Windy Season in San Juan del Sur

It’s been the windy season in San Juan del Sur. Basically since I arrived on this solo adventure, the wind has been blowing hard. Some days, and nights, are worse than others.  In general, for the 3 weeks I have been here, it has been very windy.

Dealing with extreme winds in SJDS

At the beaches, people use large rocks to hold everything down: surfboards and beach chairs included.  I have seen more than a few people running across the beach after hats and clothes. Usually they catch up to their belongings, and it offers us entertainment to watch! Until, of course, it happens to you.

And then there is the sand! It gets EVERYWHERE, including your eyes. Some days it is wise to just avoid the beach. Some days, like today, the navy closes the port because they don’t want boats on the water the wind is that strong!

Maderas Beach windy season in San Juan del Sur
You can see the rocks keeping the surfboards from blowing away on the beach
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To Do in San Juan del Sur: Visit to Parque Aventura Las Nubes

The school activity of the day today was a trip to an Adventure Park: Parque Aventura Las Nubes. It is an amazing mountain preserve, with hiking trails, beautiful views both east and west, and plant and animal life. If you’re near San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, it’s well worth a visit to Parque Aventura Las Nubes.

The VIEWS

Nubes are clouds, and you are in a park in the clouds. The elevation is pretty high – we took a 4 wheeler to get up there – and the payoff is beautiful views. On a clear day you can see the Ometepes to the east. Stunning.

Ometepe Islands view from Parque Aventura las Nubes
View eastward to the volcanoes of Ometepe Islands
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Scuba Diving in San Juan del Sur

San Juan del Sur is a surf town, but being on the ocean, you can scuba dive here too. It is definitely not common: after a few days searching, I was able to find one dive operator in town. Scuba diving in San Juan del Sur is possible! I got two dives in with Dive Nicaragua this past weekend and even used the go-pro underwater for the first time. It worked!

The dives weren’t the greatest dives I’ve ever done. The water is quite cold – less than 20. This isn’t the Caribbean, that’s for sure! The visibility also wasn’t fantastic. It really varied around, depending on the amount of sun shining and the waves kept bringing in lots of sand. All in all, it was still worth it. The dive master was very nice and the other client, a youngster from Germany, was very friendly and interesting. The weather was great and the scenery was pretty good too. One of the good aspects of diving is you can do it as a solo traveler.

The dive sites were close to the beach I visited last week, Playa Hermosa. At the first site, we dove around a statue of the Virgin Mary which was recently submerged in the water and is beginning to attract plant life. On both dives, we saw schools of fish and lots of rays and starfish. My photos aren’t the best, but they are OK.

Hermosa scuba diving in San Juan del Sur
Dive boat view
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