When we started planning our Central America trip way back whenever, we decided to end it by relaxing by the Pacific Ocean in Nicaragua. We had heard about the Gran Pacifica Resort west of Managua from some friends who had enjoyed its laid back atmosphere and decided that it would be a great place to finish up our time in this beautiful part of the world. We weren't disappointed. Every day ended with a beautiful sunset over the ocean and we were blessed (or cursed) with endless hot, sunny weather.
Gran Pacifica is a gated resort with many humongous 'getaway homes'. We were fortunate to have a simple Airbnb to call home.
We did have to make some real adjustments to our day to day activities list since there really wasn't that much to do other than walk the beach (north and south), hang out at the pool, and read, read, read. This might be perfect for many vacationers but we really had to work on the whole 'slowing down' thing. Lucky for us we discovered a wonderful rustic beach hostel named Mind The Gap only a kilometer down the beach in a sleepy village called San Diego. Matthew and I signed up for surfing lessons with an Aussie surfer named Donald Green and we found the atmosphere to be very welcoming as we hung out with hostellers from all over the world. Being forced to spend each day relaxing was hard at first but since the heat sucked so much energy out of us every day, it was almost the only thing we could do from late morning to early evening.
We did have to make some real adjustments to our day to day activities list since there really wasn't that much to do other than walk the beach (north and south), hang out at the pool, and read, read, read. This might be perfect for many vacationers but we really had to work on the whole 'slowing down' thing. Lucky for us we discovered a wonderful rustic beach hostel named Mind The Gap only a kilometer down the beach in a sleepy village called San Diego. Matthew and I signed up for surfing lessons with an Aussie surfer named Donald Green and we found the atmosphere to be very welcoming as we hung out with hostellers from all over the world. Being forced to spend each day relaxing was hard at first but since the heat sucked so much energy out of us every day, it was almost the only thing we could do from late morning to early evening.
And so our half year of traveling came to an end with us flying home from Managua at the end of January and resuming our normal life in southern Manitoba. It was quite an adventure and all the new friends we made along the way made it extra special. Some of these people (and places) will require a return visit one day. We're counting the days.
