Nicaragua? Why?
Updated: Jan 23, 2021
Ok, I know what you're thinking, 'Why would you go to Nicaragua?' Well, Rancho Santana, that's why!
Let me set the scene for you. Nicaragua fell in the middle of a recent three country trip to Central America. No matter what I did to arrange this portion of the vacation with ease, it just wasn't happening. Of course the best option would have been to fly into a small landing strip located 15 minutes from our hotel but, for the life of me, I couldn't make that happen with limited flight schedules. Plan B was to hire a driver and guide to accompany us from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica the four hours to Tola, Nicaragua.
Plan B it was!
We got comfortable in the cushy SUV and were pleasantly surprised to find it had working (and quick) WiFi. Both the driver and guide were fun and made the trips really enjoyable. Can you cross the land border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua by yourself? Sure you can but I was on vacation and didn't want to be subjected to bureaucratic nonsense. As it was it still took our guide, who does this several times a week and knows the officials personally, 90 minutes to get us through the process. There was a lot of standing in lines in different buildings and lots of stamping of official looking things but eventually, we were on our way again.
After a quick photo op of the country's twin volcanoes across Lake Nicaragua, we soldiered on the last 50 miles of our journey. Now you'd be thinking at this point, all this hassle had better be worth it. Well, I'm always up for a good adventure; I mean, we all need a good story to tell, us wanderers, but arriving The Inn At Rancho Santana made any misgivings, slight discomforts and border crossing processes all melt away. This place was amazing!
I booked a pied-a-terre suite. That's French for fricking awesome! Ok, not really but I don't speak French and that's what it should mean. Our suite, number seven, was big and beautiful and ocean front. The bathroom alone was three separate rooms; sink/dressing area, huge walk in shower and a separate water closet. Even the terrace was over the top comfy! I was in heaven!
A bit of exploring led to a late lunch and then, after a stop at the concierge to plan a day trip to Granada for the next day, a walk along a ridge above the Pacific was a very scenic way to end the first day.
While day two was spent in Granada our third day was spent absorbing the property in full blown vacation mode. After a lazy breakfast, we took a ride (provided every hour from the lobby of The Inn) to Playa Los Perros for guacamole prepared table side and accompanying tacos at La Taqueria. We then contemplated sand boarding at Playa Dana, because it was too late to paddle board since a swell had come in, or horseback riding. Instead we took the shuttle back to The Inn and spent the afternoon between the pool and the poolside cabana nicely chaperoned by cold lemonade with a vodka twist.
I have never seen a more beautiful sunset than the one that evening. That's saying a lot considering I live on the Pacific Ocean. Pictures don't really do it justice but here's one to provide a little taste.
Dinner at The Inn's own La Finca y el Mar served farm to table fare with a Nicaraguan flair. I loved the grilled beef tenderloin and veggies but I was hard pressed to get a decent martini. I made do nicely as versatility is the mother of a good travel experience, after all. My travel companion enjoyed smoking me on the pool table after dinner (I tell myself I let him win, wink)
A quick stop at La Tienda, the on site grocery store, provided snacks for our on bed picnic while we watched a downloaded movie.
What an awesome place. I was sad to leave but I'm sure my next stay at Rancho Santana will be for longer than 3 days. It's a very special place with very attentive staff, great food and options that offer you to be very active or very much not active. They even provide an app you can download once your reservation is confirmed to plan your stay even before your stay.
There are special little corners all over this planet. Rancho Santana is one of mine.
Please leave a comment about your love of travel, your own travel experiences or your favorite boutique hotel (or any hotel, really), I'd love to hear from you.
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