Exploring Nicaragua
In March I took a quick one week trip to Nicaragua to escape the cold and snowy Montreal weather. (Yup that’s right, Montreal still gets snow storms in March!)
It was a bit of a debate of where to go with only one week, but I knew I wanted somewhere relatively near by, somewhere I’ve never been before, and somewhere with an easy flight since I only had one week. After finding a direct flight from Montreal at a good price I settled on Nicaragua. I’ve traveled to other Countries in Central America before, including Nicaragua’s neighbour Costa Rica, so I was excited to explore a new place and see what this beautiful Country had to offer.
Well, Nicaragua, you definitely did not disappoint!
The whole week was go go go. The trip started off on Little Corn Island, which if you want to learn more about I have a whole post on here. But let me just quickly say how beautiful this little tropical paradise was! We spent 3 nights on little corn island, which was definitely not enough. If I were to go back I’d devote a week to this special little island.
After our quick few days on Little Corn, it was back to the mainland. We flew into Managua and took a taxi over to the West Coast of the Island. The first stop was Aqua wellness resort. The taxi’s in Nicaragua aren’t particularly cheap, so make sure to budget accordingly if you’re traveling around the Country. We negotiated a rate of $80USD for the taxi from Managua Airport to Aqua wellness. (about a 2-2 1/2 hours drive)
During March the West Coast of Nicaragua is very dry, so don’t except to have lush tropical rainforests. The trees are pretty bare and it almost looks a bit like fall, though temperatures are above 30 C. degrees! I admit I love lush tropical greenery, but the dry season offers it’s own beauty, and you have the benefit of guaranteed sunny weather every day!
Aqua wellness
We stayed at Aqua wellness resort for 3 nights in a little tree-house bungalow. The room was quaint and comfortable and surrounded by forests. The view of the sunset from our balcony was spectacular, and the experience was made even more special to sit peacefully alongside howler monkeys in the trees-who also seemed to be memorized by the sunset! (They’d come around every evening around 5pm)
We didn’t leave Aqua for the duration of our stay, but found plenty of activities to do right there. My favourite was the morning yoga classes on an open yoga deck facing the ocean. The yoga teachers were great and friendly, and taught classes challenging enough to make you feel like you got in a good workout! Other activities included paddle boarding, snorkeling, surfing, and lounging by the beach.
Now, I’ve saved the best for last with this stop. We were lucky enough to be traveling during the few days of the new moon, which is the absolute best time of month to see the stars. Living in a city with bright lights, clouds, and pollution, it’s a rare treat to be able to see such vibrant stars scattered across the skies. Walk along the beach strip at night and this is the view you will see. Stars for miles, planets, and the milky way.
To make these evenings on the beach even more special we were so excited to discover the beach waters had bioluminescence (which is only in certain areas where a special type of plankton is). This was a bucket list moment for me. The first evening we simply just watched the beautiful sparkles in the waves as they crashed onto shore. The second night, we got a little more adventurous and jumped into the water to witness the reaction of movement in the bioluminescent waters. Splashing my arms and legs around I could see my whole body light up with glittering stars in the waters. It felt like being in Avatar’s Pandora.
Mukul resort
Our last stop on the trip was only a 15 minute drive away from aqua, in a different ocean bay. We wanted to end with a relaxing (yet still busy) day. We arrived at Mukul resort in the morning to take advantage of the day as much as possible. Though it was dry season, Mukul planted several tropical plants and trees around the property, so it felt a bit more lush and a bit less like a desert. Our room overlooked the most beautiful view of the ocean bay. Here we did not have monkey’s for neighbours, but several birds who would join me on the balcony for some self-practice yoga and meditation.
After a relaxing morning exploring the property and enjoying some smoothies by the pool, we booked a lunch picnic on Mukul’s private beach. Here we were able to chose from several different menus. We had some toasts with olive tapenade, sushi, quinoa salads, sandwiches, and fruit. It was such a beautiful and enjoyable experience to have a picnic on the beach. (Though be careful not to get sand in your food!) We had an attendant from the hotel there with us, Carlos, who we invited to sit down to chat with and learn some more about Nicaraguan culture. We had some good laughs showing Carlos our most recent snow storm back in Montreal!
The afternoon was spent at the spa where we had a one-hour deep tissue massage treatment. Now, I haven’t been to that many spas in my life, but this definitely has to be one of the most beautiful spas out there! There are six different spa rooms, all with their own special theme. We were in the crystal temple. We indulged in a citrus bath before the massage, which was so invigorating! The massage itself was amazing, and helped me work out some of those nasty knots in my shoulders. (which get really tight from a little too much yoga and weight lifting) After the therapy we had some time to take advantage of the crystal temple, and watch the sunset from an outdoor hot tub right outside the room. Definitely a must if your looking for the perfect spa experience!
Our evening ended with a BBQ party on the beach, with life music, and bonfires. It made for the perfect way to end our short & sweet 7 days in Nicaragua.
Nicaragua’s food
Well of course I have to include some information on what to eat in Nicaragua-I am a food blogger after all!
Nicaragua is not particularly known for their cuisine, but you can definitely find some delicious eats! Now, I’m not a Seafood person, but if you are, Nicaragua has fresh & delicious seafood. Ben enjoyed some fried snapper, lobster, and grilled shrimps that he said to be amazing!
Plantains and Gallo Pinto are staples in Nicaragua, so I enjoyed these for many meals. Most places you can also find some delicious smoothies, salads, and fresh fruits. Passion fruits were in season during our time here so I indulged in plenty of fresh passionfruit juices & smoothies. If your heading to Nicaragua in November then be sure to indulge in plenty of pink dragon fruit goodies!