Granada to Rivas to San Juan del Sur to Playa Hermosa

Beach cows on Playa Hermosa

To catch one of the chicken buses leaving Granada, you first have to make your way through the busy street market. It's dirty and crowded but I think if we had more time I would have enjoyed wandering around its stalls. When we got to the bus headed to Rivas, it was empty and we waited about an hour before it left. There is a schedule for the buses but we were always early for everything because we were paranoid about missing the bus!

Standing room only on this chicken bus...and lots of sweat...from me

If you've never been on a chicken bus in Central America, here are a few things I have learned:
1. If you can determine which side the sun will be shining on the bus, sit on the opposite side,
2. Sit near the back if you can. These buses do not follow the "stay behind the yellow line" sign that is posted prominently on all yellow school buses and they do not have a definition for "full". There will be at least 2 people in each seat and during busy times, the entire aisle will be full of people as well. The bus will stop many times before you reach your destination. Dropping people (and sometimes full mattresses and bed frames strapped to the roof) off and picking up additional passengers. If you plan on staying on the bus until it reaches its destination (in this case, Rivas), sitting in the back will be less hectic.
3. Go to the bathroom before you get on the bus!
4. People will get on the bus regularly selling snacks and drinks. I don't trust drinks in plastic bags with a straw sticking out, so I always make sure to bring water. Sometimes the food they sell is pretty good but I prefer getting something from a street vendor beforehand...it's usually fresher.

We were on the bus for several hours before reaching Rivas and by the time we arrived I was tired, hot, sweaty and worst of all: I had to pee so bad it hurt. Several people directed us to the public restroom but we passed it and walked in a giant circle until some kind bicycle taxi guy led us there and pointed it out. 5 Cordoba later (for toilet paper, the urinal was only 3) and I was a happy Brandy. We caught the next bus for San Juan del Sur (standing room only by the time we got on) and marveled at the beautiful landscape from Rivas to SJDS.

San Juan del Sur

In San Juan del Sur, we immediately headed straight for the ocean. We spoke to two hotels, side by side, and chose the one that gave us a room with an ocean view balcony for $20/night with breakfast (the other was $80/night). The Hotel Estrella has a surly staff but it was worth it for the price and the view. Lonely Planet and Frommer's say it's derelict but compared to most places we have seen, it was just fine. Don't take their advice for dinner though! They directed us to the expensive, bland restaurants on the water and the next day we found much better food just a few streets away. Ryan ordered the lobster ($8 for lobster?! Holy crap!) but was very upset when it arrived and the 4 lobster tails were undersized. We looked online and found this article from 2002 that discusses how Nicaraguans are risking their lives to find lobsters for tourists and with little regulation, are overfishing the reefs. Ryan has been going to the Keys for lobstering with his family his whole life, so he knows an undersized lobster when he sees it. This is very unsustainable and I urge you to not be tempted by the cheap lobster if you head to Nicaragua!

San Juan del Sur

The turn off to Playa Hermosa

The next day, we contacted Playa Hermosa Beach Hotel to make a reservation. Transfer from SJDS is included in the price of the room ($50/night...our big splurge!) as well as breakfast. The ride to Playa Hermosa makes you realize how remote it is and as we bumped along the unpaved roads through the forest (over more than a few creeks with running water and no bridge) a slight panic set in. I'm so used to having the freedom to drive/walk/bike anywhere, at any time. Being "stuck" out in the middle of nowhere kind of freaks me out but once we reached the water, that feeling mostly dissipated. Ryan rented a surfboard and gave me a kiss before running directly to the main reason to visit Playa Hermosa: the surf! Side note: I asked Ryan for some cool surfing terminology to use here and he just made fun of me and told me to use "the tubular tubes" and the "righteous waves". Jerk.

Playa Hermosa

I made friends with the beachside bartender, Manuel, and got frustrated at all of the words I don't know in Spanish. Being such an active conversationalist (big mouth) it is unbelievably infuriating not being able to communicate effectively! I can take care of the easy stuff like ordering food, asking how much stuff is, etc...but actual conversation? I'm screwed! Eventually I gave up and took to reading on the beach (Divergent Trilogy completed during this week).

Playa Hermosa

 That evening we enjoyed some of the best food we had during our trip and a romantic walk on the beach....awww. In the morning, we explored the beach together and witnessed the majesty of the beach cows. Sporadically throughout the day, these four cows would come from the forest and take romantic beach walks of their own. They were very curious about us but maintained their distance and eventually meandered back into the forest.

Trying not to scare off the beach cows

When we got back to the hotel, we were shown some baby sea turtles that had been rescued by the hotel, I even got to hold one! Apparently, the hotel decided to take a unique approach to sea turtle egg poachers who would sell the eggs to restaurants. From their website: Most areas of Nicaragua have problems with egg poachers. Even though the sale of turtle eggs is illegal in most parts of the country, the black market is alive and well and unfortunately, restaurants all over the country still serve the eggs. After several attempts were made to stop the poachers, the owners of Playa Hermosa Beach Hotel decided to use a different strategy. Rather than treating the thieves as thieves, they basically gave them the job of harvesting the turtle eggs and paid them a good sum to give the eggs to the hotel. The staff then puts the eggs in holes in a fenced-in and guarded hatchery where the baby turtles have all the time they need to hatch and grow.

This is up there with the finch eating out of my hand in Paris!!

After our animal adventures, it was time to leave Playa Hermosa but it was hard to say goodbye to such a peaceful and beautiful place. There are tourists who make day trips here but before they arrive and after they've gone, it's a quiet and incredible slice of heaven!