Monday, December 12, 2016 Overcast with Showers and a ‘Fresh Breeze’ – 84 degrees
I was awakened to the sound of machines lowering the tenders into the water of the bay. We had arrived in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua some time during the early hours and the ship dropped anchors off shore.
I opened the curtains expecting to see a bright sunny day but everything was overcast and gray. I stepped out onto the balcony to watch as a tender moved toward the green shore. It was raining lightly.
We waited until eleven to take one of the tenders ashore to walk around the horseshoe shaped harbor. Vendors lined the main street selling crafts to the tourists. There were several local youths dressed in bright red costumes dancing to lively Nicaraguan music.
One of the hotels on the street is famous because Mark Twain stayed there when he visited Nicaragua. It was newly painted in bright whitewash. The bright pink building pictured below is La Cantina, a Mexican restaurant.
San Juan del Sur has a population of about 15,600 people most of whom make a living by fishing or tourism. A large statue of the Mirador del Cristo de la Misericordia stands on a hill above the town. It is one of the largest statues of Jesus in the world and is a tourist attraction. The woman in the photo below was asking tourists for donations “to feed her black-face monkeys.”
The small building below is the oldest house in San Juan del Sur and was built in 1912 using “rustic” building materials and old methods of construction popular a hundred years ago.
We walked back to the terminal to meet a local guide named, Bismar, and we board a brightly colored bus to visit the city of Rivas, Nicaragua. On the way, Besmar told us about the history of Nicaragua, the development of San Juan del Sur during the 1849 “Gold Rush, the recent political climate, and the current plan to build a canal across Nicaragua by a Chinese company.
Rivas is located between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean. According to a guide, the city is full of Spanish colonial architecture. The bus stopped at the cathedral (sorry I don’t have better photos of the exterior because it was drizzling) and we filed inside.
The original church was built in 1607 but has been renovated several times through the centuries. The most striking features of the building were the beautiful wooden ceiling and hand painted dome.
We drove along the shore of Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America. There are two islands just off shore which contain active volcanoes, unfortunately visibility was limited. We passed miles of wind turbines which successfully provide electricity to the region because of strong winds over the lake.
We stopped at Amayo Farm which is supposed to be owned by the niece of Violeta Chamorro, the former president of Nicaragua. It was a very beautiful tropical property which sloped gently down to the lake. There were chickens and livestock outside a rambling lovely house.
Our group sat on a large veranda and were treated to soft drinks and fresh fruit. We were entertained by musicians and local dancers in bright costumes.
We walked down to the volcanic sand beach but it was drizzling and visibility was too poor to see the tops of the volcanoes. It was a twenty minute ride back to the ship and we were lucky that heavy rain held off until the end of our tour. It was fun to see the towns of Nicaragua and drive through the tropical countryside.
Back on the Island Princess we were treated to a jazz performance by Pavlova & Yakeo playing piano and saxophone. Later we watched Lorenzo Clark’s act of “Amazing Comedy & Funny Magic” in the theater. It had been a busy day.