So, from Tola area we drove down south to San Juan del Sur. Totally different experience!! SJdS is all young gringos, spring brake-ish type of feel and setup. Lots of restaurants and bars along the main stretch of the beach, there are places to go out, places to buy trinkets... All of the things that I was absolutely not interested in, plus dealing with idiotic tourists, no thanks.
However, if you go a bit beyond the touristy zone, and off the beaten path, you can encounter culture, the true local flavor. :) One of my favorite memories from this trip was watching a football/soccer game in SJdS. It was a kids' game, they were all between 8 and 10 years old and the entire community gathered to support them and watch them. It was awesome!!
When it comes to food, I would suggest checking out one of the local spots, there are hole in the wall, mom & pop type of places that are on side streets, or the touristy and more fancy restaurants right along the beach where people pass buy and bug you to buy shit. And the trick that they are just giving you something as a gift, no need to buy it, is bullshit. It's called manipulation, and as nice and sweet the Nicas are, they need to make money and eat, so if you don't want something be direct and vocal about it. You can also buy drugs from those same vendors, so don't think that they are necessarily naive.
I'd rather give somebody money to leave me alone than to be bothered with those games, it's not for me.
Back to the area, the town itself didn't impress me, although it is very cute, but the beaches in this area were great!!! Not as good surfing opportunities as up north, but that might be depending on the season as well. However, if you like exploring and walking down the beaches, maaaan!!! This is it!! Beaches are like a string of pearls, you go from one to another to another... And the rock formations, the greenery in the back, the ocean... Just stunning!! We visited Playa Marsella, Maderas, San Lorenzo and Majagual. I loved them all! There are a few chilled restaurants on Maderas, very chilled!
The next day we went to check out the beaches south of the town, and were hoping to see the turtles at Playa Flor, but unfortunately there were uniformed and armed guards and we decided against it. ;) Playa Coco is cute, there is a very nice and yummy restaurant right on the beach, good local food! Btw, all of the food we had was bomb! I loved it all!! We only are in local places and only had local food, that's the way I like to do things, we only drank local beer and rum and it as all great!! :)
From the southern beaches we saw Playa Hermosa, el Coco, and el Yankee which was my personal favorite!!! I loved it!!! It was gorgeous!!!You can walk for miles and the sand is perfect and it's all just perfect! There was no one there local or tourist and we had the beach to ourselves. Being European I like to be topless and I totally could have even been nude here, there was no one!! Paradise!! :)
Culturally this area didn't seem as rich, unfortunately or fortunately there was a big influx of foreigners who purchased properties in this area and it seems to be the most touristy of all beach areas of Nicaragua, so some of the local flavor got lost in the gentrification, as usual. ;)
Our next and final stop was Granada. 1st thing is - Granada is a city, it's not just a little town like SJdS or Leon or Tola, it's decently sized you can walk around for a while, or drive! I really liked it! It has its touristy areas, but the architecture and the market in the center of the town definitely give it its local and authentic feel! I loved it! We were walking around and getting lost in the streets, went to the cemetery and walked around the city, it is truly a beautiful place. The cemetery wasn't the most beautiful one that I've seen, but it was still nice! I enjoy walking through the cemeteries of countries and cities I visit. I feel that it helps me connect with the ancestry of the place, honor the spirits, feel the energy of the place. It's like paying respect, at least to me, and one can learn a lot about the cultural context of a place by visiting the cemetery. The demographic, the leading families of the place, the religious background of the place, the architectural and esthetic style of the place... Lots of things! :) I like cemeteries, for whatever reason they make me feel good and at peace, I feel happy and grateful when I'm there, I feel one with the humanity... I'm sure that I'm weird, but whatevs! It works for me. ;)
We had two of the best meals while we were in Granada!!! First was a breakfast place called Kathy's waffle house. Awesome!!! Make sure that you order the typical Nicaraguan breakfast, it's ridiculous and amazing!! Plus the fact that every place has freshly squeezed natural juices and fruit smoothies just additionally rocked my world!!
The second place was a dinner spot called El Zaguan. Amazing!!!!! Everything was incredible!! We ordered different things, and tried each other's food, and maaaan!! Everything was delicious!!!
Definitely walk around and explore the area, don't just stick to the main street with all of the bars and restaurants, the quality of food is not as good as in the more local restaurants in the side streets. I promise you, with these two places you won't go wrong! I like to check out as many places as I can, but the breakfast at Kathy's waffle house was so good, we kept on coming back, like good little addicts! ;) Delicious!!! :)
I'm sure that I'm forgetting to mention something... Yeah, definitely be careful with your stuff while walking through the market, there are pick-pockets, like in any other city in the world, so be careful.
Oh, also, La Gran Francia, it's a hotel and a restaurant, the hotel and swimming pool part are across the street, we hung out in the restaurant area... In my opinion this gem should be in travel books, it is a piece of history and it is visually stunning!!! Apparently it used to belong to some French Count, or some sort of member of the aristocracy, who had to flee France so he landed in Granada. The entire downstairs area is decorated in the same style as before, it is like walking through a museum! Absolutely gorgeous!!! We sat down to cool off and have a drink and I didn't want to leave. I LOVED IT!!! Definitely worth checking out and taking some cool photos.
Also, another note, it is hot as hell in Nica!! For whatever reason, it was the hottest I ever felt anywhere that I have been up until now. Although, to be honest, I haven't been closer to the equator than this. DR and PR are close to it, but Nica was still the hottest place I have ever experienced. Be ready for it, especially if you live somewhere relatively cool, the difference will be shocking to you. I almost lost my damn mind due to all that heat! ahahahaha! :D I was a cranky, sweaty bitch! :) Oh, well! ;)
Again, feel free to ask any questions, I'm happy to help and exchange war stories! ;)
Laterz! :)
However, if you go a bit beyond the touristy zone, and off the beaten path, you can encounter culture, the true local flavor. :) One of my favorite memories from this trip was watching a football/soccer game in SJdS. It was a kids' game, they were all between 8 and 10 years old and the entire community gathered to support them and watch them. It was awesome!!
When it comes to food, I would suggest checking out one of the local spots, there are hole in the wall, mom & pop type of places that are on side streets, or the touristy and more fancy restaurants right along the beach where people pass buy and bug you to buy shit. And the trick that they are just giving you something as a gift, no need to buy it, is bullshit. It's called manipulation, and as nice and sweet the Nicas are, they need to make money and eat, so if you don't want something be direct and vocal about it. You can also buy drugs from those same vendors, so don't think that they are necessarily naive.
I'd rather give somebody money to leave me alone than to be bothered with those games, it's not for me.
Back to the area, the town itself didn't impress me, although it is very cute, but the beaches in this area were great!!! Not as good surfing opportunities as up north, but that might be depending on the season as well. However, if you like exploring and walking down the beaches, maaaan!!! This is it!! Beaches are like a string of pearls, you go from one to another to another... And the rock formations, the greenery in the back, the ocean... Just stunning!! We visited Playa Marsella, Maderas, San Lorenzo and Majagual. I loved them all! There are a few chilled restaurants on Maderas, very chilled!
The next day we went to check out the beaches south of the town, and were hoping to see the turtles at Playa Flor, but unfortunately there were uniformed and armed guards and we decided against it. ;) Playa Coco is cute, there is a very nice and yummy restaurant right on the beach, good local food! Btw, all of the food we had was bomb! I loved it all!! We only are in local places and only had local food, that's the way I like to do things, we only drank local beer and rum and it as all great!! :)
From the southern beaches we saw Playa Hermosa, el Coco, and el Yankee which was my personal favorite!!! I loved it!!! It was gorgeous!!!You can walk for miles and the sand is perfect and it's all just perfect! There was no one there local or tourist and we had the beach to ourselves. Being European I like to be topless and I totally could have even been nude here, there was no one!! Paradise!! :)
Culturally this area didn't seem as rich, unfortunately or fortunately there was a big influx of foreigners who purchased properties in this area and it seems to be the most touristy of all beach areas of Nicaragua, so some of the local flavor got lost in the gentrification, as usual. ;)
Our next and final stop was Granada. 1st thing is - Granada is a city, it's not just a little town like SJdS or Leon or Tola, it's decently sized you can walk around for a while, or drive! I really liked it! It has its touristy areas, but the architecture and the market in the center of the town definitely give it its local and authentic feel! I loved it! We were walking around and getting lost in the streets, went to the cemetery and walked around the city, it is truly a beautiful place. The cemetery wasn't the most beautiful one that I've seen, but it was still nice! I enjoy walking through the cemeteries of countries and cities I visit. I feel that it helps me connect with the ancestry of the place, honor the spirits, feel the energy of the place. It's like paying respect, at least to me, and one can learn a lot about the cultural context of a place by visiting the cemetery. The demographic, the leading families of the place, the religious background of the place, the architectural and esthetic style of the place... Lots of things! :) I like cemeteries, for whatever reason they make me feel good and at peace, I feel happy and grateful when I'm there, I feel one with the humanity... I'm sure that I'm weird, but whatevs! It works for me. ;)
We had two of the best meals while we were in Granada!!! First was a breakfast place called Kathy's waffle house. Awesome!!! Make sure that you order the typical Nicaraguan breakfast, it's ridiculous and amazing!! Plus the fact that every place has freshly squeezed natural juices and fruit smoothies just additionally rocked my world!!
The second place was a dinner spot called El Zaguan. Amazing!!!!! Everything was incredible!! We ordered different things, and tried each other's food, and maaaan!! Everything was delicious!!!
Definitely walk around and explore the area, don't just stick to the main street with all of the bars and restaurants, the quality of food is not as good as in the more local restaurants in the side streets. I promise you, with these two places you won't go wrong! I like to check out as many places as I can, but the breakfast at Kathy's waffle house was so good, we kept on coming back, like good little addicts! ;) Delicious!!! :)
I'm sure that I'm forgetting to mention something... Yeah, definitely be careful with your stuff while walking through the market, there are pick-pockets, like in any other city in the world, so be careful.
Oh, also, La Gran Francia, it's a hotel and a restaurant, the hotel and swimming pool part are across the street, we hung out in the restaurant area... In my opinion this gem should be in travel books, it is a piece of history and it is visually stunning!!! Apparently it used to belong to some French Count, or some sort of member of the aristocracy, who had to flee France so he landed in Granada. The entire downstairs area is decorated in the same style as before, it is like walking through a museum! Absolutely gorgeous!!! We sat down to cool off and have a drink and I didn't want to leave. I LOVED IT!!! Definitely worth checking out and taking some cool photos.
Also, another note, it is hot as hell in Nica!! For whatever reason, it was the hottest I ever felt anywhere that I have been up until now. Although, to be honest, I haven't been closer to the equator than this. DR and PR are close to it, but Nica was still the hottest place I have ever experienced. Be ready for it, especially if you live somewhere relatively cool, the difference will be shocking to you. I almost lost my damn mind due to all that heat! ahahahaha! :D I was a cranky, sweaty bitch! :) Oh, well! ;)
Again, feel free to ask any questions, I'm happy to help and exchange war stories! ;)
Laterz! :)
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