Welcome to San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua!  This city sits beside a crescent-shaped bay, which was a popular resting place for gold prospectors headed to California in the 1850’s.  Correspondingly, San Juan del Sur served as a hub for the Cornelius Vanderbilt Lines.  It has also been the focus of many historic Nicaragua Canal proposals.

We were welcomed into the bay by Christ of the Mercy – –

Cristo de La Misericordia overlooking the bay.

After tendering to shore, we boarded our bus to Los Altos, a private ranch where we lunched on Caballo Bayo – three meats with rice and beans.  The sights and sounds on the way were fun and provided wonderful examples of Nicaraguan life – –

The many colorful modes of transportation – – the “chicken buses”..

…to the horse drawn carts…

..to those powered by people.

The sights and sounds at lunch were also wonderful.  Los Altos was a fabulous ranch with its own stables, church, orchards, meeting areas and beautiful grounds.  Lunch was delicious and the entertainment was great.

Los Altos.

Excellent lunch of local specialities was provided…

which was accompanied by traditional Nicaraguan music.

Further wanderings on the grounds provided views of this little chapel,

the horse stables and …

a big ugly iguana trying to hide in the bushes.

With our stomachs full, we were on to Granada, a magnificent city overlooking Lake Nicaragua.  Granada was founded as a trade center in 1524 by Spanish conquistadors.  The San Francisco Convent is its crown jewel, and the historical building now houses a cultural center with fine pre-Columbian statues.

Onward to the old colonial town of Granada.

We also had a brief stop at the Masaya Market, one of the country’s foremost artisan markets.  E broke down here and acquired a pretty little shawl and a small bottle of their speciality product – RUM;-)

The vibrant colors of the marketplace are as bright and intricate as…

the wall art adjacent to the marketplace.

The Granada town square was colorful as well.

One more stop before returning to the Marina – – Masaya Volcano National Park, the first NP in Nicaragua.  Good news is the last eruption was 2008 – but it looks like it could go any minute!!

Masaya Volcano NP – just in case you weren’t sure;-)

The Mouth of Hell!!

There you have Nicaragua – the largest country in Central America.  And I have RUM;-)

See you tomorrow in Costa Rica – E & G