The Colorful San Juan del Sur Nicaragua

Once a sleepy fishing village on the Pacific Ocean, San Juan del Sur has become a popular surfing mecca for young backpackers.

San Juan del Sur’s colorful clapboard houses line an expansive crescent of silvery sand. They sit in the shadow of rolling mountains, under the watchful gaze of the world’s second tallest Jesus statue.

In recent years, backpackers and surfers have changed the face of San Juan del Sur. The popular tourist destination houses an eclectic mix of locals and bleached-blonde surfers. Fancy fish restaurants line the city’s beach. Its streets abound with surf rental shops and stores selling swimwear.

A quick visit to the beachside town made it immediately apparent that Nicaragua is no longer off the beaten tourist trail. Young travelers from around the world have caught on to the country’s low prices and abundant outdoor activities and are flocking to colorful San Juan del Sur for the opportunity to catch the perfect wave.

NICARAGUA’S COLORFUL SURF TOWN

Nicaragua is no stranger to colorful towns. After all, its tourist hub is Granada—a small city famed for its brightly painted colonial buildings.

The colorful streets of San Juan del Sur are certainly eye-catching, but they are not the reason that backpackers have begun flocking to the area in waves. The combination of beach-lounging, surfing, and partying has led San Juan del Sur to become one of Nicaragua’s premier tourist hangouts.

Playa Hermosa is famous for its long expanse of sand and its perfect surfing waves. The beach lies about half an hour away from San Juan del Sur. To reach Playa Hermosa, we had to travel roughly twenty minutes down a dirt road, away from the heavily trafficked main thoroughfare.

We found Playa Hermosa to be relatively deserted and perfectly peaceful.

The area around Playa Hermosa is completely undeveloped. There are no towering resorts or luxury beachfront properties. The lack of large hotels and resorts in San Juan del Sur made the beach all the more appealing. Yet, considering the volume of tourists we had seen in San Juan del Sur, we agreed that it would only be a matter of time before developers tapped into the prime real estate.

We agreed that Playa Hermosa beach should be enjoyed while the seclusion lasts.

Our shuttle from Playa Hermosa to San Juan del Sur was scheduled to leave at 6pm–giving us just enough time to enjoy the sunset before heading back to town. We swung in our hammocks, sipped on our fruity drinks and watched the sky slowly illuminate into a palette of yellows and oranges.

 

OLIVE RIDLEY TURTLES IN SAN JUAN DEL SUR

The beaches near San Juan del Sur—including Playa Hermosa—are nesting grounds for Olive Ridley Turtles. Each year, between the months of July and December, the tiny turtles nest on the vast windswept beaches of southern Nicaragua.

Initially, we had considered joining a tour that would bring us to La Flor Nature Reserve near San Juan del Sur. In the end, however, but opted against it since we were afraid we had arrived after the prime viewing season.

As luck would have it, however, we didn’t need a tour to see the baby Olive Ridley turtles.

As the colors of the sky began to intensify, I saw a crowd of people gather at the water’s edge. I ignored the crowd at first, thinking that they had likely gathered together to take pictures of the vermillion sky.

Yet, when the crowd began to grow larger and seemingly unrelated people joined in the mix, my curiosity got the best of me.

So, I moved toward the crowd and then saw it–a baby turtle–scampering across the sand and into the sea!

The beaches around San Juan del Sur are nesting grounds for Olive Ridley turtles. The Olive Ridleys are the world’s smallest sea turtles–reaching a mere 60-70 centimeters in their adulthood. Olive Ridley turtles are known for their synchronized nesting called arribadas that occur once a year. During the arribadas, sea turtles populate beaches in the thousands and nearly blanket the sand in what is described as a spectacular sight.

We had decided to forego a tour to the famous nesting beach near San Juan del Sur at the advice of our hostel staff, since the nesting season had reached its end and most of the turtles had already left the beaches.

Thus, I could not believe my luck when we stumbled upon a baby Olive Ridley attempting to make its way out to sea for the first time.

I took out my camera and snapped a few pictures.

A few minutes later, another baby turtle came out of the woodwork and waddled out to sea. Its brothers and sisters followed soon after.

Within minutes, we were witnessing the journey of dozens of baby turtles as they braced themselves for their first foray into the ocean.

I thought about when I went to Sur, Oman in 2011 and was fortunate enough to have witnessed giant turtles nesting at night. And about what our guide had told us when he answered our questions about the baby turtles’ chances of surviving.

Less than one percent makes it to adulthood, I remember him saying.

I looked back at the turtles. They were visibly exhausted from being tossed so relentlessly by the waves and some were giving up.

I found one turtle that lay limp in the sand and guided it back to the ocean, watching its little legs tread water as it fought to join its brothers and sisters.

One by one, we attempted to guide all the struggling baby turtles to the sea.

The turtles had made it to the water, but their perilous journey to adulthood had only just begun. As with the newborn turtles that I had seen in Oman, I hoped that these baby Olive Ridleys could be counted amongst the lucky survivors and that, on day, they’d be able to return to Playa Hermosa to lay their own eggs and continue the circle of life.

_____________________________

Like This Blog Post on Visiting San Juan del Sur Nicaragua? Pin It!