On our way South from the D and D brewery, we headed for Tegucigalpa, Nicaragua yet again. And once again, we were less than excited about staying in the capital city. There is nothing wrong with the city, but there are not many attractions to see. Because of this we decided to take the 2pm bus to Managua, Nicaragua, even though the bus would arrive at 12 midnight. Yup, that's a ten hour bus ride.
We arrived at the bus station in Managua a little after midnight and took a short cap ride the nearest hotel. The next morning we decided to bus it to Granada, an hour away. Granada is much more tourist friendly and there are many more accommodations.
At one time Granada was the central city of Central America, and the first large scale home of the Conquistadors. Naturally there are many ancient churches throughout the city, including some very colorful ones! We felt as though we had been traveling too much and we deserved to spend some more time on the beach, so our time in Granada was also brief. We spent the two day there bicycling, sight seeing, sipping coffee, and people watching. Now off to the beach!
The beach is the most popular beach in Nicaragua and is called San Juan del Sur. While looking for an inexpensive place to stay, our guide books pointed us in the right direction. There was a rather large hotel, with an unobstructed view of the water. Naturally we thought that this place, with private balconies included, was far out of our price range..... we were completely wrong. We ended up staying for 8 dollars a night, per person, with our own private room and a balcony overlooking the ocean. 
During the weekdays the beach was relatively deserted along with the restaurants. However, as soon as the weekend rolled around, the beach was a happening place. There were locals, tourists, and the ever present vendors. One odd occurrence was the Harley Davidson rally that flooded the streets with motorcycles and rowdy bikers. Thousands of Harley Davidson riders came from all over Central America, and we even met some Americans. Apparently there was a bar in the town that put together some concert for the bikers, but the bars surrounding the concert seemed to have a better party. Although the streets were obnoxiously loud for 24 hours, it was a nice change of pace.
Our last night on the beach Rachel and I went for a two hour sunset fishing and booze cruise. Apparently the waters around the beach are rich with tasty marine life, and I was the only one lucky enough to reel in a large Mackerel. Very Nice! One of the highlights of the booze cruse were the three dolphins that we saw swimming next to the boat. Even the boat guide was excited because apparently that was a rare spectacle. It was a very beautiful sight to see. When the boat was arriving back to the dock there was a perfect view of the sunset. Rachel and I were able to keep the fish that I cought, and we took it to a local restaurant and they cooked it for us with rice and veggies. It was delicious! What a great way to top off the trip to the beach!
Darren & Rachel,
ReplyDeletethe view is beatiful with the drinks breath taking and the sunset is absolutly awesome.
Love you, Uncle Mike, Anut Nina, Grandma