17 days of Nicaragua-Costa Rica

Kendall and I flew into San Jose on the 13th to spend some time backpacking around Nicaragua and Costa Rica. I had budgeted just a few days in Costa Rica (given the higher prices, tourist traps). We ended up splitting the time 4 days:13 days CR:Nicaragua, a perfect sampling of both countries. This was my second time to Nicaragua; this place is 2nd only to Guatemala in sites and people.

This is going to be more of a picture heavy post rather than a blow-by-blow of the things we did (which would be a long read).

Santa Elena/Monteverde/La Fortuna, Costa Rica: Coffee Plantations and Hiking in Rain Forest Reserves and Waterfalls















San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua: Swimming and Resting on the beach

Photo credit to Kendall (any shot of me below is also taken by her)

Granada, Nicaragua: Volunteering at Carita Feliz, Colonial Architecture, Churches, Kayaking on Lake Nicaragua

Leon and Las Penitas, Nicaragua: Body Boarding and Sandboarding on Cerro Negro

















This was my 5th trip to Central America; each time I go, the theme of the trip seems to be one word, humbling. I have foregone trips to Europe in the past because this region has an appeal that goes beyond the sites and sounds of a industrialized city like Rome, France or Barcelona....people, real, authentic people that love to talk.

I purposely only put pictures on the blog rather than stories so that instead of living vicariously through my stories, you will yearn for your own. You might find that your bus will break down, someone will take you into their house for free, take a chicken bus into the middle of the rain forest, ride on the back of a motorcycle to a sugar can plantation, hitchhike, wake up on the top of a pyramid in the jungle, see the national bird, ride down a volcano on a wooden thing that supposedly resembles a snowboard, climb a volcano at night, see lava, etc etc.

Simply said, I encourage you to visit Guatemala, El Salvador or Nicaragua.