Pinned
Next trip: El Salvador, Honduras, and Panama in February.
Today sorta sucked, but at least we can mark off another country on our Drink a Guinness in an Irish Pub in 32 Countries quest.
What’s that? The only Irish pub, that took 35 mins to uber to, does not have any Guinness to offer, not even in bottles? Whew boy, can’t catch a break… -S🇨🇷
Today was a crappy day of driving in heavy traffic, punctuated by getting hit by a semi truck. We’re fine (and yes, bought all the insurance) but still…not a fun endeavor in a foreign country. Might bail on our wildlife viewing plans tomorrow and just uber around the city to avoid the driving.
I am always amazed at some of the things people manage to transport while riding a motorcycle. -S🇳🇮
Our last adventure of the day was a boat ride on Lake Nicaragua among the many small islands. We were even lucky enough to find some spider monkeys. -J 🇳🇮
We enjoyed a brief carriage ride around Grenada, one of the first European cities in the Americas, founded by Cordoba in 1524. -J 🇳🇮
Masaya Volcano National Park
We were fortunate enough to be able to visit Masaya Volcano National Park, Nicaragua’s oldest and largest National Park. It was closed in March 2024, when a landslide covered the lava lake with debris, blocking the release of volcanic gases. As a result, there is a significant potential for volcanic explosion. The Park has been closed until very recently. They have reopened, but due to the explosion potential, a ranger is based at the overlook strictly enforcing the rule that groups are only permitted to spend 5 minutes there before they must leave the park.
After breakfast, we stopped in Catarina to visit the overlook to a crater lake and check out the markets. - J 🇳🇮
After standing in immigration lines for two hours, we’ve made it into Nicaragua. Here was our traditional breakfast just over the border, which provided a great view of the two volcanoes of Ometepe Island on Lake Nicaragua (Lago Cocibolca). -S 🇳🇮
Well, talking travel at happy hour has struck again!
During today’s brewery visit, we discussed altering our El Salvador itinerary next month to sneak in a visit to Panama. And, well, we’ve already changed all the bookings. 😂
Our 3 days there will finish off Central America for us both. 🙌 -S🇨🇷
We managed a quick stop at another craft brewery this afternoon, conveniently located within walking distance of our hotel. Cheers! 🍻 -S 🇨🇷
These huge fan palms in La Fortuna were so unusual. -J 🇨🇷
Today we repositioned ourselves from La Fortuna to Liberia in preparation for a very long day tour over the border into Nicaragua tomorrow. The tour is listed as being between 14-17 hours long, but it’ll allow us to visit a country we otherwise wouldn’t have attempted by ourselves. -S 🇨🇷
Driving from La Fortuna today, we finally found some wildlife! -J 🇨🇷
Coatis on the roadside.
And two different iguanas bookin’ it across the road.
¡Hola! 👋 We’re visiting Costa Rica and Nicaragua right now, so scroll down to see the latest posts. You can also follow via rss, the fediverse, or get a weekly email digest. If you’re already following along via the micro.blog timeline, you may see duplicative posts from both Scott and Jen.
Impressive vistas at Paos Volcano National Park
Back in 2016, I took Jen to Shenandoah National Park for her birthday. We stopped at all 70+ viewpoints on Skyline Drive, each of which was completely obscured by low clouds. Today felt a bit like that. Our volcano crater view was, well…less than desirable. Yep, fully socked in, zero view to be had. To be fair, we weren’t surprised. We had decided between a very early start, which might have allowed for a viewing of the volcanic crater below before the clouds blew in, and a later, more leisurely morning that might result in us getting skunked on the view.
Yesterday we ended up at the craft brewpub we had originally identified when we first arrived in town. We stopped in sometime in the afternoon but ended up staying pretty late (🥱) after befriending an American couple and watching the college football National Championship game with them. The guy was from Indiana, and we were also rooting for Indiana, so it was easy to join their table in front of the tv.
We had a pleasant time, watching and chatting travel. We tried every local craft beer they had, but were elated when we discovered a couple of well-rated Canadian imports (definitely the best we’ve had in the trip) hidden in the cooler. -S 🇨🇷
After our wet Arenal Volcano visit, we happened across a touristy bar & grill with street side seating—perfect for some people watching while grabbing a quick bite. We also sipped some local craft beer, which is apparently brewed using wood-fired stoves to brew its beer. Huh. -S🇨🇷
Our visit to Arenal Volcano National Park
Our main target here in the La Fortuna area was visiting Arenal Volcano National Park. We made an early start to get there, we hoped, before the clouds obscured views of the mountain and while more wildlife was out. The walk was generally enjoyable, even in the constant rain. But the trail itself was quite muddy at times, requiring all sorts of maneuvering to get around extended puddles and deep, slippery mud.
There’s a resident sloth in the parking lot of our cheap hotel here in La Fortuna—pretty cool! But after several attempts, I’ve yet to get a quality shot. Either she’s in shade and silhouetted against a bright cloudy sky, or I pull out my good camera and the lens immediately fogs over. Gah! -S🇨🇷
We had dinner at the local brewpub here in La Fortuna last night. Beer was ok, food was pretty good. Spent much of our time chatting with a British couple seated next to us. They’re on their third month on this trip, having just finished a few weeks of volunteering at a sea turtle sanctuary. -S🇨🇷
