The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

- Robert Frost

the 1 less traveled by

A move to Nicaragua

Browsing Tag:

Laguna de Apoyo

Mombacho Bridge
By Jenna Reid 156 Views

6 Day Southern Nicaraguan Itinerary

I’m not travel agent, but after 2 years of living in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua I’ve had my fair share of friends and family come visit. My husband and I blundered the itineraries of the first couple visitors by planning extraordinary adventures for them to conquer while on their 1 week vacation away from grind of North America. Turns out, people go on vacation to mostly relax! Lesson learned, we now have perfected the best course of action to crush Nicaragua from an San Juan del Sur base.

Day 1: Take in paradise

Playa HermosaWe’ve learned that when coming to San Juan del Sur, what everyone really wants to see is a beautiful beach. The most beautiful beach, maybe in all of Nicaragua is arguably, Playa Hermosa. For a $3 entrance fee, this beach comes with palapas equipped with hammocks and tables & chairs, bathrooms, fresh water showers, surfboard or boogie board rentals, spa services, horseback riding, and of course a restaurant and bar. It’s easy to spend the day on this massive white sandy beach and soak in the tranquility you came for.

For Dinner we usually opt for something more lively and take our visitors to the only brewery in town, Cerveceria. Here you can sip on strong beer, order from a American-Style menu, and listen to live music.

Day 2: Enjoy town

San Juan del Sur has a lot of offer and it’s nice to devote a whole day to enjoying downtown. For Breakfast we like to take our friends to our favorite spot, El Gato Negro. The house roasted Nicaraguan coffee always hits the spot. It’s easy to get lost in the mouth watering food descriptions, but you really can’t go wrong with what you order.

Villas de PalermoAfter breakfast a stroll on the bay or walk around the shops is a good way to work off your meal. This day is all about leisure and spontaneity, so do what you want. If shopping is what you crave, do it! If having a cocktail excites you, go for it!

We love Villas de Palermo pool & restaurant, so if our visitors are not staying someplace with a pool or feel like going out, then this is the first place we suggest. The food is good, so it’s a great place to soak up some sun and enjoy some lunch with an ocean view.

Happy Hour is a big part of our life and our new favorite spot is The Beach House. Sunsets are always spectacular in San Juan del Sur and this nautical-inspired restaurant is the perfect place to end the day.

Day 3: Get some culture – Granada

Quesillo placeStart your day early and grab a quesillo for breakfast on the way, just outside of Catrina. Quesillos are a corn tortilla wrapped around a soft white cheese with cream. If you want, they will add an onion & vinegar based chili. You eat them by ripping a hole in the plastic sandwich bag and chewing pieces out of it, so it’s a great food for on-the-go.

IsletasFirst stop is Isletas de Granada. Drive East through town until you reach the lake, then South until you come to where all the boat tours leave from. There’s a restaurant connected to the boat dock, so if you’re interested in a full meal or a drink before or after your ride, they’ve got you covered.  An hour boat ride through the Islets should be no more than $20 for the whole boat. They take you around the small, individually owned islands while you admire the homes. Last stop before you return is Monkey Island where they feed a few bananas to the inhabitants and then you weave your way through the other side of the islands. There’s longer tours where you stop at an island restaurant, but I’ve only done the hour long.

Depending on your mood, Granada has a lot to offer. Horse & buggy tour around the town, tour of the cathedral, Chocolate Museum, A butterfly sanctuary, hanging in the park, or just leisurely strolling through town, stopping in on whatever you fancy.

Our favorite place for lunch The Garden Cafe, not only because it has delicious food, but because they devote 2 whole rooms to the workmanship of local craftspeople and non profits.

We usually head home before dinner because we don’t enjoy driving at night out of town. If you do stay for dinner, Restaurante El Zaguan is a great choice. If you’re too tired to go out or cook, Don Monchis Pizzeria delivers all over San Juan del Sur.

Day 4: Action thriller

Parque AdventuraStart with a delicious culture experience at the Mercado in town. There are 4 different restaurants to choose from. All are good, so choose the one that has seats available.

Zip Lining, or Canopy Tour as they call it in Central America, if fun and relatively cheap in Nicaragua. Parque de Adventura is our favorite to take visitors because the Polaris ride up the narrow trail is an experience of its own. Once at the top there is a huge platform where you can buy a sandwich and drinks and take in the massive views. There is also a little park for the kids and an iguana sanctuary.

El TimonFor happy hour, get to the beach between 4pm & 6pm and go to El Timon for $1 appetizers. This place gets over priced outside of happy hour, so walk over to G&G Gourmet for an outstanding meal at affordable prices.

Day 5: Volcano Day

Mombacho ViewGet a breakfast bagel to-go from Dale Pues and start at Mombacho Volcano where you can take a tour to the top and walk the perimeter or do the coffee tour. The views from here are out of a fairyland, so prepare yourself to be astonished.

Laguna de ApoyoGet to Laguna de Apoyo no later than lunch time. All the resorts there charge about $6 to use their facility for the day. They seem to all have kayaks, floating docks, SUP boards, and restaurant with servers. We usually go to Laguna Beach Club, but we hear Monkey Hut and Paradiso Hostel are great as well. Relax, swim, and enjoy the spectacular view of an imploded volcano.  

Masaya Volcano 5Give yourself at least an hour travel time to get to Volcano Masaya by 5pm. There might be a wait, but you’ll be one of first groups for the night tour and be able to watch the sunset over the active, glowing volcano.

Day 6: Hermosa again

It’s your last day before back to the grind, so why not enjoy a relaxing day on the beach again. Start with a smoothie, or maybe a piña colada and chill. For dinner, the new mediterranean restaurant, Jicaro Garden is a great way to end your vacation. Leave full, happy, and relaxed.


There’s so much to do in Nicaragua beyond what is reachable in a few hours from San Juan del Sur, but most of our friends & family don’t have the ability to take more than a week away. You are still able to get a taste of what Nicaragua has to offer without having to explore the whole country. This itinerary has been tried and true with just enough relaxation, culture, and action to keep you talking about Nicaragua for years to come.

The visiting crew
By Jenna Reid 21 Views

First Visit from Friends

I’m writing this post the afternoon of the morning my friends departed…perhaps not enough time to reflect on their trip, but with events still fresh I’m going to give it a go.

First off, I must mention the overwhelming emotion that invaded my body at first sight of my friend Carly and her youngest daughter, Willow, skipping towards me outside their hotel.  I knew I missed my friends, but it wasn’t until the echos of my sobs rang through my ears and I felt my body involuntarily convulsing with each out take of breath, that I realized how much I need my friends. Our daughters too ran for each other and embraced in a heartfelt, tender hug.

The first afternoon my husband and I decided we’d take them to lunch at a beautiful restaurant, El Timón, on the bay. Its a great restaurant to showcase the beauty of San Juan del Sur.  Azalea was a great hostess and after lunch showed the girls just how we do it in Nicaragua.

After skipping naps we ended the evening by ordering pizza from Don Mochis for delivery and enjoying their air conditioned hotel.  Azalea was already comfortable again with old friends so she got to have her first friend sleep over.  I’m so proud of her for sleeping through the night and not crying for “Mommy” in the morning. She’s growing up so fast!

The next day was Friday and Kharron had to work, so after a relaxing morning I packed everyone into our car and headed to the beach.  I decided Romanzo would be a good choice since it is fairly close to my house. I had asked Juanita to cook arroz con pollo for lunch, a cheap, but delicious dish that the whole family enjoys. We had a great time enjoying the beach, but the waves weren’t big enough to try surfing. After lunch it was nap time for all!

Our friend, Sean, has a home up on the hill overlooking the bay so we decided to watch the sunset from there while introducing street food to our friends.  We got a selection of meat: chicken, pork, and beef with sides of fried plantains, frijoles molida (mashed black beans), and gallo pinto (beans and rice).  Sean also has a pool of course, so the kids did some more swimming.

On Saturday my husband, Kharron, was off work, so after a traditional breakfast in the mercardo, we all got to enjoy the pool at Villas de Palermo, where our friends were staying. That night we had arranged for two nannies to come and babysit the kids while the adults enjoyed full-sentenced conversations. We barely made it to sunset at HulaKai Hotel, but as usual were stunned by the beauty of Nicaragua. Next we took them to a restaurant we recently discovered called El Jardin.  The food and wine selection is fabulous there.  It is not traditional Nicaraguan food, but the change of menu is welcomed. Of course we ended the night in town at Republika Bar for one last night cap.  I hope our friends enjoyed the evening together as much as we did!

Date night with the Anderson's
Date night with the Anderson’s

On Monday Willow went to school with Azalea at San Juan del Sur Day School for the morning and the rest of their family had fun zip lining at Parque de Aventuras.  Then after naps that afternoon we all went to Surf Ranch for a swim, drinks, and a snack.

Tuesday was Nicaragua’s Father’s Day and Kharron took the day off work. We decided to be a little more adventurous and go see Laguna de Apoyo.  It’s an imploded volcano that created a crater and has filled with water.  The pictures are breathtaking and we’ve been wanting to go. The men used this opportunity to go on a motorcycle ride and the women & kids followed in our car. Unfortunately we made the mistake of inputting “Laguna de Apoyo” in Google Maps instead of one of the hotels along one section of the shore.  We ended up over shooting our turn off the highway and caravaning through the busy streets of Granada‘s mercado.  We asked locals how to get to “Laguna de Apoyo” and found ourselves at its edge on the opposite side of the hotels.  Foolishly, we took the dirt roads around the lake to finally reach our destination tired, dirty, & grumpy. The kids were starving, moms were fed up with wining, and the dad’s bottoms hurt. BUT the views were striking!

On the last full day of their trip we went to what I think is the most beautiful beach in San Juan del Sur, Playa Hermosa.  It costs US $3 to enter, but once through the long dirt road there are bathrooms, fresh water showers, palapas with hammocks, and a restaurant that doesn’t completely gouge you on prices. It is always very tranquil at Playa Hermosa.  It was a great day spent relaxing, collecting shells, and enjoying the warm ocean water.  We also rented a couple boogie boards for $8 each for the kids to try.  We got home that late afternoon and cleaned off in Villas de Palermo pool (shhh…) Kharron met us after work and we spent the evening ordering room service and letting the kids play.

Willow & Char on Playa Hermosa
Willow & Char on Playa Hermosa

It was great having our friends here and we feel so lucky to have friends willing to make the long trek just to see us.  I know Nicaragua was never on their radar of places to visit, but I hope they found it as beautiful and interesting as we do.

Char asked me while driving someplace, “Before you moved, did you know people wouldn’t have doors and stuff?”  I tried to explain to her that yes, I did.  That Kharron and I had chosen to move here because America was very expensive and in this country I didn’t have to work to afford to live.

I think travel is so important (obviously) for everyone and especially as children.  If nothing else, a “first world” country kid can get a glimpse of how other people live.  Maybe they see the smile on kid’s face as he peaks through the doorway while standing on a dirt floor or hears the roar of laughter coming out of a group of children playing with sticks, a little girls giggle of delight while dressed up in a torn and dirty princess dress, or a little boy’s confidence as he herds a pack of sheep down the road, the laughter from a family sitting outside their shack of a home as they enjoy the evening and each other. Maybe that child just for a second can see that life is not about all the gadgets and screen time, it’s about the love we have for each other and this one life we have to live.  I am glad our friends are among the parents that get the importance of these lessons.