Aloha Everyone,
Nicaragua is known for volcanoes, lakes and beaches. A tender transported us to shore. The port of San Juan del Sur are dotted with hilly terrain and surrounding narrow beaches.
Our negotiation with the procurer of taxi services was interesting. As usual, the tour operators try to get what NCL sponsored tours charge. The man who approached us started at $120 for the two of us emphasizing that we would be going in a private car. Things shifted to our favor when a competitor walked over and offered $50 per couple. That was the price J.J. agreed to pay the driver plus 10% service fee to the procurer.
Our driver, Generio, was agreeable but rather reticent as he only spoke Spanish. The main road we drove to Lake Nicaragua was paved and well maintained and void of trash. The fresh water lake is one of the highlights for day trippers. Conception, the bigger of the two volcanoes and Madera, the smaller one, are inactive. This is a “must” souvenir photo stop. A bus load of passengers from our cruise ship were also taking turns taking photos.
The city of Rivas is an old colonial city with an attractive cathedral. J.J. and I skipped the central market and other shopping stops. Instead, we went to a restaurant to access WiFi before returning to our ship.
Debbie and Paul from Michigan were our table mates for this evening. Both are retired high school teachers. Debbie taught Spanish and Paul taught social studies and he coached high school baseball. They talked about the joys and challenges of teaching.
Aloha -- Cathi
