A Relaxing week in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

We left Granada by taxi to take us to Rivas, a larger town near San Juan del Sur. Here we planned to take the bus to SJDS but when we arrived there were no buses since it was Good Friday. This also meant that we were going to the beach with tens of thousands Nicas to celebrate the last weekend of Semana Santa.

The ride from Granada to Rivas took about an hour on a good highway but we were concerned with the driver. He was all over the highway, seemed to be falling asleep and only came fully awake when he had to jerk his cab back over the line! I was in the back seat and could see Don's concern as he was sitting in the front. He suggested to the driver that we stop for something to drink to see if we could keep him awake. After a large bottle of Coca Light he was a bit better.

The landscape along the highway was one of wide open spaces with lots of cattle ranches...

And distant volcanoes.

So no bus to be seen we rounded up another taxi for the rest of the way into SJDS. 

This driver drove like a maniac so we were there quickly but once we got to the outskirts of town traffic was stalled and we inched along.

Our accommodation here is located above the town and is a tree house on the property of an expat who lives here. It is a typical style Nica cottage made of cement and covered in a thatched roof.

Her house is on the hill further up and we use her pool which gives us a great view of the bay and town...

We spent hours on the patio overlooking the town as well as watching for the many birds that appeared in the trees in front of us. I am not a bird photographer by any means but did get a couple of shots to share. The birds here are all colors and sizes and I can see why this area of the world is popular with bird watchers.

This one looks something like our blue jay.

While this one has the colors of a parrot....

Here in this area of the world the rich people live in the hills for the views and for the security...in the area we are staying there is a gate with a guard. But as we walk up the steep hill we walk through a little barrio of poor and not quite so poor neighbours.

The house right below us is very poor with a corrugated roof, no windows and what looks to be an outhouse. There are a few chickens, a few dogs around the property which must be stifling to live in this time of year.

As I walk through the neighbourhood here are some things I see...

Children playing...these two were taking fruit of the tree and running after each other. I love the contrast in the picture.

It is so hot here, 35C or more every day that people are always seeking shade like this older lady...

The man delivering fruit...it is papaya season now...

This little girl and her friend were sitting in the doorway of the little tienda where we buy our water and Cervaza as we head up the hill every day.

We came to San Juan del Sur because along with Granada it is one of the two most visited places in Nicaragua and we thought it would be easy travelling and it is.

The town is on the Pacific Coast in the centre of many surfing beaches. It draws a lot of young backpackers and surfers so we are among the oldest people in town!

Well not quite....

The town has about 15,000 people living here but on the first weekend we got here there were 10s of thousands. Friday and Saturday night the concert on the beach didn't end until 4am and consisted of very loud music and strobe lighting that reached right into our little cottage. Thank goodness we had fans that kept some of the noise away. We didn't go near the crowds at the beach but it was not hard to find party goers!

Yes, they are all passed out!

By Sunday we ventured down to the beach as most of the visitors had left town, though there was still some activity on the beach. It was a beautiful day.

A game of soccer...

Enjoying the waves...

We sat and watched at one of the beachside restaurants as we enjoyed one of Nicaragua's national drinks, the macua, made with fresh fruits juices and their rum. Flor de Cana...

It was delicious and refreshing!

We quickly settled into a lazy routine here, preferring not to do much but enjoy the peaceful surroundings. Don wasn't feeling well so there was lots of time for several siestas a day.

We would go down into town once a day to stop for a couple of cold Tonas, walk around a bit, have something to eat and then pick up supplies to bring back for the evening.

There are lots of great places to eat here...

Sharing sangria with a friend...

Great sunny and shady if you like patios...

We also found a great bakery....

There is only one supermarket in town, Pali, which is owned by Walmart and not a very nice store. It is located about a km outside town so we walked there one day but not much to buy. What we did buy we had to carry all the way back and up the hill because there wasn't a taxi to be found in this place. All we saw were lines of cars and trucks trying to get to the beach...

A truck load of kids waiting so long that the guy is selling them food and drink. The cab of the truck was overflowing as well.

The town reminds me a little of an earlier Key West but on a smaller and more affordable scale. There are a lot of colourful buildings all over town...

There are lots of Spanish schools, tour companies and surfing schools.

The little church in the square is a blaze of yellow under the hot sun...

One prominent image of San Juan del Sur is the statue of Christ that stands on the hillside overlooking the town and the bay. It is quite large and imposing...

In the evenings as we sat on the patio with the warm breeze blowing we would hear the sounds of the town below...animals, kids, loudspeakers and often salsa music. This was our view as the sun was setting..

One last image is our selfie taken at the bar we went to every afternoon for a cold drink and to watch the world go by in SJDS...

So overall what is our impression of this little town... we would recommend a visit here and we would come back ourselves. If you are looking for warmth, a beach, a small town, great food, affordable, safe and friendly than this place fits the bill. If we were to return we would choose to stay down in the town as it would give us better access, we would stay longer, explore the area more and generally enjoy what Nicaragua has to offer. We would also come in a month that is not as hot as April!

So as we get ready to leave Nicaragua we are so glad we made a brief stop here. If there weren't so many other places in the world to see we would be back, but then one never knows where we will end up next!