San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

I was excited for San Juan del Sur! It had been on my "to visit" list for a couple of years and it was a big reason why I wanted to go to Nicarauga. It's become a big party town, and the good beaches are a bit outside of town, so I had heard some mixed reviews. But I thought the town area had character and the beaches easy enough to get to. 

I walked up to our hostel (which was a very steep road) with an awesome group of Aussie boys who really made my trip there. They were down to earth and really fun, but not ridiculously crazy (which is key since most of the hostels really encourage a party scene). 

Spencer, myself, Tim and Cameron

Our hostel was up on a hill and a bit isolated, but it had an awesome vibe and was nice with a great pool, cool grounds and two pet monkeys. 

To encourage a social environment  there were games you had to play no matter what time of day it was. You could never say T-E-N or M-I-N-E. If you did, that was diez push-ups. There was also "what are the chances", a dare style game. If you lost that one, you had to do the dare you asked. 

The first afternoon we explored town, and had some drinks on the water for happy hour.

The first full day we where there, we went to playa Madeiras and played in the waves. It's a beach about 20 minutes away. The beach in town isn't great, so everyone travels 20-45 minutes to the more isolated nearby beaches. 

And then it was Sunday Funday. Two of the hostels created an event where you party all day, and in the afternoon you go to three different pool parties. They charge an entrance fee (of $30 which is ridiculous) and all you get is a t-shirt. It's become a big thing and backpackers plan around it - it's a must stop on the Central American backpacker trail. 

The drinking started when you woke up - we managed to hold off until about 11. Our hostel had a pre-party. There was beer pong and flip cup games, funnels and lots of shot guns and games of what are the chances. The pre-party was possibly the best part. 

The first pool party was right on the beach and had a beautiful setting. The whole scene really reminded me of a Backpackers' Vegas pool party. More drinking and dancing ensued. Right around sunset we headed back up the hill for the next party. We were right next to our hostel and on hour 10 so we didn't make it to party #3 - very common!! Ha

Monday I headed to Playa Hermosa for the day for some recovery at the beach. The hostel cooked an amazing family roast for dinner and it was a pretty chill night. 

even the pet monkey, Buzz, wanted the roast dinner

The next day I went on a walk up to the Jesus statue that overlooked the town. It offered a great view of the inlet. 

Then I was off to end my trip with more beach time, and surfing in Nicaragua. 

Leon, Nicaragua

After two full days of bus travel (much more than scheduled), I made it to my first city in Nicaragua. I had heard good things about Leon, but I was underwhelmed. Maybe I needed more time there, but I felt it lacked unique character. 

After arriving late at night, I decided to take it easy and plan a full day for the next morning.

Leon is known for it's University scene and Volcano boarding. So the first thing I did was book a volcano tour where you hike up the Cerro Negro volcano and sled down it. 

The hike up was really pretty, but also more of a trek than I expected. It was super windy which made it more difficult. But the views were great - you could see three surrounding volcanos. 

The sledding was really less of a sled and really a 1 foot x 3 foot piece of plywood with a rope a attached. 

before the sled down…my super cool protective gear

The volcano area we went down looked really steep, but it wasn't so bad once you got started. The sand can both speed you up or slow you down depending on your weight, angle and balance. It was hard to get the hang of it first. Everyone I talked to agreed that we wished we could have done it twice so you could really go fast the second time. If only there wasn't that hike! 

Afterwards I joined some new friends for beers in the main square. Then I went to visit the main cathedral in Leon. The outside was under construction and the inside wasn't impressive either.  

But you are able to go up and walk on the domes. It was so pretty up there! Amazing views, and very cool to walk around on. Churches aren't my favorite tour stop, but this one was really impressive.

That night I went out to Bigfoot Hostel and a dance club for a few hours. I decided that I didn't need another day in Leon, and decided to head to the beach areas the next morning. I wasn't looking forward to more time in a vehicle, but I'm glad I headed down because I met awesome people on my bus! 

Flores, Guatemala & the Tikal Ruins

Flores is small town positioned in the northeast of Guatemala. It's a common stop over on the way North to Mexico or South from Belize. It's a popular stop over because of the nearby Tikal ruins. 

The town is very small, probably 1 square mile at best. We walked around it to find a restaurant for an early dinner when I arrived, and then when I went to explore the next morning, I realized I had already seen everything.

Flores is situated on a big lake and is actually an island. It's buildings are colorful, but there is little to see. There is a central square with a church, but it wasn't unique or stunning. For how small it is, there are a bunch of restaurants and hotels given its safe reputation and proximity to the Tikal ruins.

The lake is nice and would allow for a relaxing day canoeing. But most people pass through quickly to see Tikal and catch a bus to the next big city. And that's exactly what I did.

The Tikal ruins are huge - the ancient city is one of the biggest and very expansive, and the temples are very tall, towering over the jungle canopy. In addition to the ruins, we saw a lot of animals on our tour - birds, monkeys, tarantulas, and the white board coati, which is like a raccoon.

To see Tikal, most go for sunrise or sunset tours to miss the heat and get an extra special view of the ruins towering over the canopy. I opted for the sunset tour since the forecast for the morning was rainy and cloudy. I also didn't have to wake up at 3 am, which was nice. But it was cloudy in the evening too and we didn't get much of a sunset. And the sunset we did get wasn't over the ruins, which wasn't mentioned prior. So depending on the time of year, if the weather was right, I would rough it out for the sunrise for a better view.

The ruins had been on my list to see since I visited Guatemala in 2014 and couldn't fit them in. They made for a nice stop over on my way to Nicaragua.

Ambergris Caye, Belize

Belize, especially Ambergris Caye, has a lot to offer for a vacation - amazing diving in crystal clear water, fun bars and delicious food. There, local (poor) culture and western tourism is truly intertwined. But the best part of Belize had to be the people.

In all my travels I've never met a nicer or more welcoming community. The Belizeans are a mix of nationalities, with ancestory from surrounding countries (Guatemala and Mexico), Mayans, and slavery backgrounds from the time of British colonization. Everyone of the Belizeans we met was so kind, friendly and talkative. Every bartender became a friend, each dive master was our new buddy while walking down the street, and Yolanda at the corner food stand didn't just cook for us, we shared our food together.

Belize also has a big ex-pat community. We had many interesting conversations, were invited to pot lucks, and quite possibly found a group of people that could out drink the old school Islanders.

The weather wasn't the best during our trip. There was a hurricane sitting off the coast of Mexico, so we had some rain, a lot of overcast days, and it was always very windy. But we didn't let that slow us down and we went along as planned with most of the outdoor activities. 

The first day, we rented bikes to explore the island. We got caught in a huge rain downpour and ended up hanging out under the porch of a grocery store for a good 40 minutes with other bikers and golf cart riders. 

While cars are allowed on the island, most people get around on golf carts or bikes. After one day of bikes, we decided to get a golf cart. Most of our time was then spend riding around on the golf cart, exploring the island and stopping at places for meals or drinks. All of the restaurants have such character and the food was some of the best I've ever had. 

Then of course there was the snorkeling and diving. For our first trip we went to the famous Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley. At the first stop, while my Dad and Jackie snorkeled, I scuba dived along the inner reef. I got to swim right next to a sea turtle and watch him eat, see a green moray eel pop out of his hiding spot, plus swim along awesome coral and go in a great little cave swim through. At Shark Ray Alley, we all just jumped in the shallow water to swim with the sting rays and nurse sharks. The sharks were used to the people and it wasn't hard to touch them, or even hold them. 

Our next adventure was a fishing and snorkel trip. Jackie and I went out fishing the inner reef areas along the North end of the island. We caught mostly yellow snappers. Then we stopped at Mexico Rocks for an awesome snorkel. We saw SO much sea life - sharks, three turtles, mana rays, and many fish. It was the best array of sea life - even better than my dives. 

My last dive was by myself, at the outer reef in about 60 foot water. It was great, but the visibility wasn't the best because of all the rain and wind. The previous day's dive was actually cancelled. The reef runs along the whole length of the Caye, so there are only about 4 cut throughs to get to the other side of it for the deeper water. And the cut throughs are really rough and have huge waves. The coral was beautiful and we saw a good variety of fish plus some nurse sharks. One shark had a huge fishing hook caught in his mouth, and the dive master caught him and pulled it out. That was really great! 

Belize was a very hard place to leave. It was a favorite of all my travels in the past year. Having my Dad and sister with me was great. And Belize was a perfect place for us with water activities, culture and of course bars and good food. We definitely have plans to go back!

Recommended Restaurants & Bars:

• Palapa - The owners are from Tampa and have family on Anna Maria Island. The place is super fun with a great dive bar feel on the island. There are also huge jenga games on the deck and inter tubes to float on in the water while drinking a beer. I loved their watermelon and rum drinks. 

• Blue Water Grill - super fresh seafood and Carribbean flavors, right on the water

• El Fogon - True local Belize food

• Yolanda's - the Yellow food stand on the last street before the bridge on the south side. She is SO sweet and cooked all our fish we caught in a delicious coconut broth. she didn't want to charge us because we shared our food with her. She has the best local plates.  

• Wayo's - right by our condo, so always our last stop for a drink. Great bartender! 
• Aji Tapa Bar - super cool jungle feel, great water views, and good small plates. The grounds and vibe here make it, but the food is also tasty.

• Pirate's Treasure - Amazing Lionfish dishes! Definitely a top 3 dish I've ever had.  
• The last food stall in the main square - only open at night, this lady has amazing flavors in her tacos and it was super cheap.