San Juan - Part 2

We ended up staying two more days in San Juan del Sur. One day we hiked down the beach and climbed up the bluffs to a giant Jesus statue that overlooks the bay and the town. To get to the statue from the beach we took the back way. We walked out on the rocks and tucked in among the cliffs was a decrepit stairway falling off the bluff. We climbed up the stairs and followed a forgotten walkway up to the statue. It was an eerie setting of a place that had been rapidly prepared for development and then forgotten. The walkway was half buried under dirt and leaves and the road looked unused. There were plateaus formed from the empty lots that never sold. And then there were a few enormous mansions built on the hillside forming a strange dichotomy among the abandonment of the majority of the lots.

The northern part of the beach and the decaying staircase.

Nature slowly reclaiming what man has built.

The statue was impressive but not as impressive as the viewpoint offered by the overlook. You could see the bay, the town, and the massive cruise ship anchored offshore with the tenders shuttling passengers ashore. The wind was howling at that height, making it difficult to talk, hear, and even walk at times. We stayed at the top for about half an hour taking it all in and then headed down out of the wind.

Wyatt at the Jesus overlook.

San Juan from above looking southeast.

Jesus

The next day I tried to find our family friend Carmen. I found out where her house was and went to pay her a visit. She wasn't home but I talked to her daughter who remembered me and she told me that Carmen was at the hospital. She said Carmen would be returning either that afternoon or the next morning. Unfortunately, we were leaving the next morning so I never got to see her.

The church at San Juan.

The market building. This is where we got all our fresh fruits and veggies. Currently they are hand digging new water lines. It is quite the project with the streets flooding every once in awhile.

Our last evening there, we climbed up the bluffs on the southern side of San Juan. We found an old fort of some kind and a lighthouse. It was a very hot and dry hike but also very beautiful. On the way back down we walked through town and I took some pictures of the places I remembered from when I was there 15 years ago.

San Juan from above looking north with the church on the right hand side.

The very hot and dry hike.

An old ruin at the top of the bluffs.

The creepy old lighthouse.

San Juan has changed a lot. For better or for worse, it is now one of the main destinations for both foreigners and locals to visit in Nicaragua. It is very much a different town from the sleepy fishing village that I visited as a child. I found that although it was a different town, San Juan was still a charming place to visit. I hope that with all the increased attention it does not lose that charm.

The post office.

Horses are still very common on the streets here.

The street I used to live on back in 1999.

My old house.

Till later,
Chet