San Juan Del Sur, part II

The guidebook I have been using, Moon Handbooks Nicaragua, suggested several excursions in the San Juan del Sur area, one of which was a hike up to a nearby lighthouse. In general, the book is fantastic, but directions for its walks and hikes have been noticably lacking. This hike was no different, and as my parents and I attempted it, we ended up asking for dirrections from nearly everyone we encountered. After our first wrong turn, a group of coast guard/military-looking types - wearing blue camoflage uniforms and not one over 18 years old - pointed us in the direction of the trailhead. We passed a dilapidated old shack, pieced together of rusty corregated metal, and a man older than time working in the back yard. He had an outdoor sink, and several mugs were drying on a small tree in the yard.

The dirt trail we followed was lined with garbage. Goats, pigs, and chickens wandered in and out of various fences and across the trail, snacking on the rubbage and anything else they could find. The trail divided in several places, and we asked at several shacks if we were on the right track. At one point, my mom and I were standing at a fork in the trail, wondering if we trespassing, while my dad went to ask for instructions at a shack a few meters down the hill. While we waited, a man walked out of another little hut, and offered his help. We told him we were looking for the lighthouse, and he pointed the way and offered to accompany us. "Like a guide?" we asked, unsure we understood his Spanish. "No, un compañero." A companion, not a guide. Dad returned, and our new friend led us up the trail.

We continued hiking, sweat dripping from every pore (it was about noon, close enough to the equator, and at least 90 degrees) and hoped the views were worth it. The garbage thinned, and then disappeared, and when we neared the top, we could see all the way to Costa Rica to the south, and to the north, a string of perfect beaches. We kept walking, practicing our Spanish, and reached a solar-powered lighthouse at the end of the trail.