Steep Hill to See Christos

Shuttle to San Juan del Sur

We leave Leon by shuttle bus at 9:30am heading to San Juan del Sur (SJDS). The shuttle is filled. We stop in Granada to drop people off and pick up more people before going on to SJDS which is the beach town where we began the Nicaraguan part of this trip. The shuttle takes six hours.

We get dropped off in the centre of SJDS and grab a taxi to our accommodation. The cab driver tries asking for 300 cordobas but we tell him that’s too much. He says 250 and we say 200 which he accepts. It turns out that 200 is the going rate. Cab drivers are the same all over.

Arrival to Arcadia- our Airbnb in San Juan del Sur

It turns out that we were dropped one street below our Airbnb. We still need to climb up a steep road. I must admit that I was grumbling even though John was pulling both suitcases. Did I mention the hill is steep.

We are greeted to Arcadia by our Airbnb host Michael and taken into a stunningly gorgeous place. Being on the hill, the views are amazing and the place is decorated to perfection and well stocked with all kinds of extras. There are even eye mask pads in our bathroom.

Michael offers three rooms with private bathrooms and guests can use the open air sitting area. There is a pool and sitting area right out of our bedroom sliding doors.

We are very close to the big Jesus statue (10th largest in the world) which stands on top of the hill overlooking the town and bay. I can hear howler monkeys in the area and lots of birds.

It is a short walk downhill to the beach and main strip…easier going down than up.

We head to Timon’s on the beach for happy hour (3-6pm) drinks and appetizers. I have ceviche and fish tacos.

We watch the sunset from the beach and head back up the hill to relax with the view before calling it a night.

Chilling at the Villa in San Juan Del Sur

John chose a perfect spot for the last three nights of our Nicaragua trip.The following morning we enjoy the included breakfast at the Airbnb. We actually spend the majority of the day enjoying the gorgeous view, reading and swimming in the infinity pool. Even though we are renting just one room it feels like we have the place to ourselves.

Early Supper on the Beach

At 3pm we walk into town and go to The Beach House for an early supper. I use my firm grasp of the Spanish language to ask questions, make requests and order.

Me: Hora de Feliz?

Waiter: (big smile and he hands me the specials menu)

Me: Una Smirnoff ice por favor y Clams in white sauce y ensalada de ginger.

The waiter teaches me how to say ginger in Spanish which I promptly forget.

Me: Esta salsa es muy bien. Mas pan por favor…mmm, mmm, mmm.

Climbing up that Hill

After picking up drinks for tomorrow from a variety store (non alcoholic …mostly) we head up the hill to leave them in the fridge at our Airbnb. We continue up the steep road past our place to go to the large Jesus at the top of the hill. As already mentioned, this is the tenth largest Jesus statue in the world named the Jesus of Mercy. Sunset from the Christ statue is supposed to be spectacular.

The hill gets steeper. John is sprinting in front of me, complaining that I am going too slow, we can’t miss the sunset. Before you read the next part, click here for a 35 second video of my struggles.

Christ is merciful. I decided to hitch hike and the first car stops. I jump into the back seat of a truck with five good Samaritans from Colorado and cheerfully wave out the window as we pass John who continues up the hill as he says he wants to exercise to maintain his amazing physique.

Christ of Mercy

The view is spectacular and Jesus is truly impressive. We take pictures so that it looks like Christ is touching the moon. At this point, I will let the pictures do the talking.

Night at the Villa

The walk down the hill is much easier. And we spend the rest of the evening enjoying the night views from the villa. Christos shines brightly as he looks down upon San Juan del Sur below.