Sunset silhouettes....sure why not!
Friday, November 12, 2010
Day 8: San Juan Sunset
After grabbing some cash from the ATM, we headed back to the beach to watch the sunset. And we're soooo glad we did! It was amazing. The best we've seen yet on this trip. The sun cast a beautiful glow on everything!
Sunset silhouettes....sure why not!
Sunset silhouettes....sure why not!
Day 8: San Juan Del Sur
Bienvenidos a San Juan del Sur....like the murals says! Woo hoo, we're in Nicaragua! We're all checked into a hostel, and we started meeting people right away. As we were leaving our room, we met a couple (Jocelyn and Nick). Guess where they were from?! First we narrowed it down to Canada, to BC, then.....Nelson! Nelson, BC of all places, just a few hours away from us in Fernie. Too funny! We all just arrived in town so the four of us headed to the market to grab lunch.
It's pretty funny....in Costa Rica, this time and last, I've always meet Americans. Store owners, restaurant owners, property owners, tourists. In Nicaragua, you will meet Canadians. Yes, in both countries there is also a mix of other countries, but looking at North America, this is who you'll be meeting in CR and Nica.
After lunch, Jocelyn and Nick hit the beach while we toured around town.
I love the character here, and the colors! It's so different than Costa Rica...I simply love it! And it has a great small town feel. Last time I met so many cool people and great connections, this time was the same. And you don't just see them once, you keep on running into them. It's just great! I could live here :)
It's pretty funny....in Costa Rica, this time and last, I've always meet Americans. Store owners, restaurant owners, property owners, tourists. In Nicaragua, you will meet Canadians. Yes, in both countries there is also a mix of other countries, but looking at North America, this is who you'll be meeting in CR and Nica.
After lunch, Jocelyn and Nick hit the beach while we toured around town.
I love the character here, and the colors! It's so different than Costa Rica...I simply love it! And it has a great small town feel. Last time I met so many cool people and great connections, this time was the same. And you don't just see them once, you keep on running into them. It's just great! I could live here :)
Now it's time to check out the beach. Sadly, San Juan is a fishing village. People do swim here, but I'd prefer to travel north or south to the swimming and surfing beaches. Last time, I tried to go swimming here and I got stung by jelly fish...no thank you. This, this is my one "princess moment" of the trip.
The beach is gorgeous though!
Dipping our toes into the Pacific Ocean from Nicaragua.
Dipping our toes into the Pacific Ocean from Nicaragua.
Again, this place just has so much character. The beach is filled with beachfront restaurants with thatch roofs.
We went and toured more of town. I love the colonial architecture that Nicaragua has to offer. Again, you don't find much of this in Costa Rica. Two countries, side by side, yet so very different! This is why I wanted to bring Paul here....I knew he was going love it too!
Back to the beachfront to grab some cash. The private ATM room is one place you will find wicked air conditioning! lol.
Day 8: Hotel Joxi
The heat in Nicaragua is intense. A dry heat. We crossed the border and arrived in San Juan during the midday heat. I prefer the dry heat though over the damp heat of Costa Rica, but the midday heat is really intense!
So the taxi, dropped us off in San Juan and we set out to find a hostel. I had stayed in two hostels there last trip, and had also been inside two others where friends were staying, so I knew we had choices.
We tried Hostel Nicaragua first, but no one was around. Seems just like last time with that place...no one is ever around...but it's a nice place so I thought we'd try it. Next we ventured over to Hostel Casa Oro, the popular hostel. All private rooms were booked up. Not surprised. We were approached by a lady who said she had rooms to rent down the street. She spoke English. She was actually the first person we heard speaking English since we arrived. She seemed legit but her rooms were $25 a night. We're in Nicaragua where I know we can get a room that is cheaper than Costa Rica.
We were about to walk back to El Puerto Hotel, where I stated last time, but it was hot, sooo hot. Paul noticed Hotel Joxi so we thought we'd give it a try. It really wasn't anything great, but we'll stay for a night at least.
The hotel is a family-owned, family-lived in building. They live on the main floor and rent out rooms on the second floor. They provide breakfast and coffee, and laundry services.
So the taxi, dropped us off in San Juan and we set out to find a hostel. I had stayed in two hostels there last trip, and had also been inside two others where friends were staying, so I knew we had choices.
We tried Hostel Nicaragua first, but no one was around. Seems just like last time with that place...no one is ever around...but it's a nice place so I thought we'd try it. Next we ventured over to Hostel Casa Oro, the popular hostel. All private rooms were booked up. Not surprised. We were approached by a lady who said she had rooms to rent down the street. She spoke English. She was actually the first person we heard speaking English since we arrived. She seemed legit but her rooms were $25 a night. We're in Nicaragua where I know we can get a room that is cheaper than Costa Rica.
We were about to walk back to El Puerto Hotel, where I stated last time, but it was hot, sooo hot. Paul noticed Hotel Joxi so we thought we'd give it a try. It really wasn't anything great, but we'll stay for a night at least.
The hotel is a family-owned, family-lived in building. They live on the main floor and rent out rooms on the second floor. They provide breakfast and coffee, and laundry services. This is our room on the second floor. Very bright and very colorful, and very hot. We had the option of air conditioning or a fan. We originally paid for air conditioning. It was a small A/C unit placed in the window. It hardly worked, and definitely didn't produce enough cool air to cool down the room.
We switched to a fan...thank goodness, it actually worked! The room had a double bed, a bunk bed and a private bathroom...I'll spare you the photos of that, as it was a little scary....okay, I'll be honest, this was the worst place we stayed at. I'll explain more later.
The "upside" of the hostel was the common area on the second floor. There were a few dining room tables, three hammocks and a siting area.
A must-have for me in any hostel is hammocks. This was the hostel's saving grace. 
The floor boards were a little sketchy, the balcony railing was even sketchier...and the balcony area that led to our room and 2 others, were quite scary. But the second floor location down from the beach provided a nice breeze when you were in the common area....and it turned out, that we ended up with a pretty wicked hostel crew here! In the end, we stayed at this hostel for 2 nights, simply because of the crew we met.
The floor boards were a little sketchy, the balcony railing was even sketchier...and the balcony area that led to our room and 2 others, were quite scary. But the second floor location down from the beach provided a nice breeze when you were in the common area....and it turned out, that we ended up with a pretty wicked hostel crew here! In the end, we stayed at this hostel for 2 nights, simply because of the crew we met.
We all left the hostel on the same day. Even though Paul and I were staying in San Juan for another night, we couldn't bear the place any more....midway through our second day there, the bathrooms started acting up. Not overflowing or anything, but the smell was unbearable! We hardly slept on night two because of the smell. With that, it was time to find someplace else!
Travel Routes in Nicaragua
Welcome to our travels through Nicaragua! Yes, I finally twisted Paul's arm enough and here we are!
A quick summary of our Nicaraguan destinations included:
We crossed the Costa Rican-Nicaraguan border around 1 or 2 o'clock. It took us about an hour, and definitely wasn't an easy adventure. We then grabbed a taxi from Penas Blancas (the border crossing) to San Juan Del Sur.
In San Juan, we rented a Land Cruiser that we nicknamed "El Beastio". We trip to go on a day trip to Masaya and Granada....but El Beastio is definitely not a highway vehicle. Instead we turned around and ventured to the beach....Playa Maderas and Majagual. We went on a ocean road adventure. First we had no clue where we were going, second we missed the turn-off to the beach. Yes we got "misplaced" a couple times, but it was fun.
The following day we rented "Gringo", a little sedan that we could do some road tripping with. We took "Gringo" and hit the open road. Like the day before, we missed our turn-off and ventured too far. We turned around and took "Gringo" to Masaya, Volcano Masaya, and Granada , then back to San Juan. We had a road map in Costa Rica. All we had in Nicaragua was my map in the Lonely Planet book. Lol...it wasn't the perfect map....obviously.
When we left San Juan, we took a taxi back to the border crossing.
Here is the route we followed:
A quick summary of our Nicaraguan destinations included:
We crossed the Costa Rican-Nicaraguan border around 1 or 2 o'clock. It took us about an hour, and definitely wasn't an easy adventure. We then grabbed a taxi from Penas Blancas (the border crossing) to San Juan Del Sur.
In San Juan, we rented a Land Cruiser that we nicknamed "El Beastio". We trip to go on a day trip to Masaya and Granada....but El Beastio is definitely not a highway vehicle. Instead we turned around and ventured to the beach....Playa Maderas and Majagual. We went on a ocean road adventure. First we had no clue where we were going, second we missed the turn-off to the beach. Yes we got "misplaced" a couple times, but it was fun.
The following day we rented "Gringo", a little sedan that we could do some road tripping with. We took "Gringo" and hit the open road. Like the day before, we missed our turn-off and ventured too far. We turned around and took "Gringo" to Masaya, Volcano Masaya, and Granada , then back to San Juan. We had a road map in Costa Rica. All we had in Nicaragua was my map in the Lonely Planet book. Lol...it wasn't the perfect map....obviously.
When we left San Juan, we took a taxi back to the border crossing.
Here is the route we followed:
Detail map:
Day 8: Bienvenidos a Nicaragua!
Our first views of Nicaragua were beautiful! Lago de Nicaragua and Isla de Ometepe with the two volcanoes were amazing. Wind turbines were a new addition to the landscape. Good for Nicaragua!
I tried to take some photos from the "taxi". I took quite a few photos actually, hoping that some of them would turn out. These two were the least blurry. The "taxi" driver drove really fast! Geez. Most of my photos were a big blur.
I tried to take some photos from the "taxi". I took quite a few photos actually, hoping that some of them would turn out. These two were the least blurry. The "taxi" driver drove really fast! Geez. Most of my photos were a big blur.
Day 8: Costa Rica - Nicaragua border crossing
The bus from Liberia dropped us off in Penas Blancs, the Costa Rican - Nicaraguan border crossing, around 12:30. All went well except that we were outside in the heat of the day with all our gear. Man, was it HOT!
First, we entered the Costa Rica immigration office to get our exit stamp in our passport. After getting our stamp, here we are making our way to the actual border crossing, a 300m walk.
First, we entered the Costa Rica immigration office to get our exit stamp in our passport. After getting our stamp, here we are making our way to the actual border crossing, a 300m walk.
We had our bags checked by the CR border guards, and proceeded into Nicaragua.
Bienvenidos a Nicaragua! Yeaaaaa, we made it!!! But now the confusing part started. Luckily we were approached by a guy who helped us through the Nicaraguan confusion. Remember this is all in the heat of the day, sweat is pouring off of us in the hot sun.
Wish I had more pictures of the mass confusion and inefficiency of Nicaragua compared to the calm and controlled Costa Rica side of the border. In Costa Rica, there are minimal stops. Get your exit stamp, get your bag checked, leave the country. Easy.
On the Nicaraguan side we may have had our bags checked yet again. Then we made our way through what looked like it used to be a town square over to an unmarked building with a long line on one side and a long line on the other side. Hmmm, okay, luckily we had the "guy" with us. We started in one line, as he kept moving back and forth to check the other line. I know, is this gonna be dodgy?
We then move into the other line. Finally wait it out, get our $26 USD ready for each of us, pay, get our Nicaragua entry stamp, and proceed to the next "area". Nothing is labelled, nothing is in any order, you kinda just make your way around the border area, following the guy who seems to know what he is doing. I remember is being the same last time I was here...again, we paid a guy to get us through.
We then crossed through some gates, and paid another US dollar to the guy there. Then you get swarmed by taxi drivers. Luckily, it seems these border guys work as a team, this guy we were with led us to a car, talked to the driver, loaded our stuff and away we all went.
Hmm, unlabelled car. I don't think any of them were actual labelled taxi's. I'm pretty sure they were all just locals trying to make a buck, all using their own rundown vesicles. Whatever, as long as we get to San Juan.
Remember, it's an adventure!!!
Day 8: Leaving Costa Rica
This morning we said good-bye to Derek, Greg and Charles yet again. This time was for good, for this trip anyways. You never know when ones paths may cross again!
As we turned off to Liberia, they turned off to Puntarenas. We are heading to Liberia this morning to drop off "Jimny" and make our way across the border into Nicaragua. The NY boys were heading through Puntarenas to Jaco.
Our last few pictures of Costa Rica...for this portion of the trip.
Nice tree lined highways. Distance to Liberia 32km.
New bridge built next to the old bridge. Local gas station.
We dropped "Jimny" off at the rental office just south of Liberia. They gave us a lift to the bus station in Liberia. The bus station was crazy. Luckily a guy approached us pretty quick and asked if we were heading to the border. He pointed us to the bus that would be leaving momentarily and told us how much it cost (1400 colones each). We had perfect timing!
The bus was pretty full. And very very warm! This was our first time on a bus this trip. I travelled via buses last time when I was here for two months. I kinda didn't miss it...especially when you are on a whirlwind 2 week trip.
Hasta la vista Costa Rica. 
As we turned off to Liberia, they turned off to Puntarenas. We are heading to Liberia this morning to drop off "Jimny" and make our way across the border into Nicaragua. The NY boys were heading through Puntarenas to Jaco.
Our last few pictures of Costa Rica...for this portion of the trip.
Nice tree lined highways. Distance to Liberia 32km.
New bridge built next to the old bridge. Local gas station.
We dropped "Jimny" off at the rental office just south of Liberia. They gave us a lift to the bus station in Liberia. The bus station was crazy. Luckily a guy approached us pretty quick and asked if we were heading to the border. He pointed us to the bus that would be leaving momentarily and told us how much it cost (1400 colones each). We had perfect timing!
The bus was pretty full. And very very warm! This was our first time on a bus this trip. I travelled via buses last time when I was here for two months. I kinda didn't miss it...especially when you are on a whirlwind 2 week trip.
Hasta la vista Costa Rica.
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