Costa Rica & Nicaragua

I wanted to finish telling you about Costa Rica. It’s been many years since Hubby and I were there, and we saw so many improvements in the countryside. We were lucky to have a Naturalist Guide for our day long trip. He was able to guide us through the Rain Forest

as we rode in our aerial tram, pointing out many interesting, birds, trees and yes, even snakes (they were in a cage, thank goodness)!

Then we stopped to have a traditional Costa Rican lunch consisting of rice and black beans and chicken and salad. Oh yes, and they served two drinks, mango juice and delicious Costa Rican coffee!

Then we were off for a ride on the river where we saw so many of the local tropical birds and, of course, the crocodiles. It was fascinating, and we got so many pictures. What a fun time. I must note here that the entire excursion lasted 8 1/2 hours.
Cows grazing near the crocodile!

Needless to say, I slept well last night!

Wednesday we arrived in the harbor at San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, at 6:00 in the morning. We met in the ship’s theater at 6:45, so we could get into our groups and then ride ashore on the ships lifeboats.

Our first stop was in the Masaya Market. We were able to go around looking at the different handicrafts made by the local people, and do a little shopping as well.

The school children entertaining the tourists.

From there we went to the Masaya Volcano where we were able to view two dormant volcanoes and one active one. There was a high point above the volcano which took 184 steps to reach! I was definitely winded and as I stood half way up, Hubby asked me to come back down a few steps for a picture. Although I thought he was crazy for asking I did as he asked and actually I like the picture.

From there we drove back to Masaya and had a nice Nicaraguan lunch made up of…surprise, rice and beans, chicken, beef and fish, with wonderful Papaya for dessert.

After lunch we went to the old city of Granada, which is the oldest European settled city in Central America (1524). We toured the market area and then went into an old Convent, which is now a local museum.

When we looked at Nicaragua from the top of the volcano, it was beautiful and lush. However, as we drove through the countryside we saw such terrible poverty. My heart ached for these people, who live in tiny cement block houses, with no windows or doors, and dirt floors and corrugated metal rooves.

I must also mention one very beautiful thing though. Almost every house there had a dog, sitting with it’s owner, or the child of the house, or just sitting at the end of a drive waiting for its master to return. I asked about this and was told that yes, the Nicaraguans love their dogs.

We returned, on the Pan American Highway which was a good road, but then to get back to the area where the ship was anchored we had to ride 10 miles over some of the worst roads we’ve ever been on, to San Juan Del Sur, where we boarded the life boats for our trip back to the ship.

What an education.