I haven't blogged in a long time as the new and exciting parts of my life in Nicaragua have become normal and a bit more routine. However, my Nicaraguan routine is still far from routine and is in no way unexciting. In fact, I realize that I was in some ways unable and in some ways just unwilling to do all of the exploring that I do here when I was living in California. I am fortunate to be able to travel as much as I do here and grateful for all of the beautiful experiences.
Since I love Nicaragua and want others to love and explore Nicaragua too, I have decided to write travel guides for the places I've been!
Last week we celebrated
Nicaraguan Independence Day so we got to enjoy a long weekend. Some friends and I traveled south to Rio San Juan.
First up...
Rio San Juan
How to get there from Managua:
We chose to take a plane from Managua to San Carlos. We booked a flight through the Nicaraguan airline
La Costena. Try to book early because flights get more expensive as the date approaches. We took a tiny 12 passenger plane in both directions.
It's also possible to take a bus (~7 hours) to San Carlos, but I am unsure about the price. Driving in a private vehicle is said to take about 4 hours from Managua, and there is secure parking at the port in San Carlos.
Once arriving to the airport in San Carlos, we took a taxi to the port where we would take the boat toward El Castillo.
From San Carlos, we took a 2 hour boat ride to El Castillo (southeast), stopping once in Sabalo on the way. The ticket costs 140 cords (each way). I strongly recommend making reservations for both directions at least one day in advance. Our hotel in El Castillo arranged this for us.
View of the entire plane. 12 passengers + 2 pilots
Me scared by myself in the back. That's the whole plane. No bathroom in small planes.
Leaving Managua and flying over Lake Nicaragua
Boat from San Carlos to El Castillo
Our plane in San Carlos
Picture of our pilot letting go of the wheel to take pictures :D.
The main pilot was eating an apple while we were flying through clouds.
We made a quick pit stop in Greytown to pick up two more passengers. (not on the way & also not planned)
Part of Rio San Juan and the Caribbean! Taken from the plane on our detour.
Accommodations
My friends and I stayed at Hotel Luna del Rio and we loved it! The owners were super hospitable and the place was extremely nice. It was a little pricier than many other options in El Castillo, but we felt the accommodations were worth it! See my review on tripadvisor
here.
If you're looking for a more economical place, another friend stayed at Nena Lodge and was happy with her stay. There are some similar options that are all close by. We went on a holiday weekend and there was still lots of availability.
Oops, forgot to take pictures of the hotel, but here's what El Castillo looks like. That's the castle (el castillo) up top.
Activities
El Castillo
It is a short walk up to the castle. There is a fee to go into the museum and to walk around the castle. It was approximately 70 cordobas for foreginers & 12 cordobas for nationals/residents. If you're a foreigner they might make you walk around with a tour guide. The lady who showed us around was warm, friendly and very informative. There are great views of the river from the top of the castle.
Tours
We booked all of our tours through Hotel de Luna. Marga and Manuel (the owners) were very helpful and we were happy with all of our tours. We took an animal and caiman tour northwest of El Castillo. We also visited the Reserva Indio Maiz east of El Castillo. They charge by the tour rather than by person, so it is more economical to make arrangements in a larger group. We had a group of 7 for everything and it seemed like a great number.
My research says brown water = more natural
Locals
Going on a tour!
River buffalo
Animals spotted included: basilisk lizard (walks on water), sloth, howler & congo monkeys, turtles, caimans (large & small), poisonous coral snake, poisonous frog, and a rainforest rodent. Anyway, no great pictures of those guys.
Nicaraguan/Costa Rican land border. A portion of the river also serves as a border. *Note: When traveling to Rio San Juan, take your passport!
My beautiful friend Teresa and Manuel from Hotel Luna del Rio
Food
Hotel Luna del Rio
Hotel de Luna provided delicious Nica breakfast every day. The day we arrived they also gave us the most delicious
pico I've ever had in my Nica life.
Borders Cafe
Great pasta! See my tripadvisor review
here.
Hotel Victoria
Delicious res (beef) con chimichurri. See my tripadvisor review
here.
Rio San Juan is a beautiful place and pictures do not do it justice! Visit Nicaragua! Visit Rio San Juan! =)
