Nicaragua

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We made it to my 79th country today. It started out looking iffy. We certainly had tender ports scrubbed with conditions that seemed milder than today's did here.

We could have slept in since we wouldn't arrive until 11am but Clay was up before 6am. Breakfast didn't start at Terrace until 7:30am. We sat for over an hour in Horizons and saw a lot of dolphins before we could get back in the cabin.

We arrived at San Juan del Sur an hour early. The first tender was in the water by 10am. The ship was cleared by 11am. The first tour groups called to tender did not leave the ship for about another hour. It was an hour after our tender meeting time before we were called to board our tender. There were at least the 1 meter swells the Captain had warned us about. The good news was that they opened a new dock today with our arrival and it was well-protected and calm arriving ashore. The bad news is that the swells were even bigger when we returned in the dark tonight. The destinations services people promised that no one would have a truncated tour due to our late arrival ashore but that was not true. We were only gone from the ship for 7 hours. Pasted below is our tour description from O's website.

Back To The Past - Granada BY Boat & Carriage (SJS-002)
Port: San Juan Del Sur
Tour Length: Full-Day (Approximately 8 hours)
Tour Description
Cruises Visiting This Port
Spend a full day experiencing the joys of colonial Granada through an informative walking tour, a picturesque boat ride and free time to delve even deeper into its marquee attractions.

After departing from the pier, you will settle in for a leisurely one and three-quarters hour drive north through a gorgeous tropical landscape. This verdant region exemplifies Nicaragua’s nickname, the “Land of Lakes and Volcanoes,” and colonial Granada lies at its heart.

Upon arriving in this historical city on Lake Nicaragua’s northern shore, you will ride through the cobblestone streets in a horse-drawn carriage. It’s a wonderfully traditional mode of transportation, and in time you will arrive at San Francisco Convent, one of Granada’s oldest buildings. Now a cultural center and museum with fine pre-Columbian statues, the convent has been rebuilt several times over ancient catacombs. Your guided visit showcases some of the most important displays and exhibits housed here.

Next, for a different perspective of Granada, you will enjoy an immensely scenic boat ride past several islands that dot massive Lake Nicaragua, the world’s only lake with oceanic marine animals such as sharks and swordfish. An enlightening walking tour of colonial Granada follows, during which you will learn about the city’s turbulent past.

Then, after a traditional Nicaraguan lunch at a nearby hotel, you will have some free time to explore further on your own. The serene central plaza is a wonderful starting point, as there is abundant shopping, extraordinary colonial architecture and inviting tree-shaded benches perfect for people watching. Afterwards, you will rejoin your coach and return to the pier in San Juan del Sur.

Please note: This tour includes approximately 1-hour of easy to moderate guided walking over mostly even surfaces; however, there may be some cobblestone surfaces and a few steps to negotiate. The tour is available to wheelchair guests who have a collapsible wheelchair, are able to make their own way on and off the coach and have an able-bodied companion to assist them. Those with mobility concerns are cautioned to carefully evaluate their personal level of stamina and ability. Light clothing to include a sweater for the coach; sun cap; sunglasses; sunscreen; a bottle of water from the ship; and flat comfortable walking shoes are recommended.

Our tour order was obviously different since we got to Granada around 2pm. We also had an unscheduled stop at Playa La Virgen to a beach viewpoint of twin volcanoes forming an island in Lake Nicaragua. We went directly to lunch. It was good. We bought a bag of coffee there as we'd heard and seen a lot about it and it and pottery were for sale in the hotel/restaurant. It turned out that and the pestering/following horde of street peddlers were our only shopping opportunities as the hour of free time was eliminated at the end of the tour. Clay also had the opportunity to buy a $3 Tona beer at lunch. Clay spent the entire tour without his extra camera lens as when we arrived the guide advised everyone to leave things they didn't want to carry in to lunch locked on the bus. He didn't specify that we would see the bus again until we reloaded it for the drive back to port! So after about 30 minutes at lunch, we walked 4 blocks down the plaza to the museum in the old convent where we spent about another 30 minutes. We crossed the street on exiting to board our horse-drawn carriages for about 40 minutes. We were dropped at Lake Nicaragua and the boat launch where we had about an hour ride among islands. When we got back to the landing, the bus was waiting and we were told that was the end of the tour, they were elimating free time in the Plaza because of late arrival on shore and it was getting dark. It is full dark here by 6pm. We headed back and were onboard by 7pm. The last tender is at 8:30pm for 9pm sailing.

It was a good tour and we were happy that we got to visit Nicaragua. We had a much newer and nicer small bus than the rattletrap we had in Guatemala. The roads were in much better shape. It was clearly a poor place here. Guatemala was much poorer and trashier looking though the guide did not mention poverty in Guatemala. Both guides talked about the problem of criminal gangs in Guatemala coming from El Salvador and Honduras. According to today's guide the Nicaraguan army tightly controls the border and so they don't have the gang problem in southern Central America.

Today was hot and humid with a good deal of rain. Fortunately it didn't rain on us when we were out because we had been told there was no chance of showers today so we took no umbrellas for one and secondly even if we'd taken umbrellas they'd have been in Clay's string pack which spent the entire tour on the bus.

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