
So, a double header for our next post! We moved from Monteverde high in the mountains (19°C) by car, for a 3 hour drive to Tamarindo on the north West Pacific Coast. The first hour was down the most steep, twisty, potholed roads we have ever been on, which frequently turned into a gravelled track! My travel pills had to work overtime! In fact the gravelled tracks were less painful than the deeply potholed tarmac! The scenery was gorgeous, but I've used an internet photo because trying to take pictures was impossible.

Arriving in Tamarindo, we stepped out of the air-conditioned car into 35°C and lovely sunshine. Tamarindo is a moderately sized resort which is loved by surfers and watersports enthusiasts. Peter visited here on his Gap year placement, but he wouldn't recognise it now. It has expanded rapidly and has large hotels and resorts and upmarket restaurants, as well as surfers hostels and food vans!
We were in a lovely, small b&b called Hotel Elixir, tucked away from the bars and bustle, but just a few minutes walk from the centre. We didn't expect to see much wildlife here, but there was a dinner plate sized grassshopper on the wall!

We dropped off our bags and headed out! The beach was a lovely surprise. Yes, the centre of the beach was quite busy.... but empty compared to Bournemouth on a summer weekend!


Head for either end and the people thinned, the sand was lovely and there were pelicans and terns diving.
We found a great restaurant, La Oveja surf house, and had a delicious, very healthy meal.
3 vegetable hummus dishes with crudités, Shrimp skewer with crispy sweet potato skins, a gorgeous ceviche - marinated raw fish with salad, and a fantastic chicken Poke bowl. All delicious!

Back to the hotel for another very early night as our alarm is set for 03.55... yes you did read that right! We have a big adventure tomorrow!
We were picked up at 04.25 and driven, with 5 others, to the Nicaraguan border. There we had about 1/2 mile walk to exit Costa Rica and enter Nicaragua. Our guides came with us as far as they could and helped if there were problems. In Nicaragua we met our super guide Mario. We were driven for a typical breakfast on the shores of Lake Nicaragua.

Outside the cafe was a Calabash tree. The fruits can grow straight out of the trunk. The seeds are used for animal feed, but the dried outer skin is used to make maracas!
Lake Nicaragua is incredible. 110 miles long x 36 miles wide!! 3191 square miles in area! You would think it was the ocean. Big waves looking out to an island with a Volcano on each end!

Our first stop was San Juan del sur, on the Pacific Coast, famous for having a huge 78 feet tall statue of Christ the Redeemer, a pilgrim'schapel underneath, good views.... and lots of steps.
Next on to la mirador de Catarina which is at the top of a dormant volcano, Apoyo, containing a huge lake. It is hard to tell from the picture how high up we were!
There is another Volcano, Mombacho, in the background. The local indiginous villagers run a small market here, with some great street art. The village is famous for it's family run plant nurseries, and macramé is alive and well in Nicaragua!
We should have gone up to view the caldera of an active Volcano, Masaya, but it has been rumbling so has been closed to the public since December. This is a picture of it last year! We are glad caution prevailed!

We drove to the shores of Lake Nicaragua and to a 'speed' boat, where we whizzed off and explored the waterways that run between the 372 tiny islands in this area. It was lovely.
Some islets are still owned by indigenous families who inherited them, others have been sold and bought as holiday spots by wealthy people from many countries!The contrast between the mansions and the homes of the local people was vast. We also visited an island inhabited by a few spider monkeys, put there by a vet(?) and fed by tourists! That said, it was impressive to see them hanging by just their amazing prehensile tails.
Here a few differences in the group emerged. The 2 girls in their 20s, one French, one Greek, loved the speed, the scenery and the monkeys. The Americans, our age, just constantly asked how much each island would cost to buy or to rent, and were the only ones who fed the monkeys.... and Chris and I loved the boat ride and the scenery...... and wanted to know the names of all the birds and flowers!!!
Next into the beautiful city of Granada, founded by Spain in 1524 and containing some beautiful colonial architecture.
We had a super lunch here in a Spanish style restaurant with a beautiful central courtyard. This is a colourful city!
The Cathedral has had a few reincarnations since the first one was built in 1525. It seems to have had a knack of burning down many times, and this version was built in 1915. It was interesting to see that they are repainting the ceilings. Very much a work in progress.
Back outside, suddenly, the sky darkened and we had a huge tropical downpour of rain. Even though we got wet, it wasn't cold and we dried off quickly in time for our last visit.. to a Chocolate making shop and factory. The very jolly son of the owner explained to us the process of Chocolate making, and how it originated with the Mayas, then the Aztecs. Here, they use everything, and grind the cacao bean husks to make chocolate tea! After the explanations we were given lots of tasters...Chocolate tea - surprisingly nice, the Nicaraguan version of chocolate with Baileys - delicious, Chocolate with rum - good, a whole cacao bean with a paste made with magic mushrooms?! Finally, tastes of white, milk and dark chocolate, all accompanied with traditional Nicaraguan drinking toasts!
On the long drive back, we stopped at a guarded liquor store. Others bought rum, but Chris bought 2 cans of Tona, Nicaraguan beer. Later testing received the Chris seal of approval!
We thought our adventures were over, but a different and less welcome one was about to unfold. It highlights the perils of travel. Back at the border crossing, the French girl's passport wouldn't scan so they wouldn't let her back into Costa Rica. Customs took her back to Nicaragua. She was only 21, and they wouldn't let her friend go back to be with her. I gave her my jumper as she just had shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt on. The tour guides were great and tried to sort it out, but it wasn't possible. It was pitch dark, and raining and she must have been very scared. A guide from the tour company in Nicaragua came to find her and take her to a hotel. They hoped to resolve it when her embassy opened the next day, but she messaged to say it wasn't resolved and she couldn't get my jumper back! As we both said, we hope if it had been one of our children someone would have done the same for them. It seems as though she may have to fly home from Nicaragua. We got back at about 10.15pm, and, apart from the events at the border, for us it was an excellent day. Our impressions are that Nicaragua is a very beautiful country, but there is huge poverty, and inequality, which is the source of much unrest here, but opposition is quickly crushed! These photos were taken from inside our vehicle. The 2 workers in the baskets in the back of the van looked so young.
Our last day in Tamarindo was designated a day to chill! By me! What are things coming to?! A leisurely breakast, with delicious avocado, cream cheese and scrambled eggs toast, and then a morning walk to the estuary and back. The beach is full of beautiful shells, and even butterflies.
By 11.20 it was already 32°c, so we opted for mid morning drinks at the craft brewery. Chris is testing the Volcano IPA 6%. Verdict: Excellent! It beats morning coffee!

Back to the hotel for a break and some cooling aircon! Then we went back to La Oveja for a late lunch as we enjoyed it so much yesterday.
At 17.15, we were picked up with 9 others for a 40 minute drive along very bumpy gravelled tracks to a remote beach. Well, not very near the beach! We were still half a mile away down a narrow stony track! We got to the beach at the end of the sunset, and then it was dark. And we were on a beach watching as the stars 'came out!' Layer after layer. And 4 planets. Venus was so bright that it had a reflection on the ocean.
It was incredible, but that wasn't our mission. We were there to spot female turtles coming up the beach to lay their eggs with our licensed guide. We walked a very long way in the soft sand and then our guide found a Green turtle coming ashore. We watched from a distance, but she had not chosen a good spot. She encountered rocks, and so turned around and went back to the ocean.

Our guide told us that she will come ashore later, hopefully in a better spot. We walked again, and another guide told us that a female had gone up the beach and was digging a nest. We all had to stay away to let her dig firstly a depression about 8" deep that she fits in, and then a deep bucket like hole for the eggs. After about 30 minutes, when she was finishing the deeper hole, we were told to gather round silently. With the guide using a red torch, and a strategically placed small white light, we all watched in absolute wonder as Mamma turtle deposited about 65 eggs, each one bigger than a golf ball, into the hole. She also deposits an antiseptic slime to protect the eggs.

I even took video if you want the full experience!
Once finished, she started the onerous task of covering the hole and compacting it down. She must have been exhausted.
In 6-8 weeks the tiny turtles will force their way up through the sand and begin their perilous journey to the ocean, dodging raccoons, hermit crabs and birds. The odds are so low, that just 1 in 1000 survive to adulthood. Their sex is determined by the temperature of their incubation! Green turtle females cannot reproduce until they are over 20 years old. Our turtle will have been in the ocean for at least that long, but still returned to the beach on which she was born, to lay her eggs! Nature is astonishing, and we felt incredibly privileged to have witnessed this event.
After the long sandy beach walk, and the climb back up the hill, we were all shattered - the youngsters too! Chris and I went straight to bed and to sleep!
Another great breakfast, and our driver arrived to take us to our next destination. Do join us!

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