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PICTURES of SAN JUAN DEL SUR, Nicaragua:
I'm in the process of re-structuring my pictures but for now you can see a list of the various albums at:
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Please tell the people you visit that you heard about them from
Vicki (or the Sarong Goddess) on this site!!!
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NOTE THIS SITE IS BEING REVAMPED SO KEEP CHECKING WITH IT!!!!
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CRUCIAL NEWS ABOUT NICARAGUA
Like Costa Rica - phone numbers are now 8 numbers (plus the Country Code [505]). They have added a "2" in front of all land lines
& an "8" or "4" in front of cell lines (the challenge is, no one's
been able to tell me how you can tell what is a cell & what is a
land line)
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THE STORY
Do you live in Costa Rica & need a 90-day Tourist Visa Renewal Run
or just a special vacation & want a SPECIAL Beach Town fairly close
to the Costa Rica border - on the Pacific Ocean?
Try SAN JUAN DEL SUR, Nicaragua!!!!
In the past I ONLY did Bocas del Toro, Panama (10 times! [email me for
a copy of my Bocas Guide]) but in December of ‘08 - there were HORRIBLE
floods on the Caribbean Coast (December & January are the peak of
their rainy season [opposite of the rest of Costa Rica]) & the
Sixiola Bridge/entry into Panama was closed & they were
helicoptering in things to Bocas so last minute (literally the day
before) so we had to make a quick decision between another town in
Panama (David was a choice but I/Vicki NEEDED a sunny/WATER fix!!).
I had heard VERY mixed things about Nicaragua & honestly, I had NO
desire to go to Nicaragua (the main negative "impressions" I had were
around "safety" especially since I tend to do my visa runs solo but
MAINLY because I had heard that the Border Crossings could EASILY take
1-4 hour & as those that know me know - patience is NOT a virtue of
mine!!!) - but we were in a jam if we were going to honor the "We MUST
leave Costa Rica EVERY 90-Days" when we're living in Costa Rica on a
Tourist Visa & I NEEDED a water & warm weather fix as I've
NEVER lived as far from "water" as I do now.
We took a quick look around of our options when we decided on SAN JUAN
DEL SUR, Nicaragua - a quaint, TINY (about 7 blocks by 5 blocks) bay
front village located about a 40 minute taxi from the
Nicaraguan/Costa Rican border (fyi - the road is now NICE, new &
paved for those that visited ages ago!!).
So on Dec. 3-6, 2008, a group of 5 friends & strangers that needed
their 90-Day Tourist Visa Run from Costa Rica decided impulsively (the
day before) to go to SAN JUAN DEL SUR, Nicaragua.
My bud Josh played Leader/Tour Guide since he’d been there once before
(& had HORRIBLE experiences in BIG part because of his
accommodations & other situations) leading Jeannie, Jonny, Lavinia
& myself - Vicki Skinner!!
San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua is located within a bay on the Pacific
Coast. Being a bay - the water is calm (with one small wave when we
were there) BUT the water wasn't as clear as it was outside of the bay
(it didn't necessarily seem dirty brown from what I observed) & it
was on the colder side. A BIG PLUS is the Pacific Ocean outside of the
bay (we went north on a panga tour) didn't seem to have the Rip Tides
Costa Rica's Pacific Coast is known for!!!
I had a VERY challenging time finding very DETAILED info on San Juan
del Sur, Nicaragua - especially direct phone numbers for hotels hence I
started this blurb (soon it will be more of a "website"!!). Below is
just the start of my MUCH MORE DETAILED report to hopefully help you
have a WONDERFUL Trip to SAN JUAN DEL SUR, Nicaragua - now one of my
FAVORITE water destinations!!!
