2011 ended with a big finish! We explored a land we never imagined we'd visit, yet found to be amazing at every turn. Nicaragua is a land of many contrasts: colonial cities, active volcanoes, and cloud forest canopies. We visited La Isla de Ometepe, our very own \"Christmas Island\" and ended the year on the Pacific beaches surrounding San Juan del Sur. We kayaked, hiked, and even did a little surfing--on the volcano and off the shore.The three of us (Marnie, Steve, and our good friend Sam) documented our adventures and misadventures and are excited to share them with you.
Room at the Hotel Contempo Managua (Margaret Green)Our Nicaraguan adventure got off to a good, but uneventful start. After an early flight from Phoenix to Miami we met up with our great friend Sam. We had just enough time for a beer and a snack before we boarded our flight to Managua. All of our American Airlines flights were on time and the skies were clear. That's always a sign of a good trip to come. We were even able to juggle our seat assignments so that the three of us could sit together for the 2 1/2 hour flight south.
Upon arrival in Managua we were met by Roberto (Bobby) who will be our guide for the next few days and Sergio, who will be our driver. Both men are English speakers and appear very professional. We feel like we're in good hands. We've got our own van and Bobby and Sergio will accompany us to Leon and Granada, which are our first two stops.
Tonight we are at the Contempo Hotel Boutique, which is a gorgeous, modern hotel in Managua. Adventure Life, our tour company, originally had us booked at another hotel. However, that hotel is under construction and we were moved to the Contempo. What a great move! This place is gorgeous!
As soon as we checked in we headed for the restaurant where we enjoyed dinner of brie, goat cheese salad, and sea bass. Our server Carlos was full of great suggestions and quite a pro. If all of our meals in Nicaragua are like this, we'll be ecstatic. We even like the local beer, Victoria.
We'll post pictures and updates every day of our trip. For now we are having trouble staying awake after our big day of travel.
Buenos noches amigos y familia!
Our agent Jessica was very helpful with the whole process and always responded in a timely way to all of our questions.
K Van
2 days ago
Chern was very patient snd helpful.
CaBaba
3 days ago
Cruse ship was great. Fantastic food and service. Cruise itinary got changed so not what we expected, but not an major issue. Japan portion was great. Drivers/guides arranged by 80 Days were great. Hotels were mostly ok. Did not know that most hotels outside of major cities do not allow shoes to be worn in the hotel. again a minor inconvenience. Overall a great trip. Adventure Life communications were timely and much appreciated as far as changes/requests.
Peter Goff
4 days ago
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
1 week ago
Mary was very helpful. Quick to reply with helpful information and closure on arrangements.