We got up in the morning, and at 10am, our taxi driver from yesterday, Marcao came to pick us up. Today’s trip is a 2.5 hour drive from Managua down to San Juan Del Sur. I’m particularly excited about this destination as my bud tells me we might move here. I was a little mixed about moving to Nicaragua, but then I read in the Lonely Planet Guide book that they grow cacao here. Being situated close to a cocoa source? I could live with that. Onwards!
Along the drive we passed by sugar plantations, and got our first glimpses of that famed Lake Nicaragua. Lake is big! Looks like the ocean!
Yesterday for lunch, we invited our taxi driver Marcao to eat with us, so today he kindly offered to take us to visit some of the sites on our way to San Jan.
One detour Marcao took us to was Laguna Apoyo. This lake is formed from the caldera of an extinct volcano. The volcano must have been massive, as the laguna has a diameter of 6.6km.
What was interesting about this stop was that it felt more like a local tourist stop than international. Most of the souvenirs were brightly coloured and comprised lawn ornaments. Also all manner of tropical plants were being sold in little plastic bags. I tried to look for a cacao plant, but alas, I had no wifi and I have no idea what cacao plants look like. Nicholas, help me find one!
We then walked along the rim a little along with all the other local tourists before getting back to the car to continue on our way.
Right around 1:30, we got into the hotel where we are staying, the Villas de Palermo. The Villas de Palermo are set of apartments that are run like a hotel. My bud tells me we signed up for the all inclusive package. Sweet!
This is where I am going to camp out to sip my cold beverages of choice.
Next stop – the beach!
Villas de Palermo isn’t really walking distance to the beach, but they offer a free shuttle. So we hopped on the shuttle and went down the beach.
Annnnd apparently we missed the memo that Nicaragua is a Canadian hotspot. French Canadians everywhere for Sunday Funday! That’s right, these fellow Canadians know about Super Sumi Sunday!! Except that they seemed to be more interested in partying and drinking beer than gaming. Silly Canadians.
Not a bad view.
I could like it here.
Check out more of these partying Canadians.
