San Juan del Sur, Rivas and Hacienda Amayo
This morning we arrived in the Port of San Juan del Sur, a beautiful bay framed by cliffs where Nicaragua’s wealthy have chosen to build their weekend homes and some modest hotels, souvenir shops and cafes have started to appear in a country where just a decade ago tourism would have been unthinkable. Although still utterly poor, Nicaraguans are proud of their country, their history and their culture and are warm and welcoming everywhere you go. As we landed and boarded the buses that took us to the town of Rivas, a band played and inspired some of us to show our secret dancing talents. Then we went to Rivas where we visited the town’s local museum and enjoyed some folk dances performed by pre-school children. The city visit was done on “Pepanos,” modified bicycles with a seat for two in the front and the driver on the back. We stopped in the local market: cocoa, achiote, chilli peppers, tomatoes, cassava, tamales, tortillas, avocados and pitayas to name just a few of the local products lined the narrow halls of the quaint marketplace, transporting us to a time when life was simpler. Then we continued our Pepano caravan through the city and visited the colonial church of Saint Peter, had an ice cream as penitence, and boarded our buses once more.
We arrived just in time for lunch at Hacienda Amayo, on the shore of Lake Nicaragua overlooking the Madera and Concepcion Volcanoes – this latter one we were told had undergone a small eruption just a few hours before our visit…after all, Nicaragua is a land of lakes and volcanoes. Our hosts were the Barrios family, who have owned Amayo since it was granted to them by King Philip II of Spain in the 16th century. There we had a taste not only of the rich Nicaraguan cuisine, but also of the hospitality for which they are famous. Lunch was followed by a friendly match between our improvised baseball team and the local children’s team and boy can they play! We’d rather not record the results of the baseball match… after all, when one is the loser it’s better to say it was just a friendly match. We fared far better at soccer, however, and regained much of our pride, able to walk away with a victory. Our visit ended with the breaking of a traditional piñata with all players, both local and visiting, diving for sweets as we shattered it on the patio floor. We bid farewell to our hosts and drove back to the Sea Voyager in time for a lovely sunset.
This morning we arrived in the Port of San Juan del Sur, a beautiful bay framed by cliffs where Nicaragua’s wealthy have chosen to build their weekend homes and some modest hotels, souvenir shops and cafes have started to appear in a country where just a decade ago tourism would have been unthinkable. Although still utterly poor, Nicaraguans are proud of their country, their history and their culture and are warm and welcoming everywhere you go. As we landed and boarded the buses that took us to the town of Rivas, a band played and inspired some of us to show our secret dancing talents. Then we went to Rivas where we visited the town’s local museum and enjoyed some folk dances performed by pre-school children. The city visit was done on “Pepanos,” modified bicycles with a seat for two in the front and the driver on the back. We stopped in the local market: cocoa, achiote, chilli peppers, tomatoes, cassava, tamales, tortillas, avocados and pitayas to name just a few of the local products lined the narrow halls of the quaint marketplace, transporting us to a time when life was simpler. Then we continued our Pepano caravan through the city and visited the colonial church of Saint Peter, had an ice cream as penitence, and boarded our buses once more.
We arrived just in time for lunch at Hacienda Amayo, on the shore of Lake Nicaragua overlooking the Madera and Concepcion Volcanoes – this latter one we were told had undergone a small eruption just a few hours before our visit…after all, Nicaragua is a land of lakes and volcanoes. Our hosts were the Barrios family, who have owned Amayo since it was granted to them by King Philip II of Spain in the 16th century. There we had a taste not only of the rich Nicaraguan cuisine, but also of the hospitality for which they are famous. Lunch was followed by a friendly match between our improvised baseball team and the local children’s team and boy can they play! We’d rather not record the results of the baseball match… after all, when one is the loser it’s better to say it was just a friendly match. We fared far better at soccer, however, and regained much of our pride, able to walk away with a victory. Our visit ended with the breaking of a traditional piñata with all players, both local and visiting, diving for sweets as we shattered it on the patio floor. We bid farewell to our hosts and drove back to the Sea Voyager in time for a lovely sunset.
