Blatts in Nicaragua: San Juan del Sur and Playa Marsella

I'd hate to tell you the name of our fantastic, oceanfront hotel that's really reasonable and has a great, friendly staff.  If I did, you'd probably really want to go there, and then the prices will go up, and it will be too crowded for us to get a room.  But I'm feeling generous today, and it really is amazing-- so here it is in whispered font:  Marsella Beach Front.      There, I've done it, and now it'll be super popular with all the millions of blog readers out there.

From our porch, we watercolor painted, and watched the sunset.  We played in the ocean in the warm, calm waters and splashed in the little pool and played billiards for hours.


At breakfast, we sat on the high balcony of the restaurant, watching the waves on one side, and the howler monkeys playing at eye level on the other.  Paradise found in Nicaragua!

San Juan del Sur itself didn't compare to the quiet bay at Marsella.  We did enjoy the shwarma and big-ass burrito at Cha Cha Cha, an ex-pat establishment.

But mostly, in San Juan del Sur, we enjoyed hanging out with Pedro and Marina, who we'd also seen on Ometepe.  The pair was from Argentina, and we enjoyed speaking Spanish and relaxing in the warm, evening air accompanied by the sound of the waves.

They'd been traveling for a year and a half in a psychedelic painted camper van, and their cheerful spirit of adventure was invigorating.  Argentinian Marina has a beautiful singing voice (as does our Marina), and we all sang while she played guitar to Wonderwall and some Beatles tunes.