A twenty-minute walk from my house along the Chocolata Road is one of my new favorite places.
Well, not exactly new in that I have always loved Nacascolo Bay, the bay immediately to the north of San Juan del Sur’s bay.
But before, it was wild and undeveloped and I loved it for being wild and undeveloped, the green jungle extending all the way to the sea.
Whenever we gazed down upon it during our daily hikes to the Cristo statue or John and I hiked along it’s relatively calm, protected shore, we seldom saw another soul. Or if we did, they were fishermen or families scattered about and digging for clams.
But then this Spring, while we were away for almost two months, bulldozers moved in and transformed it. Now there are palapas with hammocks and picnic tables and chairs. There’s a restaurant with ice-cold Toñas and Shrimp Quesadillas and clean bathrooms and outdoor, fresh-water showers. (And kayak and paddle board rentals and horseback riding and a campground…) It’s called Portal del Mar.
And there still is the green, green jungle stretching down to the sea. And the wildly-colored rocks you can hike on out past the headlands when the tide is low.
So now we go there and still see hardly anybody. We hike, or paddle board or kayak and then sit under the shade of a palapa with friends and apply the 100 cordobas ($3) entry fee each towards a couple of ice cold beers.
