Nicaragua holds a very special place in my heart as it is where my husband (and the little taquero’s founder and cook) dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him. Standing in the warm sun on a sweeping Pacific Coast beach with not a soul in sight, it really was the most amazing and fitting setting. And to celebrate the occasion? Well there was a little beach bar serving cold beers just a few hundred yards away. We sat drinking bottles of Toña looking out at the waves letting the enormity of what had just happened settle in. The date was the 1st of April 2014 – that’s right April Fools’ Day! Thankfully neither of us was aware of the date meaning that the idea it was a wind up never entered my mind.
Sentimental stories aside however, Nicaragua is one of my favourite countries on earth and I want to give you a little insight as to why so that perhaps you will venture there one day and experience it for yourself.

Here are the highlights from our trip:

San Juan Del Sur was our first stop and this small lively town on the Pacific Coast was right up our street. Surf shops on every corner, great hostels, bars with live music and a fantastic yoga school (check out Zen Yoga Nicaragua). The town is colourful and pretty but it is worth noting that the beach here is not much to write home about. For the surf and the scenic views, you need to head out of the town to the beaches a little further north or south. Playa Maderas is just a 10 minute drive away, has its own hostel right on the beach and a restaurant boasting the ‘Best Fish Tacos in Nicaragua’. We tried them pretty much daily and yep, they were the best we tasted in Nicaragua, if not Central America! Apart from the restaurant and hostel, there is nothing on the beach meaning it is unspoilt and a perfect little surf spot.

blog best fish tacos surfing nicaragua
Next up was Ometepe, an island formed by 2 volcanoes in the middle of giant Lake Nicaragua. We found it to be pretty peaceful (there wasn’t much occurring outside our guesthouse after dark) and took this excuse to explore properly by day. We hired quad bikes as many of the roads are in extremely poor condition and I literally don’t think you could traverse them in any other way! It wasn’t cheap but it was 100% worth it. We whizzed and bumped our way across the island, hopping off for food in deserted restaurants and to do a hike to a stunning waterfall.

kerry quad bike ometepe ometepe
Granada was our next stop and although very touristy, we absolutely loved it. It’s packed with brightly coloured and grand colonial buildings and amazing bars and restaurants. If you want to do upmarket dining in Nicaragua, then this is your place. Similarly, if you want to get very drunk on cheap cocktails, this is also your place!

granada cathedral Granada nicaragua
Another highlight has to be the week we spent on the Corn Islands. We flew on a tiny plane from Managua to these Caribbean islands and it literally felt like we had changed country. The scenery, the culture and the food were all different. Picture white sand, turquoise waters and palm trees and yep, I do realise that I have just described a postcard or holiday brochure but it was like stepping into one. We snorkelled, stand up paddled boarded, kayaked, ate lobster and generally had a lovely little Caribbean time.

corn islands beach corn islands
We managed to pack even more into our time in this amazing country however these are the highlights I feel cannot be missed. That said, Leon is definitely worth a visit so that you can volcano board (we couldn’t as the volcanoes were active at the time), visit the Flor de Caña rum distillery and discover a more edgy, hipster version of Granada. When we were there is was oppressively hot so it didn’t get a fair chance from us but other travellers we spoke to said it was one of their favourite spots.
I hope that in this blog I have managed to convey even just a hint of how great this country is. I assure you that even if you don’t get proposed to on a day designated for practical jokes, Nicaragua will not disappoint. If you want or need any additional hints or tips about visiting the country, please drop me a line (at the little taqueria) and I will be more than happy to help.

Kerry Hall
the little taquero