Category: San Juan del Sur

A Quick Tour of Rivas, Nicaragua – It’s All I Needed

The school took us on a field trip to Rivas. I try to do as many of the activities offered as possible to keep myself busy. When there was an opportunity to do a quick tour of Rivas, Nicaragua, I took it.

Rivas is the closest big town, between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean, and has a population of just under 50,000. Compared to San Juan del Sur, it’s HUGE.

About Rivas

Rivas doesn’t get a lot of tourists. It’s mainly a stopping off point to switch local buses from San Juan del Sur to Ometepe, Granada, and Managua. We took the local bus, aka “chicken bus” and stayed in Rivas.

bus
Our group from school on the bus, before it filled up

Taking the Chicken Bus to Rivas

The chicken bus cost 17 cordobas, which is about 60 cents US. We got there early so we could have seats. Glad we did because the bus left before 8am, was packed the whole way, and took more than an hour with all the stops to pick up and drop off. The return trip was a little better but not much!

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Getting Some Exercise in San Juan del Sur

Besides walking on the beach, swimming, surfing, scuba diving, and climbing up the many hills around town, there are a few other ways to get a workout in San Juan del Sur. Here’s how I am getting exercise in San Juan del Sur.

Zen Yoga

The town has a lovely space to practice yoga, tucked away downtown just past the park.  A drop in class only costs $10 and everything is in English. Just show up a few minutes beforehand and you’re good to go. They even supply mats for those, like me, who like to travel light.

Zen Yoga’s classroom is on the second floor in an open space, so it is always full of fresh air and wind – like now, the windy season!

Zen Yoga exercise in San Juan del Sur

Exterior of Zen Yoga in San Juan del Sur
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First World Problems in Nicaragua

It’s been a pretty good life for me the past 2+ weeks- aside from really crap hotel management in Managua, of course! But, I do have a couple of issues with the way things work (or don’t) in Nicaragua. Before I vent, please know I am aware these are first world problems in Nicaragua and not a big deal, but let me vent!

Schedules that are not followed

Caso Oro Shuttles
The shuttle “schedule”

I am talking to you Casa Oro and other businesses in San Juan del Sur that claim to run daily shuttles to the beach! This may be a ridiculous complaint but other travelers to SJDS need to know. Lonely Planet and every other guide seems to believe that Casa Oro makes multiple daily trips to different beaches. They don’t. It’s a bait and switch. You show up for the 1030am shuttle to Remanso or 11am to Hermosa and they say “no. We no going there” and offer you the Maderas shuttle. Every time. OK this has has happened to me 3 times, so maybe that’s not a scientific sample but look who’s president of the U.S. now.

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