Santa de la Playa

On one of our last days in Granada we elected to do our third day trip on the same day we took a closer look at the city before we left.  In the morning we started right on the shores of Lake Nicaragua within Granada's city limits.

We booked a private launch to leave first thing in the morning for a tour of Granada's las Isletas, or 'little islands' as they are locally known.  In four hours we didn't even scratch the surface of the 350+ islands that make up the archipelago.

The guide knew the many channels through the islands, which was a little nerve racking for us 1st timers. Huge basalt rocks looming just below the surface seemed to be everywhere we looked.


Near the city many of the isletas are large enough for a house or small estate so there are dozens, from grand to modest.  At times it seemed like a tropical 'Homes of the Stars' tour but some islands were still inhabited by native families who held title and were, according to our guide, "just waiting for the right time to sell'.

It's the windward side of the lake so the islands have rock abutments at the waterline all around. Most shoreline that we saw was rock anyway but it certainly was attractive.

The many scenes we past reminded me of cottage country in lake country across Ontario, except for the palm trees and bull sharks of course.  Yes bull sharks, which are tolerant of fresh water and often seek out fresh water for nurseries to have their young.

This lake was famous as a bull shark fishery that supplied Asian markets for shark fin soup.  It is also was know for tarpon fishing where Carribean tarpon follow the San Juan River to feed on fresh water fish.


Had to get a picture of this where one of the Big 5 (ie: the five families that controls most of the commerce in Nicaragua) has a cottage that forms a bridge spanning a channel and links two of the islands.

At every turn I half expected to turn a corner and see the global HQ of SPECTRE or some other shadowy evil empire bent on global domination.  This was the stuff of a James Bond thriller. Instead, the real Nicaragua is around that corner and sometimes its a heart breaker.


Local fisherman usually net freshwater bass but lucked into a run of 5 ft, 200 lb tarpon that morning.  Tarpon is the most sought after sport fish in the world and consequently a species endangered through much of the Caribbean.

Sport fisherman would pay local fisherman thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars to catch and release those same fish.

How can people living a hand-to-mouth, often on the very edge of survival, be asked to miss a legitimate payday at the local fish market for an uncertain payday in the future? The long-term approach is too risky for them.

The last stop of the morning was the most entertaining.  A family of monkeys had become accustomed to tour boats and seemed curious to come aboard and say hi.

No ransacking the boat like temple monkeys in India and no aggression, just friendly curiosity and a scratch on the belly.  I thought that the guides must train them with food for this but I never saw any kind of bribe or exchange for their good behaviour.

Brad was astounded that no one lost their glasses or iPhone and Leona truly thrilled with the exchange.

After leaving the boat, pictured at right, and cabbing back to the hotel for a quick lunch, we jumped on a horse drawn carriage for a city tour.

The guide had an excellent knowledge of the city and its history.  Brad found the legacy of the Sandinista regime of the 80s the most interesting, especially now that they were back in power but with radically different policies. Leona was most interested in the flowers and the butterflies. Yup!

memorial to the Sandinistas

A memorial to Nicaragua's Sandinista government in the 80s and their socialist regime that defied the US under Reagan.

The walls of an old fort which had in the bad-old-days had been re-purposed to house a prison for political prisoners and a school for, shall we say, re-education.

The 'new' Catholic cathedral built after the city was burned down by William Walker and his freedom fighters.

Front doors to a boys school built from a church and monastery.
You guessed it, a few blocks away there is a very nice girls school painted in fresh white with pink trim.  Honest!
















Like many old Spanish grave yards, Granada's is primarily above ground tombs.








Oldest structure in Granada and reputed to be one of William Walkers homes







After a great visit and with Christmas approaching we had decided to accept a very gracious offer from Andrew, a friend and colleague of our good friend Lynn.  Andrew's offer was the use of his newly built home right on the beach.  His place was at Playa Tesoro, a new development south along the coast from Playa Penitas and only a few kilometers from the beautiful city of Leon.

That coastline is one of the up-and-coming tourist destinations in Nicaragua and still an un-found jewel we had heard much about.  It seemed like a great place to get away from the hustle and confusion of Christmas, when the  schedules for stores and restaurants are often very hard to anticipate.

Rule #1, Follow the power lines

We knew that the beach was out of the way by the directions Andrew had given us and by the way he encouraged us to contact the developers of a large track of land adjacent, who had people permanently on location and could help us out if needed.

Rule #2, Don't hurry

So the map was not-to-scale and the road in was a challenge. We planned our approach for mid-day to make accommodation for missteps.

Once we got to the beach we sought out the neighbours to make sure we were at the right place.  It was a beautiful and well appointed 2 bedroom house on what seemed to be miles of pristine beach.


We had purchased groceries for the stay not knowing if it was practical to make the 30 minute trip to town during the holidays.  Just as Andrew had described it, almost everything we would need was there.  The one thing missing, a hammock, I had brought.


As Christmas drew near we kept close track of where the kids were, where Baba was, and where our visitor from Sweden was, all amidst the chaos that was Christmas with the Petricks.

Leona's family too was getting together for the Holidays and we were keen to keep up with everything and participate as best we could through Skype, FaceTime, and WhatsApp.  Unfortunately the community wifi that was to be up and running by then was not set up and our fall-back contingency of cheap data on a Nicaraguan cell phone, was not getting the signal strength expected.



We could see the potential for a problem with communication and Leona's confidence in her tech-savvy husband was eroding.... fast.

We went to the neightboring development to use their wifi but it was down.  With guests starting to flood in for the Holiday weekend and Leona glaring from the peanut gallery, action was needed and needed fast.

Within two hours the local principal and CFO for the property development had driven in from Leon and we were all bent to the task of turning that frown upside down.  Nothing less would be acceptable.

We got the local wifi working off the cellular network but stability was fleeting and ultimately unattainable.

We were forced to stand near the beach, but not too close to the pounding surf, and try to hang on to conversations through sketchy data. Merry Freakin' Christmas!!!

It became clear that the wifi was not going to be up and we were going to be out of touch through the Christmas and Holiday Season.  Paradise was becoming bittersweet.


The perfect surf, beautiful house, a riot of birds, and turtle hatches at every magnificent sunset was being outweighed by missing Christmas with the family.

At Tesoro Beach there was a great deal of action that week.  There were German kids visiting the house beside us with no real groceries and no transportation.

Prairie girls: an unlikely meeting

We ran into a group of Mennonite girls from Canada stranded on the road into the beach and found out that two of them were actually from Brooks, Leona's home town.  One actually worked for Leona's aunt.

Sea turtle hatchlings making for a life at sea

Despite it all, after less than a week it seemed our time was getting short in this perfect place. Leona's despair became too great on one beautiful sunset on the beach.  We were helping turtle hatchlings scamper to the water without predation from the air, done just before nightfall to give them some further protection from predation in the seas.  Not sure if any of that was helpful but it did seem to make Leona think of her little hatchlings spending Christmas without us. We were resolved then to find a place where we could FaceTime and Skype and WhatsApp to our hearts content, literally.


Missing out largely on the Christmas experience, even from afar, had been a disappointment for us and we made plans to move on before New Years Eve.  It was for the Petricks not just New Years, it was Baba's birthday and the anniversary of her marriage to our departed father, Woody.  Every year it is a very special night to all of us and we decided not to miss being with them virtually.

If these guy can get a cell connection why can't we?

Our plan was to move down to Nicaragua's Pacific coast beaches at San Juan del Sur.  It's very popular with expats and so promised to have well developed infrastructure.   When we looked for accommodations however, it became clear that SDJS was a hot New Years destination for both expats and Nicas.  The hotels were packed and prices were astronomical.

We decided instead on Popoyo, a surfers beach part way down the coast to SJDS which promised to have at least reasonable connectivity to the world at large.  We took the last room at Yalta's Inn, a newly built and mid-range hotel on the beach.

It turned out to be a disappointment as far as a hotel went but we spent a couple days on a deck overlooking the surf, chatting with all of our friends and family is they braved a wintery interlude between Christmas and New Years Eve.  I'm sure they envied us sitting at a beach in 30C sun
shine watching the surfers but we envied them a little too.


No matter, if things are not working out in Nicaragua we set our sights on Costa Rica and made plans to find a spot to enjoy New Years Eve and stay connected to home.

We booked the last few days of the year and New Years Eve in the northern highlands of Costa Rica at a hotel and brewery (again, you ask?) in the hills overlooking Lake Arenal.  It was near a place where we take our daughters, Nicole and Stephanie, when they came to Costa Rica to visit us.

Oh yes, Nicole and Stephanie were coming to Costa Rica for 2 weeks in early January.   It was beyond exiting to have them join us for a time on this trip, and especially so 8 years after we had all visited Costa Rica together.  We had planned two weeks full of activities in unique and special parts of the country and looked forward to making many great memories together.

For now the plan was enjoy New Years Eve, scout out Lake Arenal, and get ready to host the girls, even though the SUV was already packed solid.  We booked a house in Playa Coco for the week after New Years Day giving us a week to prepare.

Next, Pura Vida in Costa Rica

Granada Love Affair

Much of Honduras lay ahead of us and driving to the border from D&D would not leave us time to make the crossing and get to a hotel before dark.  Honestly, usually its enough to get through the border by dark. no matter when you start.

The decision was made to transit Honduras and lay up in El Paraiso near the border to prepare for a crossing the next day. For all the dire warnings about Honduras, we had no issues through the country, not with either of the police or the not-police-but-still-scary. For the most part it was a continuous film roll of pastoral countryside and friendly locals. I guess you can't plan your life around 'they' or what they say.

On the road to Nicaragua we were not going to drive through Tegucigalpa because we know that major cities can be difficult to navigate. However... the evening before we had offered a ride to Tanya, our Austrian friend as she would be making a complicated bus transfer in 'Gooch to meet her friend just arriving from Austria.

We had a great chat while we travelled, which was a nice change from our usual, i.e.: Brad drives, I navigate, and we chat until we've missed an exit. All went well, we dropped Tanya off at a taxi stand in central Tegucigalpa and fled the smog and chaotic traffic as quickly as we could.

Our escape from the capital city to the near-border town of El Paraiso went well. Without any travel book or website coverage of the town to fall back on we had to book a room based on some sketchy Google reviews.

The Hotel Mario Chavez could have been anything.  I like to avoid thinking about it at times like this but scenes from Dusk to Dawn kept jumping to mind as we looked for the hotel.

Leona seemed as relieved as I (but I doubt it) when we rolled into a charming little family hotel that was, if anything, a little grander than its web presence. The staff were very kind and helpful and the hotel was clean and very comfortable.  A familiar theme with rooms around a garden courtyard and a bonus of good food in the restaurant. It's a little out of the way but, if you are ever in the neighbourhood, it is highly recommended.

We left early the next morning for the border at Los Manos with all our ducks in a row.  We had very little trouble at the border, despite the fact that no one spoke English. The usual exit stamps for our passports and relinquishing our temporary vehicle permit, and a short drive to the Nicaragua side to get our temporary vehicle permit for Nicaragua and our passports stamped.  Routine is never routine!

There seemed to be a long line at the "bank" where we would pay for our vehicle import permit.  For no apparent reason we were ushered in ahead of everyone into a lovely air-conditioned room with an armed guard. We felt a little like celebrities! The guard was very friendly and we never found out what all the other people were lining up for. Sometimes it sucks when you don't know enough of the language to effectively ask questions but in this instance discretion would be a virtue.  Best not to piss anyone off  with poorly phrased questions at the border.

One welcome difference in Nicaragua was mandatory liability insurance that had to be purchased at the border.  It gave us some assurance that everyone on the road would be similarly covered.  Yea Right!!!

If the local buses spent as much on liability insurance as they did on lights, paint, and slutty automotive jewellery everyone aboard could be assured of reasonable compensation when a bus careened into a chasm.

The roads had shoulders and better than those we had travelled for past weeks!

On our way south we travelled through Nicaragua's breadbasket and the farming communities around Esteli. Ideal farmland, it was amazingly rich and verdant.

While marvelling at the farmland we joined a line-up to pass a police checkpoint. With policemen working both lanes, Brad slipped into a near-empty lane, which turned out to be an infraccion. 

As the severity of the violation was being impressed upon us by a very earnest officer, it became apparent that a lack of understanding was going to be an asset.  In part we were having trouble with the Spanish but the biggest part of the confusion was total incredulity.  How could moving into an empty lane at 2 kph, while signalling, be any kind of an infraccion?

It slowly dawned on us that our stupidity was working.  It was raining so hard that this poor fellow was getting soaked and the harder he tried to squeeze the retarded Gringos the dumber they seemed to be! Finally, amazed that we were driving in his country without ANY knowledge of Spanish, he threw his hands with apparent disgust and waved us on. Turns out that being dumb can actually save you money!!!

We decided to stay first in Nicaragua's original capital and one of the oldest cities in Central America; Granada. On the western shore of Lake Nicaragua it's about 50 kilometres from the beaches of the Pacific, cradled between dormant volcanoes, and deceptively compact.

Granada has a rich and colourful history, a small city with a big city's pedigree. That history was at least in part due to the fact that it is also accessible by ship from the Caribbean.  The San Juan river provides a navigable connection from the southern end of Lago Nicaragua to the coast.  Granada was therefore a natural transit-point between the coasts for Spanish plunder from lands along the Pacific.

A lovely garden in the centre of the courtyard and restaurant

We arrived in Granada and found the hotel quite easily. What a lovely place the Hotel El Almirante turned out to be!  Another classic example of a grand home in a colonial city converted to a hotel. And what a home it would have been!

The Almirante was welcoming and exuded colonial charm.  The amenities were excellent, the staff exceptionally kind, and the food was excellent.

A meticulously maintained pool near the rooms and Brad
making sure that the tables are sturdy enough for really big drinks

Feeling the Christmas spirit

With all of that going for it and a great cash discount, staying for longer than we had originally planned was a no-brainer. Rudy, the jefe or manager, was there to make it right whenever our Spanish failed us.

Over the next few days we explored the town and took care of the necessary phone and banking needs. The centre of town was only a couple of blocks from the hotel. As we explored,  we were enchanted with the town more and more.  Central square was lined with colonial era buildings painted in pastel colours and everything was decorated for Christmas.   There wasn't much English spoken here but the locals were happy to help us with our Spanish and we could get by.

Nativity scenes adorn the bandstand in the central square

Christmas in Granada is a festive affair

With some time to enjoy the city we decided that it was time we sharpened our language skills a little so we enrolled in a few hours of Spanish classes at one of the local schools.

Juan with his 'special' students

Not wanting to plunge into the deep end of Spanish syntax we decided to book just 10 hours of casual lessons at Casa Nica, a well regarded school in mid-town. For five days at two hours a day it should prove to be beneficial without becoming frustrating!

Juan, the young fellow assigned to us was immensely patient.  His gift was being able to gauge both our current capabilities and understand what we hoped to accomplish.  His English did not appear to be great but appearing to be weak in English was, in the end, a benefit to us and may have been a tactic that made him a more effective teacher.  We may never know.

In the end we gained a deeper understanding of the language than we would ever get through stilted, one-off conversations.  It was especially useful to understand how Central American idioms differed from the Spanish we had learned in Canada.

Juan's gift to us was an appreciation of how much work we had in front of us.  Never was it more true that the more you know, the more obvious it is how much you don't know.

The cobblestone streets of Granada are wide enough for
cafes to host sidewalk patios and allow cars to pass

We had to ask a local, why are the cobble stoned streets of Granada wider than those of the other ancient cities of the region? In Central America answers to such riddles are often vestiges of American foreign policy.

In the 1850s, before the Civil War or the Panama Canal, American adventurer and a proponent of 'manifest destiny', William Walker, was bankrolled by the Vanderbuilts to secure for the US, by force, the overland passage across the Americas via Nicaragua.  As mentioned that route pivots on Granada,

Walker followed a tried and true pirate tactic from the 1700s: he sailed a small mercenary army through Lake Nicaragua; seized Granada;, installed himself as Presidente; declined into madness; turned on his American backers; and burned down the City just before being ousted and executed. The new Nicaraguan government moved the Capital to Managua and rebuilt Granada, widening the streets and modernising the civic infrastructure in the process. Ancient City, modern streets.

As fascinating as the city was, the immediate area was even more amazing with two lakes, a volcano, and a labyrinth of islands on the very edge of the city.  The volcano last erupted in 1580 and has a road up to the rim of the crater.

The cluster of 300 islands in the island on the outskirts of Granada are what remains of the top of the volcano following a major eruption thousands of years ago.

Beyond Apoyo, the sweep of Lake Nicaragua
looked like a great inland sea

The easiest day trip was to Lake Apoyo, also a lake formed by the dome of a volcano but one much lower in altitude and easily accessed by car.

We drove about 30 minutes from town to Catarina, a incredibly picturesque town perched on the western edge of the crater.  On the edge of town was a magnificent lookout over Apoyo. We could see the whole of the lake, down to Granada, and beyond.


To the right is a view of the Lake Apoyo from the road near the beach front.  It was late in the day but the mini-resorts looked so nice we returned later that week for a 'beach day'.

Almost as nice as Whitefish

Returning a few days later with a free afternoon following Spanish class, we chose a small resort that had a bar and restaurant and several terraces with beach lounges, picnic tables, umbrellas and all the accoutrements of a day at the beach. There was kayaks and paddle-boards for the use of guests all for an entrance fee of $6 per day. Leona took advantage of the free paddleboards to test out the waves on the lake and managed to not get dumped!

The water was warm and incredibly clean and clear. Development on the lake was tightly controlled to ensure that the water stayed pristine.  Even though we were told that powerboats were allowed on the lake we only saw a few Hobie Cats and no motorised traffic whatever.

A view from the lake shore at one of the mini-resorts

In Catarina it seemed like every plant was in bloom.  Because of its ideal micro-climate the area was a major centre for plant nurseries and horticulture.  Leona was so entranced no photos were taken!

Our next outing was to the Volcano Mombacho which was only about a half hour drive from Granada. While the access road to the crater's edge had been open to private vehicles in earlier times, today it is only available to specially designed 4X4 tourist lorries.

Volcan Mombacho

The jungle tour up Mambacho

The half hour trip straight up the volcano on a one lane, cobblestone road can only be described as harrowing! Plastic tarps over seating area in the back provided a close perspective to the ever-present danger as we approached the craters edge.

Our guide was a university student of Hospitality Services in Granada and a charming hostess

One of many vents spewing gases from deep in the volcano. 

We arrived to the visitor's center at the crater's edge, about 1,200 meters (3,800 ft) above sea level. There were topographical maps of the area as well as information about the flora and fauna in the cloud forest at the volcano's rim.

The temperature had dropped significantly and the wind was howling, pelting us with a fine mist. Didn't get the memo about bringing an extra sweater/jacket.

We hired a guide to take us on the one and a half hour hike around the main crater.  She mentioned in passing that this semi-rainstorm and near zero visibilty prevailed at the rim, i.e.: about 80% of the time.  Great!

She was able to provide a wealth of information on the geology, the fauna, and the flora.  To the left and below are some of the beautiful orchids that we saw everywhere along the hike.













During our hike we also heard howler monkeys and thought they may be close, but their calls can be heard many miles away, especially in the higher elevations. We craned through the trees and tried to spot them somewhere down the valley.

After a few moments of silence a rustling in the trees above us caused us to look up, just in time to see a full grown howler walk across the branches 15 feet above Leona's head. It was thrilling but it happened so fast it was nearly impossible to capture on film.  The guide assured us that it was rare that they came so close to the trails. We were to be lucky that day however, as it was not the last we would see of howlers.

After a coffee to warm up we embarked on another 'death wagon' for the return trip down the volcano.  We arrived back at the parking lot to find several people looking up into the trees.  To our great delight there was a whole troop of howler monkeys moving through the area!

There were many opportunities for photos while several family groups frolicked as they passed overhead.


Towards the end of our stay in Granada we took an opportunity to tour the Isletas just beyond the lake-shore and to view the Granda's many historical sites with a proper guide and riding a horse drawn carriage,  More of all that on the next posting as we head to the Pacific beaches south of Leon to celebrate Christmas.

Hasta pronto:  B&L