First Weekend in Nicaragua!

For my first weekend in Nicaragua, I discovered two absolutely amazing places: the mall and a beach town. I know they are not on equal playing fields – however they were each exciting discoveries in their own way.

I found a little piece of home (The Northwest, US) at the nearest mall, Galerias Santo Domingo. Casa del Café is a great café with all your coffee favorites and sandwiches, salads and desserts. I ordered an iced Americano with soy milk on the side, and it was great! They also have free wifi available, so I am scoping it out as a good homework and studying spot.

On Saturday morning, myself and another female international student went to San Juan del Sur. Our mode of transportation was a “chicken bus” which was mildly scary since it was our first time off on our own. However it ended up being safe and pretty easy (though really hot and sweaty – be prepared!). We got on the bus at Huembes market and got off in Rivas where we could have taken another bus (less expensive option) though we opted for a taxi. In total, it took us about 2½ hours total and cost us about $11.50 each (which is actually on the more expensive side; the other international students who went the day before each paid about $5).

San Juan del Sur is a sweet and mildly tourist beach town on the southwest corner of Nicaragua near the Costa Rican border on the Pacific coast. The town was very easy to navigate and I felt extremely safe walking around. Here are some pictures of the local area:

We stayed at a hostel called “Sueños del Mar” which was a great experience. When we arrived, we were greeted by the owner, Orlando, who was extremely friendly and welcoming to us. We stayed in a dorm style room, which included 8 beds, though the night we stayed the only people in our room were in our party. The hostel had other rooms with 4 and 2 beds (I believe), a kitchen where guests could cook meals and store leftovers in a fridge, 5 showers (the outdoor showers were awesome!), and 3 bathrooms. There was also a great lounge with a sheltered dining area and open patio type space with 4 hammocks up (so comfy, I fell asleep in like 2 minutes). There were also key and lock cubbies that you could leave your valuables in (this made me feel much more secure).  I’m shy to admit that this was the first hostel I had ever stayed at, but it was a highly positive first experience and I would recommend it to anyone!

- Kine Camara