Category Archives: Overland Travel

Family Time in La Fortuna & Arenal, Costa Rica

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La Fortuna at night with Volcano Arenal in the  back
Tree through the cloud forest at La Fortuna Waterfall
La Fortuna town square

Nickle Tour: Nestled in the cloud-forest highlands, the town of La Fortuna transformed rapidly in the last 30 years as Costa Rica marketed Volcano Arenal as a tourist destination.  Since then, visitors can enjoy the views of the volcano erupting (when it’s not clouded over, which is every day), many of whom do so in thermally-fed hot springs fed by the magma running underground at numerous resorts in the area.

Travel Tip: While Tabacon hot springs is “the place” most go, it’s also the most expensive.  Baldi is about half the price ($40ish for half-a-day including dinner) and just as hot.

See:  
La Fortuna waterfall is tucked in the cloud forest.  You can swim, but not under the waterfall as you’d get crushed.  It’s also quite a hike up and down, so wear proper footwear and prep for sore thighs. 
Baldi Hot Springs
Hot Springs: A must do!  Soak in any of the area’s hot springs.  There are plenty of resorts featuring the springs, with spa services, restaurants and bars for your easy enjoyment.  It’s also a good place to soak your bones after a day of hiking or rafting.
Hike!  Volcano Arenal has good hiking but you can’t go all the way up because it might ‘splode on you.  No beuno.
The Fam getting ready to Ride the Bull (Rio Toro)
Rafting!  We did a family trip with Desafio Tours and it was fantastic!  Whether you’re 15 or 65, you’ll have a great time, feel safe and ride great rapids.  The river has class 3-4 right after another which is great fun.  About halfway through you’ll get to stop and much fruit.  And, the guides will happily point out wildlife (howlers, toucans and a sloth) along the way.  We can’t recommend them enough.
Fresh fruit snack on the raft/table
Beth rides the bull!


















Sleep: We stayed 2 nights at Hotel La Fortuna (a certified green hotel) courtesy of Mom, so it’s not really a backpacker place, but it’s very nice . . . everything you’d expect from a standard American-style hotel.  I’d recommend it for those who want to be comfortable without staying in an uber-resort or hostel.

Eat: There are several good places around town, but nothing really stuck out.  Explore the main strip and you’ll be satisfied.

New Year’s in Nosara, Costa Rica

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Hotel Nosara
Beach biking

Nickle Tour: Nosara is a special place in Costa Rica: a small surfing village with plenty of gringo resources and expats without the big hotels and crowds.  I hesitate to tell you how wonderful it is because those who love it don’t want the word getting out! 



Travel Tip: Nosara town and Nosara beach are about 15km apart.  You want to stay on Nosara beach.  Getting to Nosara by bus is no small feat – and that’s probably part of why it’s so safe and quiet. For those who can, I’d recommend getting a $80-100 plane ticket from San Jose if that’s where you originate.  And, for those who may consider stopping in Samara – don’t.  If you’re more into a laid-back surfer vibe than the party scene, Nosara is your pick over Samara.


See: You can easily walk around Nosara but after a few days, you may want to get some wheels (rent a bike or a quad to explore the area).  We drove up to Ostional and lucked out to see turtles laying on the beach.  

Sea turtles on the beach at Ostional

In the same day, we explored some outside of Nosara town and found a hidden waterfall which relieved us from the midday heat. 

We also were treated by our friends to a morning of sport fishing and if you get the chance, we can’t recommend it enough!
D getting lunch
Kitty likes sashimi, too!

And, of course there is plenty of surfing to be had by beginners and advanced surfers, alike.

 

At the end of the beach is Hotel Nosara – a can’t miss spectacle.  Rumor has it this sprawling estate has been home to wild parties, has a “batman-esque” lair under the pool and the owners recently turned down $17 million from the Four Seasons to finish it.  The reason they turned it down: because if it’s finished the owner will have to pay its investors back -something they’re not interested in.  So, it sits, in its Studio 54 glory slowly being overtaken by the jungle.

Finally, if you are lucky enough to be in Nosara when The Black Sheep (same owners as the Hotel Nosara) is open (once a month), run, don’t walk!  It’s a Playboy Mansion type place where they brew beer, a bridge traversing a pool and stunning views of the Pacific.









Sleep: While many folks splurge for the Iguana, we camped in the Carnie Tent at Solo Bueno, a surfers hostel for $26 per night, which includes a kitchen for cooking.

Camping Treehouse Gardens

After a few days, we moved over to a private tree-house room at the Camping Treehouse Gardens which was $20 per night and also included a kitchen.


Eat: Iguana has yummy meals that are infused with local seafood and a beach flair.  There is an Italian place in town with UNBELIEVABLE lasagna, quite possibly the best we’ve ever had! The Thai place was good, too.  You can also get most staples at any of the mini-supers in town.
Drink!  You must make the trek up Almost Paradise for sunset and try the Granny’s Juice aka a white sangria with vodka – now that’s the way to start your evening.

Granada, Nicaragua

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Funeral in Granada

Nickle Tour: Granada is Nicaragua’s gem.  It’s a beautiful, restored colonial city but while it’s certainly beautiful, we found it lacking in things to do.  While 2 days will suffice, we got stuck there for 4 because it was during the holiday rush and buses going to/from Costa Rica were full of families going back and forth. 

Travel Tip: If you overnight at Laguna de Apoyo, take your own food!  Or, be prepared to shell out $5-10 per meal at one of the local hotels.  And, because of the geography, the lake is shaded most of the day so get there early if you want some sun.

See: Granada has beautiful churches, islands to discover in lake and a gorgeous open-air, pedestrian-only street which leads down to the lake.

Sleep: We stayed at Hostal Oasis and it has everything you could want: private rooms and dorms, kitchen, internet, TV, and a pool!
Eat: There’s a lovely, grand restuarant on the square that we enjoyed.  Sit on the balconey to watch the night’s activities take off while avoiding street vendors on the downstairs patio.  Also, there are plenty of restuarants – many offering 2 for 1 drinks during happy hour – along the grand avenue.
Kayakers, and a floating dock for sunbathing at Laguna de Apoyo
More: A day trip to Laguna de Apoyo can be a nice way to spend the day.  They have small hobie cats for rent, you can swim or just enjoy the peace and quiet.  

Ometepe, Nicaragua

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Concepcion and Maderas on Ometepe Island on Lago Nicaragua
Urraca

White-faced Capuchin









Nickle Tour: Ometepe is decribed as a “fairytale” place on Lago, Nicaragua – the largest lake in Central America – and it truly is.  While there isn’t much infrastructure or things to do on Ometepe, it is a must-see in our opinion.  And, interestingly enough, it reminded us of home, well the Kerrville Folk Festival of home with its eco-fincas, hippies and plenty of nature to enjoy.
D getting a riding lesson from Elvis
Travel Tip: Make sure you have all the cash you need for your stay on Ometepe as there are no cash machines on the island and almost nobody takes plastic.  Also, we’d highly recommend renting a vehicle (read: 4 wheeler or motorbike) while you’re on the island.  You can hitchhike a ride from locals, but many know you’ll pay for a ride when it’s an hour walk anywhere in the hot, midday sun.  

Swim at Ojo de Agau

See: Ojo de Agua: a river-fed swimming hole reminiscent of Barton Springs in Austin, Texas.  Hike the volcanos if you like (we had enough in Leon) to see waterfalls and wildlife.  
And, as mentioned earlier, rent a vehicle and drive the island looking for wildlife and otherwise just exploring.

El Zopilote, an eco-finca



Sleep:  El Zopilote is a great eco-finca where you stay in tree-house type private cabanas, get a dorm room, rent a hammock for the evening or put up your own on their campsites.

Double-decker camping at El Zopilote

Eat: El Zopilote hosts pizza nights in their brick oven every couple of days and I’d definitely recommend the Diablo and the fresh salad from the garden (served on the pizza).  El Zopilote also infuses their own rum with coffee, vanilla and a host of other flavors – try some!  
Other than the pizza at Zopilote you’ll find the regular what-have-you on the island (beans, rice, chicken, etc).  And, we ran into a street vendor selling delicious corn tamales (our first and only tamales in Central America so far).

More: 
For #1
Composting corn-husk toilets
El Zopilote had an outdoor “Japanese Shower” (a pipe in the jungle surrounded by bamboo) and was also my first encounter with an ordinero (fancy hole in the ground for #1) and a rice-husk composting toilet (for #2).  I really enjoyed learning about this sustainable way to deal with waste with minimal water use.
How a corn-husk system works

Leon, Nicaragua

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Largest Church in Nica – Leon, Nicaragua
Nickle Tour: Leon is a city with great history: the home of the revolution and people are proud of their pivotal role in taking back their country.   It’s a colonial city, hot (but not oppressively so), there are enough resources for travels while it maintains its authentic feel.  We highly recommend volcano boarding!
Travel Tip: Showing up on a Friday night and expecting a (private) room at the two main hostels is not a good idea.  Make reservations there (or elsewhere if you want to swing right into your digs).

D&L ready to surf the Volcano!


See: Volcano boarding!   It’s worth the $30ish pp to hike Cerro Negro (one of Nica’s many volcanoes) and surf down!!!

Beisbol on Sundays: we got to see Granada vs. Leon – a longtime rivalry – and it was a great (and cheap) way to while away the afternoon and soak up the local flavor.


Sleep: Hostel Ambergue (1 night, $20 – not recommended – it’s safe, there’s internet but it’s not cute – a LFJ requirement for a recommendation); Casa Iguana $35 (TV, hot water, clean, safe, nice, internet) 
Those lines on the ‘Cano are made by surfers, like us!

Eat: Cafe with the smallest cookie ever and Cafe Meditteranian
Hiking to the summit
Surfing down

D went 43 kmph!

More:  Leon is full of history.  It’s where the Sandinista movement was born and the town was literally torn apart by the fighting.  Check out the old town and the (former) presidental palace, which is now in ruins.

Heroes of the Revolution

Little Corn Island, Nicaragua

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Nickle Tour: Paradise found, period.  There’s not a lot to do (if you don’t dive, like us) and that’s exactly what we wanted.  Bring a Kindle or a dozen books and you may stay here longer than you plan, as we did.

Travel Tip: Bring cash!  There are no ATM’s and if the wind is blowing and seas are swelled, you won’t catch a boat back to Big Corn!




See: Chill out!  Walk the island.  You can take several trails past Casa Iguana for private beaches or head north through the jungle.






Sleep: 
We stayed at Elsa’s and it was fantastic.  For $13 a night you get a comfy bed, tiolet and (cold) shower in a private cabana on the beach – who needs more?








Eat:
The Rundown is a stew of seafood, potatoes, onions, etc (and I mean “etc”) and it’s great!  There’s also excellent food at the Cuban place (just to left of the dock), but it’s pricey.  Also, by far our favorites were the “pie ladies” who came by with pineapple pies, meat pies and other varieties – for $.50 you can’t beat ’em!

Big Corn Island, Nicaragua

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Nickle Tour: The only reason to go to Big Corn Island is to pass through on your way to Little Corn Island.  Seriously, there is nothing to do and no real infrastructure for tourists.  **Unless**, you stop by Corn Island Finca to see Kevin, an expat from Oklahoma who is 3 years into creating a farm.  Even Kevin will tell you to move on.

  1. Travel Tip: 

When you buy your plane ticket to the Corn Islands, you get a 30-day open-ended ticket back to Managua.  Reserve your flight back – even if you have to change it – or you’ll be flying standby and may have to stay over in Big Corn, ugg.

And, if you’re walking across the island, consider waiting until the planes have flown their morning or afternoon flights and they’ll open up the runway for you – a practical boulevard!

See: You can take a taxi around the island for about $3 and it’ll take you about 30 minutes.  It’s beautiful, but once you get to Little Corn, you’ll wonder why you weren’t there 30 minutes earlier.

Sleep:  2 nights with Kevin at his Finca courtesy of Couchsurfing 

Eat: Cook with Kevin – all restuarants have bad service and the food is meh

Border Crossing #1: Austin to Managua, Nicaragua

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Leaving on a jet plane – at ABIA
aka the last time D will wear that jacket before sending it home with fam in January from Costa Rica

Nickle Tour: Damon and I left Austin on December 6th and headed for Nicaragua.   The flight was cheap $300 one-way each through Miami to Managua, the capital city.

Travel Tip:  If you’re headed anywhere in Central or South America and concerned about the price, try booking straight from Miami to your destination and then book your domestic travel seperately to Miami – it’s almost always cheaper.

See: ???  We had heard that Managua was meh, and we were eager to get to the Corn Islands so we got off the plane, took the 5 minute hotel shuttle to the hotel for the night.  We arrived at 10:30pm and we’re out the door by 5am to buy plane tickets to the Corn Islands.

Sleep: 1 night, $80, Camino Real Hotel – It’s a fine hotel and would be a nice place to hang (AC, TV, pool, casino, etc), if you like hanging out at hotels.  The main attraction was the proximity to the airport and safety in Managua – which can be unsafe.

Eats: For our late-night meal after the long flight, we ate at the hotel restuarant, which had HUGE portions.