Nicaragua Day 3 - San Juan del Sur, Orion Restaurant

(Costa Rica day 57)

This was one of those days characterized most by what you eat.

Breakfast was again an amazing fruit platter for me. I couldn’t get enough.

And then we ran to the ´shuttle´ really more of a taxi, since there was no one else, to San Juan del Sur. A town and beach that one of Mari’s friend’s had recommended.

The thing about towns built almost entirely around the tourist trade, is that they tend to be sad empty affairs during the low season. San Juan del Sur, reminded me of this type of town and was kind of eerie in its desertedness. It made me think of how tourism cuts through many towns like this in Tropical areas, acting as a double edged sword that both infuses them with much needed money, but at the same time kills a lot of the individuality they once possessed.

We spent some time at the beach. The waves were great, the two creepy guys who kept passing by and hitting on me were not. You know, it really isn’t appealing or flattering when a guy leers at you on the beach and without a hello suggests you going back to his place. I told them to keep walking.

On the bright side I found an amazing pair of flow beach/island pants while we were walking around town afterwards.

Lunch was a full-fledged seafood fest. We all ordered something with seafood because well we were there and it was cheaper and well we were right beside the ocean. When our food arrived it was hard to believe the size of the seafood and the amount. Everything seemed magnified, and the fish head in Hiro’s soup kept staring at me.

The evening proved to be much more rewarding than the day.

For me it began with a refreshing swim in the hotel pool, as I watched the sunset overhead. The colours were quite spectacular, and array of oranges and purples, and the garden where the hotel pool was beautifully landscaped with hibiscus and other tropical plants I can’t quite identify. It was perfectly lazy and perhaps not the most exciting thing I could have been doing with two hours in a foreign country, but it was amazing and relaxing and I wouldn’t trade it all the same. I think when I return to Canada, I am going to miss these tranquil times the most, time and clearness of thought to read, write, paint or just relax without the constant feeling that I need to be doing something, or going somewhere.

We went to Jardin de Orion, a French restaurant at the edge of town for dinner, it is only open a couple days a week. The whole restaurant was a gardens and patios, it felt like we had made it to France some how. There were paintings done by an artist (who I later found out was from Germany) on the walls. They were interesting and had a stain glass sort of design.

The food was great. I had a lamb done in prune sauce, and was thrilled to discover that the sauce was think and the meat had actually been marinated. Not that I don’t like Central American food, but it does tend to consist of more readily prepared items.

The wine was a Chardoney Sauvignon, recommended by the obviously French owner of the restaurant.

More important than the entrée or wine, was the desert, which we all ordered for once. I had chocolate cakes, made with real dark chocolate sitting in a warm lime sauce. If we had had any room left we would have ordered more.