This trip I went on was not included in our program, we had to pay an extra $500 but in my opinion it was worth it! Our trip consisted of 40 students from my program. We had to be at the bus near the school at 5am on Monday February 21st. The bus ride took about 8 hours. The distance would have taken about 3 hours in the US but in Costa Rica there are one way roads and the roads are usually passing through mountains so they take a while. I always have to take carsick pills because the roads are so curvy. We arrived at the Nicaragua border and decided it looked somewhat unofficial but interesting at the same time. While we waited for our passports to be checked we were bombarded by people selling their Nicaragua memorabilia or as I like to call it "dust collector stuff".
This is what the border looks like:
Finally we arrived in Granada, Nicaragua. We stayed at La Alhambra Hotel for two nights. The room was about $90 each night. The hotel was very nice, probably the nicest in the city since it was in the middle of the city. Even though the hotel was probably 5 stars for Nicaragua, i'm going to have to give it 3 stars. So the street was very nice however, it smelled like poop because of the horse drawn carriages. After lunch, we walked around and looked in some of the local churches and scoped out a place to eat dinner. Then we got to ride in a horse drawn carriage for a tour around the city. Afterwards, we hung out at the hotel, grabbed some dinner (Mexican) which was probably the best Mexican I have had here and it was alright.
Hotel Lobby
Front entrance of hotel
Central Park
Cathedral that played music like I was in heaven
Restaurant Row
View of church
Another Church
Horse drawn Carriage
$2.50 Margarita!
Day two
The second day we woke up and ate breakfast at the hotel. Then we went on a boat tour and learned about islands that you can purchase and put a home on! The islands were formed from the Volcano so they are small islands, enough for a house and a pool. Some of the islands were a little bigger. Your own island and a house on top will cost about 300k. Its an ok idea. Living in Nicaragua would get kind of old to me because you don't have all the amenities of the USA! So yes, it is cheaper, but for a good reason!
My boat crew!
This could be yours! No Harris Teeter!
After our boat tour, we headed to Masaya Volcano National Park. We climbed a bunch of stairs to get to the top and it was worth it! The view of the volcano from the top was amazing! It was so windy and the smell of sulfer was bothering everyone. The sulfer taste stayed in my mouth practically all day, yuck! Nevertheless, it was awesome.
Sulfer City!
After Masaya Volcano, we went to the Masaya market which has the best prices for souvenirs! Sooo I bought all my souvenirs there, including a wooden cutting board which I have wanted for soooo long! The prices were great and I could always bargain. I got better at bargaining as the day went on. Everyone and their brother wanted to sell us hammock. A lot of the stuff they sold was unpractical, at least for me, so it was hard to pick stuff out.
A lady selling hot cocoa mix... what am I supposed to do with that?
After the market and the long day we headed back to the hotel and went out to a Mediterranean style dinner... I'm not sure how it was Mediterranean because it was chicken and mash potatoes but ok. It was fun though because there were men and women doing traditional dances for a show which I definitely enjoyed!
Enjoying dinner on vacation!
Day three
On day three, we woke up and headed out of Granada for San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. San Juan del Sur is near the border of Nicaragua and it is a beach town. We arrived at our hotel, the Royal Chateau about $55 a night. If this hotel were a 5 star, I would probably give it a 3 1/2 star rating. I liked it because it was very open.
Tonight we are beach Royalty
Our Room
Chairs for chillaxing
After checking out the hotel, we headed for the beach. The beach was beautiful and not crowded at all. There was a ton of space. In the distance on top of the mountain was a statue of San Juan (Saint John) which was cool to see. I thought it was going to be a Jesus statue like in Rio de Janeiro but no, I have to go to Brazil to see that statue. The sun was very strong on this beach, so I decided to wear sun screen.
Having fun on the beach
All the space you want right here!
After checking out the beach we headed to lunch and then soaked up the sun! We met back at our hotel to go on another boat tour, which was more amazing than the other boat tour. This boat tour was called the sunset boat tour! The boat that we got in played music so we all danced and listened to music. The boats kicked up the speed and we sailed with hundreds of dolphins jumping by the sides of our boats. It was so beautiful. It reminded me of the scene in the movie Titanic where the dolphins jumped at the bow of the ship. Sooo amazing!
I am the captain!
My Crew
I swam with him in Mexico once!
After sailing with the dolphins, we docked near a beach and everyone jumped out of the boat and swam around. I didn't get out because one, I like my hair dry, and two, I can't see in this water, which freaks me out. After about 20 minutes of swimming, everyone got back in the boat and we headed back. The driver took his time to ensure that we saw the sun set on the ocean. I have never seen the sun set on the ocean so I was amazed at how beautiful it was! When the sun goes down, it gets chilly and the water was spraying on me so I used my towel to defend myself from getting wet and cold! It was so much fun, a truly wonderful boat tour!
Hanging out in the water!
The sun setting on the ocean
Me, scared of water
After the boat tour, we went out to eat at a restaurant on the beach where I got a Mango Daiquiri! Finally! I love things with mango. After dinner, we went to get dessert at an ice cream store. My ice cream was called a pinnochio... it had M&M eyes, and a long cracker nose, so delicious!
Day 4
On day four, we left Nicaragua and headed back into Costa Rica. When we got to Costa Rica, we headed to our hotel which was up some dirt road mountain place, secluded from civilization. We checked in to Buena Vista Lodge. It ran around $80 a night and I'm pretty sure all the activities we did here were extra. We arrived and checked into our room. The rooms were very nice, I would say 4 out of 5 stars. The one thing I think they could improve on is the fact that their main walkway/road from the rooms to the restaurant, internet cafe, and gift shop, always smelled like poop because of the horses since it was their main walkway. Maybe establish a different walkway for horses and people.
For those who have been to Peaks of Otter, this was very similar
Right outside our room
After settling in and eating lunch, it was time for our first adventure! We road horses for about 30 minutes that took us down to the spa area. The horses were nice when they were walking slowly but when they stated galloping I felt like I was going to fall off! So the horses brought us to a spa and mud bath. I'll explain the process using pictures.
On the horse, woohoo
We went up and down steep hills
Beautiful view of Costa Rica while horseback riding
Step one: Sit in steam room for 5 minutes
Step two: Cover your body in mud
The mud basin, the mud was nice and warm!
Step three: let the clay dry on your skin then wash it off
Pathway to the pools!
Step four: enjoy 5 pools with 5 different temperatures!
The temperature of the pools ranged from 74-106 degrees
The cool thing about this spa, is the heat from the pool comes from the volcano. The water was also chlorine free! The spa was so wonderful, its definitely a place where honeymooners would go so I was embarrassed by my fellow students when they decided to disturb the peace and play marco polo in the water... immature. After relaxing in the pool, we went and ate dinner. The meals here were awesome! They were buffet style which I normally hate but the buffet had delicious food! We ate all our meals here for two days and the meals were about $10 a person, but i'm sure we got a better deal since we were in a group.
Day five
On day five, we woke up and ate breakfast and then headed for our second canopy tour in Costa Rica. This one was probably not as good as the first one. The first one had 15 lines and this on only 10 and the view was not as great. Plus it was harder to hook our harnesses every time because they lacked man power and step stools. So if you do consider doing a canopy tour in Costa Rica, the one from Los Sueños Resort is your best option. Nevertheless, this one was still equally fun.
Purple sunglasses and purple helmet, i'm so matchy matchy, especially with a forrest green shirt
Waiting on a bridge way above the ground
Big trees in Costa Rica make great zip lines possible!
After the zip line tour, I chilled by the pool for a while and worked on my burn. I have gotten a little bit darker in Costa Rica but i'm not trying to fry myself to death. The pool was wonderful. They have a swim up bar but it looked like it was still under construction. I got kind of bored so I decided to climb a tree.
Very relaxing!
My sister calls me baboon so why not act like one
After I went swimming and tree climbing I took a shower so I could get ready for the sunset. This place has a sunset bar where you can order drinks and watch the sun set over the rolling hills in Costa Rica. The second sunset I saw in Costa Rica and on this trip. It was so beautiful, I wished I was with my family and Michael!
Side view with tree made fence
View from the bar
Perfect for two lovers!
Us watching in amazement
"if you like piña coladas" yum yum!
My favorite picture I took
The sun setting
Panoramic view!
Watching the sun set was wonderful. Afterward we went and enjoyed our last dinner at this relaxing resort. I slept so peacefully here! I even fell asleep to the rain!
The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast and hung out till 12 noon where we departed back to Heredia. The drive was supposed to be 5 hours but because of road construction, it took 7.5 hours, sooo long! I listened to music and watched movies so it turned out to be ok. I was definitely happy to get back, especially since I am going to return to the US for 9 days on Friday. Yay, I'm so happy!
Some people just party too hard...
