Day 3 - San Juan del Sur

After coming back from the beach the previous day, we stayed at the Villas de Pallermas, where Chris (and Oliver sometimes) works. It is located in San Juan del Sur, but further up towards the hills, so there is an amazing view of the Pacific Ocean between the lush green hills. It was truly picturesque. And I got to see fireflys for the first time! We didn’t try to catch any, but it was a beautiful thing to see. I think I tried to get a video of it, but it was too dark to capture the quick blinks.

The next day, Oliver, Christy, Joy and I checked out Da Flyin’ Frog Canopy Tour, where you are strapped in a harness and you get to zip over and through trees on a wire line (about two-kilometers total). It was so amazing! There were about 15 platform stations that you zip through. I think the longest one was about 330 meters. You basically zip your way down the hill, so as go across the lines, you get these awesome views aerial views of the forest and the Pacific Ocean. It was seriously such a thrill because you’re flying through the air just suspended on a wire,and when you look down, you can see how high up you are. You can’t even see the ground of the forest because it’s THAT high.

After the excitement of the zip tour, we went down to the beach and relaxed for a bit. Then, Oliver took us to a view point that over looked San Juan del Sur and the Pacific Ocean.

And with that, see the accompanying photos...


San Juan del Sur - Villas de Pallarmas

It was so nice to have air conditioning!


San Juan del Sur - Da Flyin’ Frog Canopy Tour

Here we are, all geared up for the Canopy Tour. This was the starting point, at the top of the hill (mountain?). The view is over exposed, but in the background is the Pacific Ocean.

It’s a good thing we had those helmets because along some of the lines, there were branches/leaves jutting out from the trees. Oh, and the funny thing about this picture, there was a scorpion scare right before we got on the grass to take this picture. After we finished the tour, the guides asked us what Joy was screaming about earlier, and she mentioned She thought she saw a scorpion, but the guides said there are none in this area. The next day, we had lunch with Chris’s mom, who told us about the time when she got stung by a scorpion at the Villas (not far from the tour place at all!). Hmmm... I guess you DID see one, Joy!


San Juan del Sur - Da Flyin’ Frog Canopy Tour

Joy on the zip line! Look at that perfect form. The neat thing was that sometimes, they would tell you not to brake or brake during some of the routes. If the route was very long (say 300 m), we weren’t supposed to brake, or else we’d slow down and get stuck. Other times, they would tell you to brake only at the end, which I had a problem with. I would sometimes brake a little to early, so I would stop about maybe a couple feet before I even landed on the platform. Then I’d have to have the guide pull me in, or I would have to pull myself in. It was a little embarrassing sometimes, just hanging there because you just couldn’t make it all the way!


San Juan del Sur- El Cruz

There is such a beautiful view from this vista point. Apparently, the property owner saved his best lot for God.


San Juan del Sur- El Cruz

This is the view from El Cruz of San Juan del Sur. Further past the horizon, you can actually see Costa Rica.


San Juan del Sur- El Cruz

Day 2: Granada and San Juan del Sur

Granada is about 20 minutes away from Masaya. Chris actually used to live in this town before the Masaya house and it’s where Oliver takes his Spanish classes. The town has a colonial feeling- there are still horse-drawn carriages driving in the streets. I particularly like this town because of the colorful buildings. We have yet to walk around in the Central Park, but I’m sure I’ll do that sometime while I am here.






The San Francisco Church







After brunch in Granada, we packed for an overnight trip to San Juan del Sur, which is where Chris (and Oliver sometimes) work. It was a 2 hour drive, but by the end of the drive, we would be at one of the most beautiful beaches on the western coast of Nicaragua. Instead of taking the highway, we took the more the “Chocolate” Road to get to the beach (”Chocolate’ because when it rains, the road gets muddy.) I don’t think I’ve mentioned driving in Nicaragua, but it’s pretty different from driving in the US. I don’t know how Chris and Oliver handle it because I would get stressed. Not all the roads are paved, and even if they are, there are still pot holes, dirt mounds, oxen/horse carriages, and plenty of other obstacles to avoid. But they do have a truck with 4-wheel drive, so they’re prepared to off-road.

The rural scenery of Nicaragua is gorgeous…lots of greenery, blue skys, and cloud formations that rival the Northwest (I was extremely impressed with the Seattle clouds, but I don’t know…the clouds down here have been amazing as well.) On the drive, you see school children walking to/from school, mothers and sisters walking with their children, men walking alone or in groups. You see some people working on the roads as well. It might sound a little silly when you read this, at how I am just observing people walking the distance to their destination, you don’t really see that in the States. Or at least I don’t. It’s mainly highways and freeways with the communities mainly on the otherside of a wall because it’s probably a sprawled community. You don’t really see daily life happening around you when you drive on your freeway/highway commute, do you? Granted it’s a rural setting and long stretches on the road in Nicaragua, it is pretty dynamic.

Another thing we saw a lot of were giant posters for Daniel Ortega, who recently ran (and won) the presidential election here in Nicaragua. He was previously president from 1985-1990, and was a leader in the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSNL). He lead the FSNL against the US-backed Contras during his earlier term, so there was a lot of controversy surrounding his re-election, enough for me to change my ticket to arrive in Nicaragua a week later than my original date.


Daniel Ortega

Out of all the candidates who ran, it seems pretty much like Ortega spent the most on his ad campaign. There are huge billboards of the same ad above all over towns and it certainly was prevalent in the rural areas. I noticed a lot of houses that had mini-posters or the FSLN flag hung up on their front porches. I can’t say I have asked a lot of people what they think of Ortega (due to language comprehension!) but I hope hear some opinions by the time I leave.

After a pretty rough ride towards the end of the the Chocolate Road, we arrived at our destination. Oliver and Chris had described the beach as a fun hang out: there was a bar with hammocks, good music, and a beautiful beach to boot. But it was pretty darn quite and desolate, even for a Tuesday afternoon. Oliver and Chris went to check it out, and when they came back, they had the most disappointed look on their faces. It turns out the owners had decided to close down the beach to the public. Oliver had not gone to it that long ago, since he had gone with Vannyvy about several weeks ago, so it was a shock.

We ended up going to La Playa Madera, which was near by. There was a little surf shack/restuarant/bar off the shore so we grabbed some drinks and Oliver had (of all things) spaghetti. I thought the beach was pretty nice…the water was warm and the sand was soft. There were a lot of surfers hanging around the area.


Oliver


’Serious’ Chris


Christy


Joy


Me


Playa Madera, San Juan del Sur