This last weekend we rented a car and road tripped from Tamarindo to San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua. Having never really traveled much outside the states I really didn’t know what to expect going to Nicaragua. The first part of our trip was quite comical, having to cross the border from Costa Rica to Nicaragua was like trying to get into a top secret base and unfortunately there’s no quick way to sum up our adventure crossing the border.
We made good time to the border, it only took about 2 hours. The rental car people had advised that we don’t go with anyone offering to “assist” us across the border because there’s always a catch. The rental car had to be left at the rental facility on the Costa Rican side and then you had to walk with all your bags across the border to the Nicaraguan side and rent a new car there. Of course, as soon as we pulled into line for the border a lady flagged us down frantically pointing for us to park. A little unsure, we parked the car and got out as she tried explaining in very limited English she insisted we needed to pay the exit tax and fill out the customs forms before continuing to the border. We all looked at each other a little confused since the rental people had said not to stop until arriving at the car rental facility. We paid the tax and before we knew it we had been sucked in, the lady that had flagged us down had filled out our customs forms for us. After giving her a few colones we continued down the line and dropped off the rental car. We had to walk the rest of the way with all of our bags to the border (I’m pretty sure we looked a little like hitch hikers).
We almost missed the line for the exit stamp for our passport since we were again flagged down by another “assistant” pointing at the line, not wanting to risk missing a stamp we reluctantly got in line. There were men walking up and down the line with wads of colones and nio’s in their hands trying to offer a quick cash exchange before getting to the border. The line moved rather quickly and I wish I could say the same for our next in line experience.
The next line we had to stand in to enter Nicaragua was short but had been moving slowly, we stood in line about 40 minutes. We were one person away from the customs agent when he suddenly stopped processing the paperwork for the girl ahead of us and motioned for us to move over to the other line (twice the length ours). He handed off the girl’s paperwork, shut down his work space without saying a word and left. A little astonished, we all looked at each other, like what the hell just happened. So we had to migrate into the line next to us, which took about another 45 minutes but we finally made it!
It felt like such a huge accomplishment just making it across the border. We got our Nicaraguan rental car and began the remainder of the car ride to San Juan Del Sur. The city was only about 45 minutes from the border and let me tell you the driving is an experience all in it’s own in Central America. All the roads are two lanes and super windy with no guard rails, not to mention the occasional iguana that will be crossing the road along with cows, horses and other animals. We even got behind a bus that was the most entertaining part of the drive. It was jam packed with people and I mean, they would open the back door to let people off because it was so packed. This bus didn’t make “stops” there was a designated man that when they would come to a stop, the bus would slow down and he would hang out the side door hold out his arm and pull whoever was waiting into the bus.
The scenery is beautiful as you drive past Lake Granada that is so big it looks like an ocean and in the center rising out of the lake are two giant volcanos, Ometepe and Zapatera. I was immediately humbled on the drive to San Juan Del Sur as we passed the little tiny villages alongside the road. Nicaragua is the one of the first third world countries I have ever visited and it’s one thing to see pictures, but the reality of seeing true unequivocal poverty in person was overwhelming. Most of the “houses” lined up along side the road are built only out of slats of wood with giant gaps in them, a few made from cement, most with no doors and the ones with doors barely covering the doorway. Those images will forever be ingrained into my memory and have forever made me incredibly grateful for all the little things that we take for granted ever day.
As you enter the town of San Juan Del Sur there is a giant sign in bright letters welcoming you to the little city in the bay along the Pacific Coast. We had used Airbnb to book a place to stay and were very pleasantly surprised with our accommodations.
The house was located over a little souvenir shop on one of the busy streets in town just a couple of blocks from the beach. At night you could listen to the live music being played at one of the restaurants and it was so peaceful. One of the most common things to experience in Central America are the random power outages. The wind was so bad one night that while we were all sitting on our balcony the power went out. It was actually one of my favorite moments, because everything was dark but you could still see all the people walking around just going about their business with flashlights. The power came back on in about 30 minutes and the music resumed.
The bay of San Juan Del Sur is overlooked by the Cristo de la Misericordia (Christ of Mercy) statue, one of the tallest ones in the world. On our last day we hiked up to the statue that overlooks the city and the view was breathtaking.
We stayed at the most beautiful place in San Juan Del Sur, it was a little house that was located above a shop along one of the busy streets. Nicaragua had such a different feel from Costa Rica, there were a lot of locals but also a lot of people from all over the world that had relocated to the little city. The first night we discovered this cute bungalow on the beach called Restaraunte Vivian and when I say on the beach I mean the tide almost touched our feet. Our food was amazing, some of the best seafood I have ever had.
The next day we made the 2 hour trek from San Juan Del Sur to the old city of Granada, absolutely beautiful. We walked around the city for a couple of hours and admired all the old architecture and bright colors the buildings had to offer. The city of Granada was so unique, all of the houses were set up in blocks. There would be several houses set up as one single story building along the street and when you would look inside you could see in the back yard they all opened up to a common court yard with gardens.
Probably one of my most favorite experience’s here was following signs we had seen posted on lamp poles for “Nicaragua’s best burgers and fries” – of course this peaked our interest so we checked it out. The little restaurant we stopped held about 5 tables and a bar counter with a doorway leading back into the kitchen. I had to use the restroom and had to go through the kitchen to get to the bathroom. I was blown away at the fact that the kitchen they were cooking in literally looked like a house kitchen. Our waitress was the cook along with another man, they worked simultaneously going between the open grill and the refrigerator preparing our burgers. I felt like I was at someone’s house having a meal prepared for me. They had not mislead with their signs, the food was amazing.
I definitely left this beautiful city with a completely different mindset and renewed feeling of gratefulness for the people and things that I have in my life. “Nicaragua Tatuada En Mi Corazon”
lovellie
