Nicaragua with Friends

Lia and Chase came out to visit us for a week and a half over Chase's 18th birthday. They had a blast doing lots of exciting things. Here are some of their photos and memories. Chase had such a good time he decided to continue with us through Costa Rica and into Panama.

Street food in Leon

Streets are alive with vendors

Eating dinner at the Parque Central, Leon

Volcano boarding on Cerro Negro

It was quite windy atop the volcano

Flying down the volcano and leaving a dust trail

A view from atop Cerro Negro

A steep volcano that had to be climbed by foot

The cloud forest of Mombacho Volcano

The cinder valleys of Mombacho are very nice

Zip line adventure high in the canopy

We all had a blast doing the zip line

Mike doing the superman

Zoe cruising at nose bleed altitude

Chase doing the upside down boogie

Lia doing the upside boogie as well

Elise doing the easy rider

Zoe chilling like a villain

Chase was completely upside down flying through the forest 

Sierra staying tranquil

Sierra did the upside down boogie as well

Looking down into our pool from the second story.

Chase on a hammock in Granada Chilling out

The indoor pools are a hit in Granada

The Granada rental was spacious

A horse drawn hearse

The horse drawn hearse is still used in today's Granada. This one was empty though.

View of Granada roof line from our rental house

Lia and Chase explored this bat cave on Masaya volcano

Sunset view atop Masaya volcano for mother and son

Having fun one adventure at a time

A fruit vendor came by to sell her goods

Vent from Masaya volcano

Masaya crater in the background

Spelunker Chase 

Lia enjoying the open spaces

Fruits delivered right to the front door

The girls checking out the merchandise

Sierra and Zoe really like the dragon fruit

Dinners were always a family effort with everybody chipping in.

Pad Thai noodles with veggies and a delicious salad

A white faced Capuchin monkey hanging over the water on Monkey Island

Zoe getting close to the monkeys

Lia fed a monkey an Oreo

Lia and Chase in Lago Apoyo

Chase's 18th birthday in Granada

Amigos

Chase and I bought fish right from the boat on Marselle Beach Nicaragua

5 beautifully prepared snapper for about $4

Chase was a fish fileting master by the time the day was done

We met very nice folks from Australia a couple weeks ago on Marselle Beach

Chase holding the fresh catch

Lia all dressed up and ready to go to the airport

Leon

We got into Leon last night. This city is a meeting spot for the volcano boarding, which we will not be doing because of Murphy's Law. We will be here just a couple nights to meet Lia and her son Chase and head back with them to Granada for a week.   

A dead bat in the garden of our Hotel

The city has a ton of murals everywhere

Lots of beautiful cathedrals here

Leon is much larger than Granada.

Back in Nicaragua

   We drove back into Nicaragua a few days ago in anticipation of Elise's good friend, Lia and her son, who will be arriving today in Managua. Getting a fresh perspective of Nicaragua was good and reaffirmed our pleasant feelings for this country. So many happy people and smiles, yet again. Even the border control guys were smiling and joking with us. How cool is that? Going back to San Juan del Sur was like going home. Heck even the same stray dog, "Nica" was there waiting for us.
   We took some time to visit beaches and sights we didn't see last time and were happy to meet some expats from Australia. We were strolling along the beach and out of a thatched roof home comes a man and we start to have a conversation, 7 hours and many beers later we went home feeling good :) We loved Paul and Charlee's bamboo house and the girls loved playing with their 8 years old daughter and friend. Here's to good mates and good times.

Sunset view from the Aussie's bar

Upstairs in the living room

Master bedroom of tranquility

Open air lifestyle

Kids make friends in short order

View of Marselle Beach and submarine rock

Mommy rounding up the kids for dinner

            

While in SJDS the the girls used Dragon fruit for lipstick while I ate the delicious fruit.

Playa Papaturro

Playa Papaturro was an unexpected gem for us to see. This gorgeous place is just west of La Cruz in northwestern portion of Costa Rica. We got turned on to this place as we heard so many good things about Guanacaste National Park. We were driving on roads that were not on our map or GPS so we were in uncharted areas for sure. Glad that we did this as some of the most spectacular beach settings are here and that is saying a lot. This area is a hotbed for windsurfers and has some accommodations but nothing like a developed area. There are a few high-end hotels in the area but mostly casual-style accommodations are here. If you like big cats like pumas or jaguars they can be found in this area. Some people have photographed the big cats sunbathing on the roads which I thought was really cool.

Placid and clear waters of Salinas Bay

Not one person north

Not one person south

Four wheel drive is a must here as it is all beach sand.

Zoe using her umbrella to walk as her back still hurts from the bad fall at the playground.

Milk maids

Part of the hacienda experience was working on the farm, in our case we had the girls milk a cow. I have to say that we all gained an appreciation for the milk we drink on a daily basis. The milking started at 6am sharp as we were working hands on the hacienda. The girls were a bit overwhelmed by the smells and all the action that was happening on the farm. In the end, we got our bucket of liquid gold, laughs and all.     

Our target has been spotted.

Elise showing how it is done.

Sierra applying great concentration to ensure receptacle delivery of the milk.

Zoe was grossed out to the max!

The pot of liquid gold.

Rincon de la Vieja National Park

This is Mike...
We went to Rincon de la Vieja National Park for a couple of nights and stayed at Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin to have easy access to the park. We had fun in the mineral mud baths and hot springs just outside the hotel. This park is popular for day trips from Tamarindo but we recommend staying a night or two because there is a lot to see in this area. The main volcano trail was closed due to significant activity so we opted to walk a 3 kilometer loop instead. Our first injury for the vacation occurred on the trails here, when Sierra twisted her ankle, and I had to carry her out of the park. We still stopped to enjoy the sights though and Sierra was a trooper. The hot water spouts and boiling mud pits are always fun for kids, even injured ones. Protected spaces like this allow nature to thrive and also allow us a glimpse of what this place was like before development. After the park, we went back to the hotel and that is where our second injury of the trip occurred when Zoe fell on her back at the playground. As the old saying goes, "When it rains it pours."

I am amazed why they like putting mud on them so much, but they do.

No shame here as Sierra goes for the gusto 

Zoe is a bit more methodical with her approach to spreading mud.

Elise just likes the fun of it all, kinda like a kid.

The Rainbow Eucalyptus tree is one of my favorite trees.

The ancient trees of the forest provide the best playgrounds

Boiling hot water coming from one of the many vents in the park

This stream looks so serene but could kill you in moments at 170 degrees Fahrenheit (77 degrees Celsius)

Leaf cutter ants were everywhere doing there work.

 

Who doesn't like to see a waterfall?