With just two days left of our Nicaragua visa, making a stop in the popular surf town of San Juan del Sur was the furthest thing from our minds. We could go from Granada straight through to Costa Rica, be back to zero on the visa count and be tranquilly on our way. Then we talked to a fellow non-surfer who said she ended up in San Juan a few days and unexpectedly loved it. And then she mentioned that turtles were arriving en masse on all coasts to lay eggs (known as the “arribada”) and that from San Juan there was a really nice night tour one could do. And we were sold. San Juan del Sur was, after all, on our way to Costa Rica and it seemed downright lazy to not stop by and see what all this turtle-hype was about. And so it was that we non-surfists found ourselves in yet another town dedicated to tanned, long-haired, shirtless, travelers constantly wagging their hands about in friendly greeting (you know the one, thumb and pinkie out, rest of the fingers curled in, and then a little shake, as if playing the world’s smallest tambourine).

Road to the beach

We are so glad we did. It was low season, so finding a place to stay was fairly easy, and our hostel was a five minute walk from the beach. If we hadn’t gotten our fill of amazing sunsets in Granada, San Juan del Sur made sure that we left Nicaragua with the knowledge that Nicaragua is, by fact, the country with the most amazing sunsets.

 

Our hostel had a calendar behind the front desk with the number of turtles seen at the natural reserve the previous day, the number written large in dark red permanent marker. It was encouraging to see the numbers rise, 0….3….7…15 up until the day previous when an estimated 600 Olive Ridley turtles had landed to lay their eggs. Proof enough, we booked our spots for that very evening.

Before the tour, we had a very interesting 30-minute presentation about what we would hopefully be seeing, what type of turtles lay their eggs on this particular beach and all the rules of the tour. Rules like try to stay out of the turtles’ way as they come on the beach; try to stay out of the turtles’ way as they head back to the ocean; stay at least three meters from the turtle as she digs her hole to lay her eggs; try to use the minimum amount of flashlight (tiny red lights we were lent, one per pair); rules in mind we headed out on the hour-long ride down a bumpy road in the back of a pick-up to La Flor Beach Natural Reserve.

First stop was a patio area just off the beach where eggs that had been rescued from the beach were being kept to ensure that a certain quantity of turtles would make it to the hatching stage. Each bag was carefully labeled with the date they were transferred and an estimated hatch date. As soon as the first baby turtle of a bag poked its head through to the surface, the whole bag would get transferred to the beach, and about a 100 baby turtles would make their way from the bag to the ocean. The most mature of the bags was still a good three weeks from hatching, so after a quick peek at the sand-bags we headed to the beach.

What an experience! We took few pictures because it was night, there was no moon, and our attempts at getting a nice shot proved futile, but imagine something like this but pitch black. There were so many turtles coming in and heading back out that all aforementioned rules for the tour went right out the window. Side-stepping one turtle meant getting in the way of another, and these ladies seemed to only know how to go straight, flippers hitting our ankles, and fellow turtles proving to be just a slight blip on the path to their destination. We spent about two hours walking the beach, our guide digging holes behind turtles in the act of laying their eggs (apparently they go into a sort of hypnosis for the 45 minutes they are laying 100ish eggs and do not mind being surrounded by curious tourists). A crazy, unique tour.

The total turtle count appeared on the calendar the next day: 6,500+.

The next two days we spent enjoying the beach, the waves, and the lookout over the bay. 

One of many bays along the Pacific Ocean near San Juan del Sur

Cristo de la Misericordia – 82 feet tall (25 mètres); third tallest Jesus in the world

Click here to see a short video of a sunset in San Juan del Sur

Such an incredible sendoff. Onto Costa Cara!