classes!

Aside from the surf shops, the area also offers canopy tours, rappelling, turtle watching and a few tours through the jungle. We came here during “green season” and were fortunate to see how lush the environment is throughout Nicaragua. I think things will dry up soon as summer is quickly approaching.

Another awesome aspect about this time of year was how warm the ocean was on both sides of the country. In a few months, the Pacific will get very cold as currents bring down cold water from the north. I’ve never swam in such warm sea water.

And, I don’t think I have ever experienced such hot sun either! We were lamenting that, after 10 days in Nicaragua, we had no tan yet. The conditions didn’t really afford much opportunity for suntanning with the clouds and rain. However, we just had two fairly clear days and probably got the fastest golden tans ever in our lives! I think we would be crazy dark in a week here if it were sunny every day.

Food has been delicious almost everywhere we’ve eaten. The town has great beachfront restaurants with lovely views. These places are more expensive, $30-40 a meal for two of us, with drinks. But, step off the main beach road and you can find amazing food for cheap. We had a $12 lunch today and an $8 breakfast yesterday. And that’s for two people with a couple of beverages.

Tomorrow, we are heading back to Managua to spend the night before our long day of travel on Friday. Bryan is NOT happy about our 8-hour layover in Houston. We spent the day downloading movies and podcasts for the trip.

We have both noticed that, for the most part (there have been a few sketchy situations), Nicaragua has better plumbing and banos than some other countries. And, the internet services here are exceptional compared to Mexico, Belize or even Vegas!

Oh, and we met our neighbor here and his cat. Nice guy who is retired and lives here now. Great cat! He asked about our apartment and I said it was nice but that I was pretty sure something is living in the ceiling. He said, “Oh yes, that’s just a possum up there”. Huh...would have been nice to have been told that when we checked in! I thought someone was breaking in the first night and then something was going to chew through the ceiling the following one. Tonight’s another night so who knows?

Overall, Nicaragua is a great country with mostly helpful and friendly people. Some areas are VERY touristy, but you can still find cheap eats, amazing natural sights and activities and interesting history. I recommend a visit to this beautiful country, especially before it becomes so expensive like Costa Rica. Travel around, drive through towns, and take in the local culture.