Beach, San Juan del Sur

I've been hanging out with my parents this week, living the other side of Nicaragua... beach tourism! While it's been quite a shock to the system leaving behind the barrio for a luxurious resort in San Juan del Sur, I can't say I'm not enjoying it. We've been staying at this place called Pelican Eyes, up on a hill in the San Juan del Sur bay, with the most amazing view of the sunset. In the mornings, we've visited two different beaches, both completely isolated. Yesterday was Playa Remanso. We had to park and walk about a kilometer down a little dirt road to access the beach, and when we got there, we had our own private beach, white sand rippled with black, the tide almost completely out, baring volcanic rocks in the surf. We found a little shade by the stratified rock cliffs, and I set out to swim in the blue-green water. It was freezing but amazing. Dad and I took a walk around the cliff to the other side, where we could see the next beach over. The rocks were remnants of some ancient lavaflow, very flat, and there were little tidepools in the spots where the rocks had been eroded away, breeding algae and tadpoles. The beach we visited today was super windy, blowing sand in our faces and burning our legs. I jumped in the water twice, and the wind blew the spray from the waves back in my face. We walked again on the rocks, which were twisted and eroded away like a Salvador Dali painting, some like moon rocks. Dad and I found a cove that sheltered little sea urchin/anemones in the holes in the rocks. It smelled like salt and fish life. After swimming in the pool here that looks out over the bay, we walked into town for a fish dinner at sunset. I got to try the fish chowder that I've been hearing about for so long, while getting sand blown in my face from the strong winds on the beach. Tomorrow it's back to Managua, and I'll send some pictures along next week!