Nicaragua
A fellow N40 recommended a stop in Nicaragua, Puesta del Sol, and we figured it'd be a nice mid way point between Mexico and Costa Rica.
Initially we thought we'd spend a week, to recover from the cruise down from Mexico, but we enjoyed it so much we ended up staying well over a month.
The trip down was uneventful, though I had to alter course a few times to try and hide away from the Papagayo winds, mostly in the mornings. Bumping in the waves a few hours slowed us down a bit, but by opening up the engine just a little, we were able to keep to our ETA: In Puesta del Sol, the authorities come to you (and you reimburse their taxi fees from Chinandega, about 40 minutes away), so arriving on time is recommended.
The marina is up an estuary, so you must negotiate a river mouth at the end of a long surfing beach. Nothing too difficult, both the marina and Navionics charts provide good guidance, but it requires extra attention and is not for beginner navigators.
There are stories of boats running aground on their way, and even a sailing boat wreck at the last turn to the marina. Go slow, do not deviate from your planned course and keep a close eye on your sounder.
The slips are on 2 floating docks, one of which is in bad disrepair and not used anymore, but that still leaves plenty of room for the few adventurous cruisers who make it there. During our stay we had 5 such cruisers, not exactly a big rush. In this intimate setting, we got to enjoy the peace and quiet of a the beautiful nature surrounding us.
The marina is part of a larger complex, built about 25 years ago, when no expenses were spared. There is a palapa restaurant on the water, a huge inside events' room with lush wood ceilings, a couple of buildings for hotel rooms and suites and more. The complex has its own water well, and power generator for those regular times when grid power fails.
Best of all, there is a beautiful fresh water pool with incredible views on San Cristobal, the tallest and most active volcano in the country.
Last, but most importantly, Juanita, the complex and marina manager is the epitome of customer service and Nicaraguan friendliness. With a constant big smile, and 2 phones in hand, she arranged everything we needed, from helping with the authorities, to renting a car, getting rid of used oil, and all the daily problems cruisers encounter.
Just outside the marina is a small village of mostly fishermen, with a few businesses centered around the young surfers from around the world who come enjoy "The Boom", the local wave.
A few cheap hostels, a delicious bakery, a couple of simple "pulperias" the local word for small convenience shop. Also a small pizzeria open around the weekend only, owned by an Italian fellow who is serious about his ingredients and pizzas. Some of the best pizzas we've had in a long time, even if they looked different due to the special oven and cooking method he uses!
Also some of the best pretzels, all nice and warm fresh from the oven.
All in all, we could live off the local village and only went to the "big town" of Chinandega once for larger provisioning. The transportation choices coming down to a 40 minutes taxi for $40 each way or a car rental for the day for $80, we elected on the latter, which gave us more freedom.
Nicaragua is known to be safe for travelers, one of the rare good consequences of being a police state, and we decided we'd go explore further. The country isn't big, so a 3 to 4 day circuit would already give us a good overview.
We spent the first day and night in Leon, stopping in a beautiful hotel, a converted old colonial house with an internal courtyard and a pool.
We walked the city center, and grabbed a great steak on the main plaza: Nicaragua is known for the quality of its exportation meat. Best of all, prices are very reasonable everywhere. No gringo pricing here.
The next day we pushed on to Granada: an old Spanish colonial city on the lake, with a magnificent downtown, narrow cobbled streets and old colonial houses. After being turned down in a couple hotels who wouldn't accept Princess, we found a great little hotel, Miss Margrit's Guesthouse, where Princess was very welcomed, and we got a magnificent penthouse room with a view over the whole city and nearby volcano for only $70 a night.
Amusingly the owner had grown up in central London, a few streets away from our house. I know Disney said it long before, but "it's a small world after all".
A long walk around town, another magnificent steak on the main plaza, and we decided to extend our stay another night to give us an opportunity to drive down to Ometepe the next day.
The roads in Nicaragua are surprisingly good. Not that you won't encounter the odd pothole once in a while, but it's a much rarer occurrence than in Mexico, and even most cities in Europe. It makes for a strong contrast between the well maintained roads going through many poor areas. Nicaragua is unfortunately the second poorest country in the region after Haiti, and many houses are very simple huts, with open fire kitchen and outdoor latrines.
With volcanoes all across the country, the soil is very fertile, and the country still has a strong agricultural base.
You can't count on making any speed on the roads, as you will encounter all sorts of vehicles to slow you down way below the speed limit. Horse drawn carts are not rare, ox drawn ones more powerful and even slower. Many old 1950s style tractors going about their business, and 1970s old US trucks and buses share the road with modern vehicles, large SUVs and gleaming
pick-up trucks. Speed limits are enforced, and it is best -like in all foreign countries, to respect them carefully.
We got to Ometepe just a little too late to get the ferry for a quick exploration of the island, so decided to have lunch on the beach in front of the island. The wind was blowing hard across the lake, a reminder that Nicaragua is not very wide in this area, and the Atlantic isn't far away, bringing winds across the country. Soon we'd be sailing in those winds on our way down to Costa Rica and I'd have to pick my weather window well.
Getting off the boat and doing more touristy stuff was such a refreshing change. Almost like we were on vacation from our retirement?
Back at the marina, life continued as before the trip, with my daily stops at the swimming pool under Princess' watchful eye.
One evening though, we found a small puncture wound on Princess' right hind leg. It didn't look very serious, but in a country and region where come fly-borne parasites (screwworms) are extremely dangerous we took no chance and decided to call a veterinary. Juanita was her efficient self, and within a couple hours the vet came to the boat, and started treating the little girl.
He had to give her some very powerful medications, just in case there were any parasites, and Princess took a turn for the worse with very high fever that left her completely lethargic.
We spent hours at her side.
The vet came back, this time at night, gave her a medication to cool her temperature, and slowly, slowly she started regaining a little strength.
The next day she was limping heavily, but her blood test having come back negative for any parasites, we could concentrate on her recovery. Day after day, she regained her strength and limped less and less. It took a while, but she's now back to her old self, playful, happy and mischievous.
We had a big scare for sure, and it reminded us once again how lucky we are to have little Princess in our lives. She makes us laugh every day, reminds us of the simple joys of walking on the beach, and gives us her big heart and loyalty.
A few more days for all of us to rest and it was time to start thinking of moving on.
We finally left after great month in Nicaragua, on an out-flowing tide to make our ETA in Costa Rica, not ideal but I had the inbound track saved on my computers, so "just" had to follow it on the way out. Our years on the Columbia and Snake rivers in the PNW helped with negotiating the strong current.
We had a great time time Nicaragua. It felt like an undiscovered paradise, with unlimited potential, and despite its poverty and many faults, we felt very welcomed in a beautiful country with kind people. That's exactly why we set off to cruise our world on Enfin, and we will keep great memories of this place in our hearts for a long time.
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