We pick up the rental car bright and early and head straight for shopping. That's right - first day in Central America and I'm dragging Ian to a local market. I LOVE local markets - I could probably spend a lifetime wandering around them. Here we are in the famous Masaya market which lives up to its name, though I'm a little disappointed by most of the handicrafts. I'm a sucker for textiles and what Nicaragua has doesn't hold a candle to Guatemala. However ... they have ceramics ... amazing ceramics. Ian quickly gets overwhelmed, so I sit him down for a licuado made of copious fruit that one can only find here. He seems happy again. We're off again - this time on the short drive to Granada. We've already figured out that Ian is the driver and I am the navigator. This is mostly due to the fact that I can't drive a manual transmission very well (at all). We soon figure out that even though I'm fluent in Spanish, I also can't figure out maps in Nicaragua. So basically, Ian drives a certain direction based on his gut feeling. We drive this way for the rest of the trip while in cities and it ends up working quite well. We pull into Granada, about 30 minutes from Masaya, and are quickly lost in the maze of tiny one-way streets. That is, until Ian manages to park us directly in front of our hotel - Hotel La Bocona. This hotel has some of the best reviews on Trip Advisor and I'm here to check it out. Let me just say that it 100% lives up to the reviews: perfect location, helpful staff, beautiful historic rooms, immaculate. It's HOT here and we are in the tranquil pool within 10 minutes of arrival. Tonight, we're out and about - trying to get a feel for the town. It reminds me of a small, rundown Antigua, Guatemala. We have dinner at Tercer Ojo, which is a great funky restaurant downtown. The food is so good, we will eat here again and see some fabulous live guitar playing.
Adventure Life has been an extraordinary travel resource for us over the years and today was no exception. Our River Cruise booking was handled by Jess (who has been our personal trip planner for several years) the same day as our inquiry. Suggestions were given for cabin choice and pre-trip options (that were not shown on the cruise line's website) like airport transfers and prepaid gratuities. Trip insurance recommendations followed and we were assigned a travel co-ordinator till the end of the tour. All we have to do is show up! Great service from friendly folks.
APtravelwell
1 day ago
My representative Kevin was very responsive generally and in crafting our itinerary to our specific priorities.
Rocco Labella
1 day ago
Although there was a lot of paper work, I received help and guidance when I needed it.
Donna Kirby
2 days ago
Our travel was flawless! The rider pickup (airport, hotel, ship) was seamless. Jane's recommendation for Emerald Cruise Sakara was everything I wanted but the experience was soooo much more. Adventure Life took care of each and every detail and this was the easiest of all my travels.
Anne Petty
3 days ago
Follow up was effective any questions were answered in a timely manner