San Juan del Sur

Again, recommendations long overdue. When one mentions Nicaragua, 2 places immediately pop into mind....San Juan del Sur and Granada.

San Juan del Sur, a coastal town off the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua, 2-2 1/2 hours away South of Managua (Rivas Province) known for its moderate waves and otherwise, is one of the most visited place in Nicaragua. A 'gringo' town to quote the locals. Given its laid back atmosphere - it is a favorite place for foreign retirees to...well, retire. A haven for those with limited income - or savings or just to stretch their dollars...or euro, or those who just wants to downsize and have a quiet beachtown life to surf and fish to their heart's content - to own either beach-front properties or that with a view of the bay and a languid lifestyle to go with it. Read more about the town here and find more photos here.

We used to go to SJDS almost every other week when we first came to Nicaragua, it is after all a pretty, colorful and interesting town, but in time, less and less as we discovered other hidden gems of Nicaragua. SJDS is not a 'been-there-done-that' place either mainly because when we have guests visiting, it is a part of the must-see and experience places still in Nicaragua together with Granada, Leon, Ometepe and Masaya. Inevitably, we had to go back there and go back we did last weekend as you guessed it, we had family visiting.

Although the road has been miraculously fixed (like all beautiful places in Nicaragua getting to them alone is already an adventure in itself), I would still recommend a 4WD if you plan to visit neighboring beaches and the nature reserve, La Flor (Refugio de Vida Silvestre La Flor).

Above, the road to Playa El Coco and La Flor in the rainy season (just after a storm) nearing 1 of the 3 rivers we needed to cross. We have heard of friends being stuck at Playa El Coco when there's heavy downpour, so check weather conditions first or if a novice, use a tour agency or get hotel transport as they will have the proper vehicle to get you there - and most importantly, out of there.

Lodgings in the area can cost anywhere between $5 - $300 depending on how luxurious you want it to be. $5 would mean a hammock (why not?) and the rest, how far or near it is from the bay, size of acommodation, the view from your room, ammenities, at which time of the year, etc. will dictate the price.

The most popular resort in the area is Piedras Y Olas - luxurious and to me, serves the best and the biggest burger (with melted blue cheese is best) in Nicaragua. Whether you stay there or not, don't miss the restaurant (La Cascada) for either lunch or dinner and enjoy your food next to their eternity pool overlooking the bay. If you can stay for sundowners, do so, I guarantee you the best sunset view in town. Just imagine staying in one of their casitas. We unfortunately haven't had any luck in staying there as almost always, they are fully-booked and understandably so. One day for sure we will as friends who have stayed there only have glowing recommendations of the place where half of them are, in fact, repeat customers. Each time we are in SJDS, we always take lunch at Piedras Y Olas as a treat.

The restaurant pool with the view of La Bahia de SJDS. Photos courtesy of DanCesar and Piedras Y Olas.

We have mostly been staying in a place called La Posada Azul when in SJDS, a very quaint, quiet inn right in the middle of town and a block away from the bay. It has a pool and serves very delicious home made cakes (not the sweet kind) together with their american breakfast. The consistently friendly staff and Maria their beautiful and friendly manager makes for a more pleasurable stay than it already is.

Inside the inn, the pool and the view of the bay from the street where La Posada Azul is.

Restaurants in SJDS, except for a few consistent and notable ones like La Cascada, are sometimes hit or miss. One would think that there will be an abundance of reasonably priced seafood dishes (other than the usual fish and shrimps) - but you'd in fact be surprised of the few variety of the bounty of the sea to be had.

If you take the beach-front restaurant El Timon for instance, my $C 300 (about $15 including tax) prawns al ajillo (below) was a blah but still we keep coming back. Why? because it's beach-front and serves seafood (someone please knock my head on a wall...any wall), a cliche, hoping that each time we would encounter something exciting but so far, never have....or maybe, again, it's just me - I have been too spoiled in Asia.

There is one restaurant I would really like to recommend that was under renovation while we were there and therefore was not able to enjoy the great Italian (?) - am not even sure anymore but I do know that they have been consistently good - cuisine they have. Maybe someone can help me:

Someone might recognize the place above. Like most places here in Nicaragua, I sometimes take the name for granted having only the capacity to concentrate on how to get there. Dropping names in Nica won't get you there but getting (long winding) directions would.

Another pleasant addtion to the restaurants in SJDS is a beach-front restaurant called Bambu Beach serving some kind of Asian cuisine....a fusion or melee of Asian and Caribbean, for lack of a better way to describe the taste of their food. All I know is that everything we ordered was good and reasonably priced. You can find it at the opposite end of the beach from where El Timon is. Although not offering lodging, Bambu Beach has beach chairs and a Jacuzzi for guests who like to enjoy their drinks or sundowners, perhaps, the 'kokomo' way. The clear winners for the evening:

Springrolls (fried or fresh), Fajitas de Res with Asian Bambu sauce and the sinfully delicious but mind-boggling Fried Cream.

Last but certainly not the least, you haven't been to SJDS if you haven't had coffee at Kelly Ann's El Gato Negro, my fave english bookstore (in fact the only one I know of in the whole of Nicaragua) and a night cap at Big Wave Dave's, (although not beach-front) the quintessential seaside bar .