Nicaragua - Dec-2014 - Jan-2015

Thursday, Dec 25 [Leon]

It's Christmas, and we are heading out to warmer climate - sunny Nicaragua. The Hoboken First Class driver was on time, even a few minutes early. With my new TSA-pre, I breezed through security in under 5 minutes, whereas it took Sofia close to 20 in regular lane. Then our usual morning flight Terminal C ritual of drinking Starbucks lattes with homemade egg wraps. The flight to Houston was on time and our seats were quite decent, even though we didn't get upgraded. We watched a good movie during this flight - "100 foot journey". Landing in Houston, we went to explore the airport a bit - it's huge! After a while, we took a window seat a Cat Cora's not far from our gate and had a couple of drinks and tapas. Once we got on the plane, right before takeoff, we were both upgraded to first class, with seats together. We had food with us, so we opted out of complimentary dinner, but took the drinks and apple pie.

Landing in Managua, we went through border control and customs pretty quickly and found our hotel shuttle. Our hotel is only a few minutes drive from the airport, so we checked in and were all settled in soon. After a quick stroll around hotel grounds, we went to sleep.

Friday, Dec 26 [Leon]

Got up and went for breakfast in the hotel, which was pretty good with custom omelettes and great locally grown coffee. Then our driver was there and we drove to Mombacho Natural Reserve. Our guide was already waiting for us there, since we got a bit stuck in traffic. We got loaded into a high-powered 4x4 and took a steep road up the volcano. The road took about 20 minutes and was pretty bumpy, but it's better than walking all the way up. After disembarking, we hiked Tigrillo Trail around two of the craters through cloud forest. There could have been some amazing views of the craters below and surrounding countryside and lakes... But unfortunately it was very cloudy and misty. So, we could not see much and slippery trail made the hike more challenging. Well, there's a reason they call it cloud forest... We did see the smoking holes (fumaroles) which release hot vapor, and some big bright orchids. We also saw a couple of sloths up in the trees - one very big, another average size.

 

Mombacho Cloud Forest

After Mombacho, we headed down to White Villages (Pueblos Blancos). First to San Juan de Oriente where we had a ceramic workshop demonstration and visited a few other pottery stores. Some of the ceramics were truly works of art, with abstract designs. Then we went to Catarina - a small village perched above Laguna de Apoyo - a 20 square km crater lake. It finally cleared up and views were amazing - we could even see Granada churches and Lake Nicaragua in the distance. Mombacho summit though was still shrouded in clouds... We sat down for lunch at Carolina's restaurant overlooking Apoyo Laguna and had decent lobster ceviche, great fried plantains with cheese and unnamed fish in white sauce. Afterwards, our driver and guide took us back to our hotel. We felt tired and napped a bit on the way. Getting back to our room, we extended the nap.

Laguna de Apoyo

Woke up around 5:00 pm, re-packed for tomorrow's activities, and went for dinner in downtown Managua - to La Terrazza Peruana. The taxi ride took 30 minutes, as promised. The restaurant was nice, with outdoor courtyard seating and casual atmosphere. Ceviche was great, while the main courses were just ok. After dinner, our ride back was much quicker since there wasn't much traffic. We finished the day relaxing in comfortable chairs by the pool and writing this blog.

Saturday, Dec 27 [Leon]

Early wake-up call this morning, quick breakfast in the round breakfast room overlooking the pool and at 6:15 am we were on a road to private reserve Montibelli, leaving our big suitcase behind in the hotel for a pickup in two days. The road our driver intended to take was closed - they were putting up more aluminum "Trees of Life" with Christmas lights. Apparently, it is a First Lady's initiative to decorate the city, which is not widely accepted by most of Managua's population. We had to take a 15 min detour which brought our drive time to 90 minutes or so. In Montibelli reserve we were greeted by our local tour guide and fresh coffee. The forest was very nice - lush and green but dry, with a comfortable hiking trail. The hike started out slow, as we did not see much wildlife. However, then some birds started appearing and we saw several different species of warbler, motmot, nightingale, trogon, and hummingbird. We also saw a howler monkey sleeping up in the tree, and a big porcupine sitting in the tree above the trail eyeing us suspiciously. At one point in the hike we came out onto a high promontory with a beautiful view of surrounding countryside and Masaya volcano. We also saw coffee plants, lime trees, dragon fruit plants, and pineapple trees. Overall, it was a very pleasant 3-hour hike. Then we had a light brunch - eggs, rice and beans, fruits - and took the van to the airport for our flight to Corn Islands.

Montibelli Nature Reserve

La Costena flight to Corn Islands

So, we ended up spending 2 hours in the airport because for some reason the check-in was well in advance of the flight. And domestic airline La Costena's terminal is nothing to write home about... Anyway, the flight was shorter than expected and direct, without anticipated stop in Bluefields. We got to Big Corn Island, got off he plane and were greeted by a local police officer (?) who for some reason had to write everybody's passport numbers by hand in a notebook. Our hotel - Casa Canada - was a big disappointment despite great reviews both in our travel guide and on TripAdvisor. First of, even though the view from hotel grounds and infinity pool was great, there was no good swimming beach nearby. The closest good beach was across the island - a 10 minute taxi ride (more about local taxis below). Secondly, our room was not ready and no clear time for it to be ready was given. We were offered a complimentary drink and told to wait. After we had drinks and a snack, the room was still not ready. We asked for a place to change, since we were still wearing our hiking outfits. We were shown to a smallish shabby room with a great view. So we changed and went across the street to investigate a stand-up paddle-boarding place I found online which just happened to be right there. However, the office looked closed, so I contacted the owner through his website instead.

View from the deck bar at Casa Canada

Finally, another hour later, the manager took us to a room at the very end of the terrace with no view. Mind you, our booking said "ocean view private cabin"... So, we rebelled and asked for the room where we had changed, which had a view but was smaller, with outdated fixtures and appliances. This was the only ocean-view room available, but the manager promised to give us another room tomorrow. We put valuables in the safe (more about the safe below) and went for a walk to nearby long and very pretty beach, which was a bit too rough for comfortable swimming. We had a nice long walk on the beach and took a taxi back, after chatting with a couple of locals trying to cook lobster for their B&B guests.

After getting back to our hotel, we took a shower and I tried to get some more cash out of the safe before going to dinner. I entered the code and tried to turn the key, but the handle came off in my hand! Just like that, our passports, credit cards, most of the cash, and Sofia's jewelry were all locked up. I was able to pick the part of the key that remained in the lock and pull it out, so at least now the lock was ready to be opened by a professional. We went to the front desk to tell them about our troubles, but nobody was there (at 6:30 pm). I was getting concerned that we would get stuck in Corn Islands, since we can't fly out without passports. And who would be available to open a really old safe on a Sunday (next day)? However, we were also getting hungry. So, we asked one of our hotel staff to catch us a taxi to go to Comedor Maris for dinner. The taxi he caught was going in the wrong direction and had another passenger, but we were assured he would be dropped off in a couple of minutes and we would go to our restaurant. Instead, he ride took close to 20 minutes, with multiple stops to drop off and pick up other passengers. Apparently, in Corn Islands, "taxi" means "bus"...

Finally, we made it to Comedor Maris, which was a number 2 restaurant in Corn Islands on TripAdvisor, highly recommended for local lobster. The lobster was good, although by no means outstanding. The worst part - it took over an hour to get our food! The restaurant is run out of owner's home, which is not uncommon in Nicaragua. However, their operation just could not keep up. They had one table with 10 customers, and apparently their very small home kitchen could not handle it. So, we ended up waiting for over an hour, with no bread, no appetizers - nothing but the offers to order more drinks. Oh, and they don't have a menu either... It's just lobster in tomato sauce, butter & garlic, or just butter. Again, the lobster is fresh and tasty, but not a delicacy deserving a stellar rating. Definitely nothing worth waiting an hour for.

After dinner, we asked the owner to call us a taxi, but she said "just wait, they pass by here all the time". That may be so, but we waited for 15 minutes and not a single empty taxi came through. Finally we convinced her to call a taxi, which she did with great reluctance. We made it back and I managed to open the safe by turning the stump of the key in the lock with a pair of tweezers. Then we read a bit outside listening to the surf, and went to sleep.

Sunday, Dec 28 [Leon]

This morning the rooster woke us up at 5:30 am. We tried to sleep a bit longer, but the creature was just relentless. We gave up and went for breakfast at 7:00 am. After breakfast we reminded the front desk about their promise to switch us to a better room and were told to check back around 2:00 pm. Then we took a taxi to Picnic Center Beach and dropped on perfect white sand in front of the Arenas Beach Hotel. The water was calm and clear. We went swimming quite a few times, just relaxed on the beach, and had a beer at Arenas Beach Bar. Then we went for lunch at Picnic Center Cafe and had a big ceviche appetizer and a lobster tail cooked Caribbean style, which was very good. After that we took a taxi back to our hotel, where the new room was ready. We moved our stuff and relaxed a bit. The first problem with this room was that it had no WiFi reception. So we had to go to the pool to get internet connection... Anyway, after about an hour we took a taxi back to Arenas Beach and watched the sunset. Then we walked the beach and went for an early dinner at the Picnic Center. Unfortunately, their evening cook must have been different from their daytime cook, and they had no more plantains. The lobster was still good, just not quite as good as during lunch. After dinner, we caught a taxi and went back to our hotel. There we discovered the second problem with our new room - there was no hot water in the shower. So we had to take very quick cold showers. The evening ended on a positive note - I got in touch with the paddle-boarding instructor Joey, we went across the street to his office to check out the boards, and agreed to meet tomorrow at 8:00 am on Picnic Center Beach.

Sunset on Picnic Center Beach

Monday, Dec 29 [Leon]

No rooster could be heard from the new room, however we still woke up around 6:30 am and went for breakfast at 7:00. Took a taxi to Picnic Center Beach, met Joey, and I spent a fun hour paddle-boarding around the bay. The wind was blowing offshore, so it was a decent workout keeping the board on course. It was by the way an inflatable board, not a solid fiberglass one I was used to. The feel was a bit different, but not better or worse. The owner Joey just started this business in December and he told us how difficult it was to transport the boards to Corn Island from Managua. He is originally from Connecticut, but spent last few years in Colorado guiding river SUP tours. That's where inflatable boards come handy, as they sit higher in the water and don't get banged up on the rocks. Joey also paddled 7 miles from Big Corn to Little Corn - the only person to have ever done so. While I paddle-boarded, he entertained Sofia with stories about challenges of living and trying to run a business in Corn Islands. If you are ever on Big Corn, you can connect with Joey at standuppaddlecornislands.com.

Perfect morning on Picnic Center Beach

After paddle-boarding, we just spent some time on Arenas (or Picnic Center) Beach - swimming, tanning, reading in the shade... Bought a coconut for a dollar and drank its milk. Around noon it got too hot and we headed back to Casa Canada. We ordered some appetizers (wings and ceviche) and one plate of lobster in garlic. The food took a while to arrive, but was quite good. Afterwards, we showered, packed, and went to check out. The manager, to apologize for giving us a crappy room the first night, took our lunch off the bill. Well, at least they are trying...

Then we took a taxi to the airport. Now, there was definitely some confusion regarding the departure time for our flight back. Our tickets did not list departure time, only check-in time at 2:00 pm. Our confirmation from La Costena's web site said departure at 4:40 pm. The reservation section of the same web site also said 4:40, however the general schedule page said 3:45 pm. We even emailed our travel agent Katia the day before, and she confirmed that departure is definitely at 4:40 pm, and we should go to the airport at 2:45. However, the manager at Casa Canada and another lady working at the reception were both adamant that we should go to the airport at 2:00 pm, or the "flight will leave without you". So, we did just that, and what do you know - the check-in closed at 2:45 pm and the plane took off at 3:18. I am writing this on the plane, feeling very happy to be on it and not left behind.

So, we landed at 4:45 pm and of course there was nobody meeting us, since Katia thought our plane would just take of at 4:40. Well, Blackberry to the rescue - I called her and luckily the driver was only 5 minutes away, with a nice comfortable Toyota Land Cruiser. We stopped by Camino Real Hotel to pick up our bag and were in Granada in under 2 hours. Checked into our Hotel Colonial located right next to Central Park in a beautiful Spanish colonial style building with multiple courtyards and pools. I wanted to shave but could not detect any hot water in the sink faucet, and even the shower was barely lukewarm. Anyway, shaving postponed until better times, we went to explore the city. There was a lot of people strolling around Central Park, the square in front of the main cathedral, and Calle Calzada - the main dining and shopping pedestrian-only street leading to the lake. It was very lively and everybody seemed to be in a festive mood. For dinner we went to El Zaguan - the best steakhouse in Granada serving excellent Nicaraguan cuts of beef. We shared a chorizo appetizer, and then I had tenderloin Nicaraguan style (with fried plantains and refried beans) and Sofia had filet mignon in Merlot sauce. Tired after this long day, we went to sleep shortly after dinner.

Tuesday, Dec 30 [Leon]

This morning after breakfast we got picked up at our hotel by our guide Giovanni and the owner of NicarAgua Dulce - the company that runs kayaking and boating tours on Lake Nicaragua. After a short drive we were at their base where we got kayaks. Then we spent about two hours exploring Las Isletas - small islands in the lake close to Granada. We saw some birds and a few people living on those islands. A couple of islands had "for sale" signs, another island had a big house with a sign "available for events". Overall, it was a very relaxing morning - just gliding along calm surface of the lake looking at plants, birds, and signs of civilization. Only at the end we had to work a bit, paddling against the current to get back to base.

 

Kayaking on Lake Nicaragua around Las Isletas

Then, after a quick drive back to our hotel, we changed and went for Granada city tour. First we visited the main cathedral next to Parque Central, then the art gallery and cultural academy at La Casa de Los Tres Mundos, then the convent of San Francisco church with pre-Columbian statues from Zapatera Island in Lake Nicaragua. Granada was destroyed or burned to the ground at least four times - once by Captain Morgan, a couple more times by other pirates who sailed up Río San Juan and then across the lake. Finally, Granada was burned down by filibuster William Walker in 1856. So, most historical buildings had some older and some newer features. For example, a gate may be from 16th century, while the rest of the building from mid 19th. Then we switched to a horse-driven carriage and continued our tour through the city with its old Spanish colonial houses. We went to see the old train station which was abandoned after President Violeta Chamorro sold Nicaraguan train to Costa Rica. We also saw La Polvora - the old fort where Spanish stored gunpowder and weapons to fight English and French pirates in 17th and 18th century. Then we went to Iglesia La Merced church and climbed the bell tower for great panoramic views of Granada. Finally, we went to see the cemetery, which had some amazing old marble tombstones and mausoleums. There sure were some old wealthy families in Granada. The cemetery was not as ostentatious as Recoleta in Buenos Aires, but still unexpectedly impressive. Afterwards, we came back to Parque Central and went to look for a good lunch place. We found a nice restaurant called La Claraboya right next to El Zaguan. We shared four appetizers - fried plantains with cheese, pulpo (grilled octopus), orange and beet salad, and empanadillas. All were delicious and we left very satisfied. After lunch we strolled down Calle Calzada looking at different stores and cafes. One store had very nice leather goods, and we bought Sofia a little cosmetics bag. Then we walked back towards our hotel and stopped for coffee at another hotel with a nice courtyard.

 

In Granada

In Granada - view from Iglesia la Merced bell tower

In Granada - lunch at La Claraboya

At 4:00 pm, our guide picked us up at our hotel for the night tour of Masaya volcano. First we drove to the national park entrance and continued up the road to the parking area. There we hiked a couple of trails to see the craters and smoking holes and the panorama at sunset, which was beautiful. Then we drove to another parking area where we got hard hats and flashlights from the park ranger. Thus equipped, we descended into a lava tube - cave formed by flowing lava. The cave was 600 meters deep, but we went only 200 meters down so as not to disturb the bats living there. We saw stalactites and lava bubbles. At one point we turned off our flashlights just to see how pitch black dark it was in the cave. After coming out of the cave, we crouched next to another smaller entrance and saw bats leaving the cave in a swarm. Finally, we drove to a point where we could see the glow of the magma below in the crater. We could stay there only a few minutes because the sulfur smell was overpowering. We even had to put bandannas over our noses and mouths...

 

On Masaya Volcano

Afterwards, we returned to our hotel, changed and went for another great steak dinner at El Zaguan. This time we both had filet mignon - mine was in Merlot sauce, Sofia's in mushroom sauce. After dinner we went back to our hotel and called it a night.

Wednesday, Dec 31 [Leon]

This morning after breakfast our guide picked us up for Apoyo Laguna hike. First we drove to Catarina village where we saw a funky little procession to celebrate St. Sylvester. People were dancing, shooting fireworks, and being generally merry and festive. It was only 9:00 am, but many of them seemed drunk and happy for it. Then we started our hike down, which took about an hour. It was a nice hike through dry tropical forest, however we did not see any wildlife. The driver met us with the car at the bottom and we drove to a small lakefront lodge. We spent about an hour there relaxing at a nice little beach. It was pretty windy and the water was rough, difficult to get in. I went for a quick swim anyway, which was nice and refreshing.

 

Swimming in Laguna de Apoyo

Afterwards, we returned to Granada. Before going back to the hotel, we stopped by Nora's guayaberas store, since Sofia wanted to get me one. However, they were all too loose, not fitted as I usually wear. So, we left the store quickly and empty handed. Then we went for a quick lunch at La Claraboya again, bought some coffee to bring back home, and returned to our hotel. Took a quick shower and went for massage at La Bolcona hotel and spa two blocks away. Feeling relaxed after that, we came back to our room and took a nice two-hour nap. Then we packed for next day's departure and went for a walk before dinner. The streets were full of people, with everybody in festive mood. Many had the doors of their houses wide open, the entire families sitting in folding or rocking chairs in front chatting and greeting passerby with "Feliz Ano Nuevo!"

Then we got to Ciudad Lounge where I made a reservation for New Year's Eve. We were greeted by Noemi (the owner) and seated in the courtyard for drinks and appetizers. Later we switched to a table in the main building for our main course, and back to courtyard for champagne and dessert. The lounge was beautifully designed and decorated, with old Spanish colonial house facing the street, a modern steel-and-concrete structure in the back housing the kitchen, and the courtyard in-between. The setting was very intimate - there were only 3 other couples and a family of 5, however one of the couples and the family left before 11:00 pm. Noemi stopped by to chat several times and William (the chef and owner) came out of the kitchen as well with his dog Brad Pitt (a lab and pitt bull mix). The drinks were great and the food was excellent, even though Sofia was a bit disappointed with the chocolate dessert. At midnight, it seemed like the entire city exploded, so many fireworks were launched at once. Some kids laid multiple block-length daisy-chains of fireworks and triggered them. A few were too close to parked cars, so car security alarms added to the general mayhem. It was crazy fun - possibly the most fun New Years ever!

Ciudad Lounge

Thursday, Jan 1 [Leon]

After breakfast, we checked out of our hotel and said goodbye to Granada. We had a private transfer to Rivas and San Jorge, where the driver bought us Ometepe ferry tickets and told us to wait for 10:30 am departure. It was very crowded - young backpackers, local couples and entire families with kids and whole picnic setups, several cars and trucks... Finally the ferry arrived and everybody loaded on. It was extremely crowded and loading everybody delayed the departure by at least 30 minutes. The crossing took about an hour in very rough waters of Lake Nicaragua. Finally we arrived to Ometepe island and disembarked at the port of Myogalpa. Our driver was waiting for us, and the drive to our hotel Finca San Juan de la Isla took almost an hour on bad roads. The hotel was great - several individual cabins facing the lake, and a few more without lake view. The environment was very rustic but comfortable. Our cabin was small but very well laid out for a comfortable stay. The shower had hot water and good water pressure, the fixtures and lighting all worked fine, and there was a place to hang clothes. Outside, there was a great view of Lake Nicaragua and a small beach with chairs and umbrellas. We had a quick and simple lunch cooked on a wood-fired stove and headed out for a walk. The guidebook recommended visiting "Ojo de Agua" or "Eye of the Water" - a natural spring fed freshwater pool with extremely clear water. It was supposed to be about a 40 minute hike away, however about 5 minutes in we encountered a small stream. There was no way to jump over it and we did not feel like taking off our hiking shoes to cross it. I tried to build a bridge by dropping a large piece of wood across, but it washed away. After wasting 10 minutes or so, we finally took off our shoes and waded across. Then we continued up the beach until we encountered a much larger stream, that the map identified as the Río de Buon Successo. We did not feel comfortable wading across this stream, so we took another hiking route that led upriver. We walked through a dry tropical forest past a few houses with chickens, pigs, goats, cows, and dogs. People were cooking, sitting outside talking, or doing household chores. Everybody looked happy and festive. It was pretty busy at Ojo de Agua when we got there - locals and tourists, kids and adults - all swimming, jumping in a water off a swing, or lounging around picnicking. We even recognized a few people from our ferry. I went for a quick swim, and we headed back to our hotel. When we got back, the power was out. The staff told us it should be restored in 30 minutes or so. So, we went for a walk on the beach and saw an amazing site of hundreds of fireflies in the grass along lake shore, blinking like nature's own Christmas lights! Dinner was great - simple but fresh food served outside. It was very windy next to the lake - we even had to put our hoodies on. However - no mosquitos or flies!

On Ometepe Island

Friday, Jan 2 [Sofia]

We woke up with alarm at 6:00 am to go for a swim in Lake Nicaragua. It is very beautiful here, very lush vegetation and plantain trees, blue birds flying around. After an excellent quick breakfast we were picked up by our guide Eric and driven to hike the waterfall San Ramon trail. The hike was about an hour of going through jungle, scrambling over rocks and gaining pretty decent elevation. The waterfall is not as big as Haleakala but still quite tall and very pretty. We climbed on a big rock for a good picture before leaving the waterfall. It was nice that we got there early - we met several groups going to waterfall on our way back.

San Ramon waterfall

Then we drove to hotel El Paraiso on Santo Domingo beach for a brief swim interrupted by tropical rain and had a good lunch of local lake fish. Local "pigeons" that look like blue birds with big tail landed on our table and I fed them some of my rice. We loaded onto a 3:00 pm ferry from San Jose, which looks like an old retired river boat donated by Netherlands, and even watched part of Hangover 3 dubbed in Spanish.

The transfer to Morgan Rock resort near San Juan del Sur took over an hour - half of the roads are not paved. Morgan Rock property is enormous - 4,000 acres - and it takes abut 20 min just to drive through it. The resort is amazingly rustic and beautiful, but very natural and not overly landscaped. By the time we were escorted into our room - across a long suspension bridge and stairs up the hill - it was already pitch dark and we couldn't fully appreciate a full ocean view, even though we could hear the surf very close. We are staying in cabin 5 out of 15 cabins perched on the side of a hill. The cabins are essentially very luxurious tree houses, each with a separate open area with suspended bed and a mosquito-protected part with bedroom, bathroom, couch and everything else. The entire cabin feels very open and airy, not hot even in absence of AC. We went for dinner at Morgan Rock restaurant which had a very nice atmosphere and soft music. I had shrimp from local shrimp farm and Leon had pork, finishing up our long day with tres leches cake and chocolate mousse.

Saturday, Jan 3 [Sofia]

Today we woke up in our luxurious treehouse to the amazing view of ocean, beach and palm trees. We took a quick shower and Leon even had time to shave to look presentable for the cows at the farm. We climbed into flat bed of a Morgan Rock truck for "breakfast on the farm" tour together with a family from Minnesota. Seems like most of the people staying here are from US and came to Nicaragua just for Morgan Rock resort. On the farm we milked a very docile but cute brown cow and collected eggs from brown chickens - some of them kept pecking on our sneakers. Then at the farmhouse kitchen we saw how to make corn tortillas and ate a breakfast of fresh scrambled eggs, gallo pinto, homemade cheese and tortillas with good coffee served on local pottery. On the drive back we saw monkeys, sloth and very colorful big orange red green and blue macaws.

After the tour Leon said that it is time to head for the beach. Beach here is pretty big, sand is darker than Caribbean but very soft, and there are beach shacks with hammocks and nice comfortable foldouts. One of the tour guides promised Leon that he may be able to ask owners of the resorts to lend him their stand-up paddle board. However, by the time we picked it up, the wind became so strong that it was a challenge to get it in the water and paddle against the wind, so Leon got to go only for a very short time. At 12 pm it was getting very hot, so we moved to the pool and then to lunch where we had salad, gazpacho, and sandwiches with pork and vegetables. After lunch we took a nap in the swinging bed in the open area of our treehouse. On the way back to the beach we saw a whole family of howler monkeys, doing what monkeys do best - hanging of the trees, eating leaves and looking almost human. We told them that they can come down from the trees and start doing something productive and saw that they started contemplating their options. The sunset on the beach was beautiful - and clouds still stayed pink and orange for an hour after.

View from the Morgan Rock's pool

Howler monkey

Sunday, Jan 4 [Sofia]

It was very windy and loud at night, with waves and trees sounds waking us up periodically. We went for quick breakfast - Nicaraguan style with tortillas, eggs, cheese, rice and beans for Leon and yogurt with granola for me - and headed for the beach. It looked abandoned except for 2 sleeping tourists in one of the cabanas. Sun was looking through some patchy clouds and wind wouldn't stop creating unpleasant gusts of sand. We hung out at the beach until after 11:00 am and then went for our tour of San Juan del Sur and La Flor. It took us about 30 min to reach San Juan del Sur. It is a small surfing town, not very developed with main street going along busy and not very clean beach. Thee were quite a few real estate and law offices and several newer-looking mid-rise buildings (one with a pool on the deck), but the scale and level of development is nowhere near Jaco. We walked around, bought a couple of souvenirs and stopped by El Timon for lunch. The place is very popular, with a nice beach view and artistic multi-level presentation for all dishes. We saw octopus - pulpo - on the menu and could not resist ordering one dish of octopus in rum and another one with potatoes in red wine sauce. When our dishes arrived 30 minutes later we realized that we were doomed - Leon received a whole big octopus 6-8 inches in diameter with all of his tentacles and I had a whole big bowl of hot soup, with equally large size of octopus and vegetables. While I fished for something to eat in my soup, Leon swiftly worked on his sea creature. Soon the octopus lost all of its tentacles.

Lunch at El Timon

Then we drove to La Flor - a very quiet beach in a nature preserve where over 100,000 turtles of 4 different species hatch every year, mainly in June through January. We saw little baby turtles in a basin and some soft turtle egg shells, however no turtle granted us the honor of watching her hatch at the time we were on the beach.

La Flor

Monday, Jan 5 [Sofia]

After a quick breakfast we went for artisan fishing tour for 3 hours on a little boat. It's still quite windy and wavy, with sun frequently hiding in the clouds. The fishing equipment consisted of a fishing wire rolled up on a piece of wooden board on one end and a lure on the other end that we drag behind the boat. Our fishing guides were heading straight for places where they saw most of the pelicans and seagulls, operating on a theory that birds know where to find fish. It didn't quite work out though - I caught one pretty 2 feet bonito fish and that was the end of it. We had to console ourselves with beer and chicken sandwiches. We saw Morgan Rock very close and had a good look at the ocean house of Nicaraguan billionaire Carlos Pellas. After disembarking and taking along cooler with remaining beer and sandwiches we landed on our beach and fell half-asleep in hammocks. Woke up and jumped in the pool which has a very good view of the beach and sparkly ocean. The cook grilled the bonito for our lunch. It had a dark meat and tasted fishy, but was quite tasty. After lunch, we packed and went back to the pool and then the beach to watch the sunset.

Sofia's catch

Sunset on Morgan Rock beach

Tuesday, Jan 6 [Leon]

Woke up at 6:00 am and went for a quick swim in the Pacific - last one for a while - and a walk on the beach. After breakfast, our airport transfer was ready at 8:30 am, as scheduled. We said goodbye to Morgan Rock and its friendly staff and drove off. Our driver was very nice, trying to point out different places of interest to us. The drive to Managua airport took exactly 2 hours and 45 minutes, as Nicaragua Adventures promised, despite getting stuck multiple times behind horse carts, little motorcycle taxis, beer trucks, and buses. Adios Nicaragua! Until next time!

Japan Trip Diary

May 25 [Sofia] Tokyo

This was an unbelievably long flight - 14 hours - but we got some sleep. I slept longer than Leon, but I am sure he will catch up. We got picked up at the airport by "Green Tomato" shuttle service and driven to our hotel Richmond Asakusa. The room is very compact but modern, and the bed is comfortable. Asakusa is a bustling neighborhood with many bars and little sidewalk restaurants and shops, with people sitting at long tables outside drinking beer (presumably Asahi, since their HQ is nearby) and eating something. Asakusa is also home to Senso-Ji - the oldest and most impressive temple in Tokyo, built in 645. We can see its buildings and gardens, as well as the Tokyo Sky Tree TV tower from our window. So, we unpacked, took a 2-hour power nap, and went exploring - first to Senso-Ji, then to little shops on Nakamise-dori, which were starting to close for the night. Then we found a sushi restaurant our hotel front desk recommended by doing some complex pattern matching of notes to restaurant signs and had a simple but quite decent sushi.

May 26 [Sofia] Tokyo

Today we had a guided tour of Tokyo. Our guide met us at 9 am in our hotel lobby and looked very puzzled when I expressed little interest in either shrines or manga. She helped us exchange our railroad vouchers for JR passes at Ueno station. Then we took a JR train that goes in a loop and affords great views of Tokyo and the harbor from the train. The guide pointed out different buildings, gardens, and neighborhoods, and the Rainbow Bridge. Then we took subway to a very pretty garden called Hama-Rikyu Teien. This garden was laid out in 1704 and its tea house hosted the meeting of Emperor Meiji with President Ulysses Grant in 1879. There were cats, dragonflies, ducks and crows in the park. Then we went to famous Meiji Jingu shrine where we were most impressed with the wall of big sake barrels and another wall of burgundy wine barrels on the opposite side. Apparently, Emperor Meiji, famous for westernizing Japan, was an equal opportunity drinker. Then we headed for Harajuku district with its high-end designer shops, as well as a shopping street favorite with high-school girls, with many little shops selling shiny cute junk. We had a crepe with shrimp salad for lunch which I wasn't very happy with. Then we looked at a famous intersection in Shibuya, where more than a thousand people cross in all directions at the same time. This intersection was featured in “Lost in Translation” movie. After that we took subway to Shinjuku and visited Tokyo Metropolitan Government building and its observation deck on 45th floor. The panorama of Tokyo was quite impressive and our guide answered our questions about buildings and gardens visible below. We finished our tour at Akihabara Electronics City - a huge collection of electronics, appliances, and gadget stores - where one could buy anything but we did not find anything we liked.

For dinner we went to Wagyu beef yakiniku restaurant Shichirin (http://www.7-rin.com) in Minowa district. The restaurant was recommended by Time-Out Tokyo, but did not have an English menu. The only waiter who spoke a bit of English was initially giving us a hard time, but then became more helpful. We ordered a 7 course sampler - 2 pieces each of sirloin, filet mignon, flank, and some other cow parts, which were all very good. The place was tucked in a side street behind subway but Leon found it easily. On the way back it started raining, but not too badly.

May 27 [Sofia] Tokyo

Woke up in the morning, weather is rainy and cloudy. Took our umbrellas and headed for Tsukiji Fish Market. This is a big and chaotic place, with electric carts running in all directions, fish sellers cutting up big tuna into pieces, pouring water all over fish and visitors. By the time we got there around 9:00 am, tuna auction was already over and market was coming to an end. Tuna auctions usually start at 5:30 – 6:00 am. That is where sushi restaurant chefs come for the best fish.

Outer market stalls in front and to the side of the main market were very lively and busy - all kinds of food vendors – sweet egg, eel on a stick, pot stickers, dried fish, fruits, and of course sushi. Leon found me some of my favorite lychees. After doing some extensive fish comparison, we stepped into one little sushi place for the freshest fish – a rice bowl with toro (fatty tuna) and another with salmon & ikura (salmon roe). Roe tasted sweet and so different from any other salmon caviar I had before. Later Leon admitted that his toro was the best meal he had so far on this trip.

A quick subway ride took us to the Imperial Palace. The weather improved markedly – sun came out and it started getting hot. Imperial gardens were expansive and green but not very memorable. Imperial rose collection can certainly be improved with some tea roses. Leon managed to call Nodaiwa from his Blackberry to make a dinner reservation. The main outlet of this highly recommended eel restaurant was booked up for the evening, but satellite Ginza location said "hai" to everything he requested.

Since it was getting really hot, we went back to hotel, changed into lighter clothes, and resorted our luggage. My bag with half of our stuff is going to be forwarded to our hotel in Kyoto via Kuroneko luggage handling service. Leon's new fancy Tumi bag is coming with us to Hakone. After that we traveled to Ginza via direct subway line. Ginza is an upscale shopping district with a new 12-story Uniqlo flagship store, which we couldn't find for an hour. Once we got there, Leon bought a few things, including 2 Hawaiian shirts. Prices are a bit lower here than in the US, and favorable USD-JPY rate helps as well. Then I saw a dessert in the window that called my name - bean jam with rice balls. We sat on a second floor of a very comfortable stylish café Toraya with relaxing music playing and had coffee and dessert. Leon had brown sugar rice flour steamed cake.

After strolling through a couple of streets and checking out Mitsuzakaya department store, we had the most difficult time finding Nodaiwa restaurant. Google maps on Leon’s phone kept insisting that we were right on top of it. Finally, a nice lady from a glitzy accessories store took us there - it was in a basement of the building we just circled 3 times! We were, quite literally, right on top of it. Once we came downstairs, we stopped by the first door and told them that we had a reservation. They were confused, since our names weren’t in any of their 3 reservation books. Leon tried to convince them to sit us, until I asked about the name of this restaurant. It was "Bird Land" yakitori place, while Nodaiwa was right next door. Nodaiwa (http://www.nodaiwa.co.jp) looks very traditional - red lacquered wood paneling and tables, staff in traditional Japanese outfits. We had some amazing eel over rice served in lacquered wooden boxes. It tasted very tender and refined, quite different from your usual unagi don. After dinner, we strolled around a bit more and headed back to our hotel.

May 28 [Leon] Tokyo to Hakone

This morning we had a long transfer from Tokyo to Hakone - a big national park near Mt. Fuji. We had to switch 5 different trains - subway, JR local, JR Shinkansen (bullet train), another JR local, and then a Tozan mountain railroad that goes back and forth on switchbacks. So it took us until almost 1:00 pm to get to Hakone. After finally making it to our ryokan and leaving our bags there, we stopped by a small place for some soba noodles and tempura. Then we went to an open-air sculpture museum, which was great - serene setting, beautifully landscaped and laid out, with modern sculptures, buildings, gardens, streams, and playgrounds. After that, we headed back to our hotel. The hotel is Japanese style (ryokan), but the room is big and we have a private hot spring bath outside, which we absolutely enjoyed. Dinner at ryokan was disappointing and downright scary at times. I never knew that you can cook vegetables to a lime green color. Tomorrow we'll go explore Hakone park some more.

May 29 [Leon] Hakone

Today we woke up early and had to wait quite impatiently for breakfast to be ready at 8 am. Breakfast left much to be desired, although soft-boiled egg over rice was surprisingly good. After breakfast we went down to Tonosawa train station and took the Tozan mountain train to Gora, and then a funicular to Sounzan, where we switched to Hakone Ropeway (cable car). Passing through Owakudani, we could see an area with volcanic vapors erupting from the ground. At the bottom of the ropeway in Togendai we boarded a ferry made to look like a pirate ship, and had a pleasant cruise along Lake Ashi to the town of Hakone Machi. We explored the area surrounding the pier a bit and made our way to Hakone Checkpoint. During ancient times, government officials and samurai warriors stationed here would inspect and grant or deny passage to travelers on the old Kyoto - Edo (Tokyo) highway. The elevated lookout tower could have afforded great views of Mt. Fuji, but the mountain was hidden in the clouds. Then we strolled through the beautiful Detached Palace Gardens, and walked back to the checkpoint along a winding lakeside hiking trail. After that, we walked to the town of Moto Hakone along a cedar-lined stretch of the old Edo road. Getting hungry, we looked for a place to have lunch in Moto Hakone, and to our surprise found an authentic German sausage store and restaurant. Their selection of sausage and ham was simply astounding. So we had a great plate of sausage for lunch, complete with sauerkraut and beer. After lunch, we walked through town to Hakone Shrine perched on the hillside above Lake Ashi. Then we decided to take a boat to Hakone-en and cable car up Mt. Komagatake. The boat ride was short, but upon arrival we discovered that cable car was closed for safety inspection. So, we took a boat back to Hakone Machi, and then a bus back to Tonosawa and our ryokan. The bus surprisingly turned out to be the fastest and most direct way back. Upon arrival, I filled the outdoor onsen stone tub with hot spring water and climbed in. The dinner was as disappointing as yesterday's. We finished it quickly and, tired after full day outside, went to sleep early.

May 30 [Sofia] Hakone to Kyoto

This night we slept well after being outside all day. Checked out of the ryokan, went for a quick breakfast in the dining room consisting of pieces of salmon, sweet egg and some unknown objects, such as "lavare". Leon tried them all - he must have been hungrier than I was. For me common sense prevailed over hunger. We caught a local bus to Odawara station, had Starbucks (Leon commented that the local baristas are stingy with caramel) and boarded a very cool looking sleek Shinkansen (bullet train) going to Kyoto.

[Leon] Kyoto

After arriving at Kyoto station, we switched to subway and got to our Kyoto Hotel Karasuma after two stops. Our forwarded bag was already in our room, which had two twin beds. So we asked for a room change and got upgraded to a top-floor slightly larger room with a single queen bed. After that we went to Nishiki market nearby, which was much tamer than Tokyo Tsukiji fish market. It had some food stalls but more little shops selling souvenirs and trinkets. Sofia got her octopus on a stick fix. Then, after leaving the market, we stumbled on a little Japanese fast food place called Sukiya selling donburi bowls with meat and/or unagi. We got two big bowls of unagi-don and they were quite good, especially for a chain restaurant.

After lunch, we started walking towards Imperial Palace Gardens, which seemed pretty close. In reality, it required a 20 minute walk through streets of no particular interest. It was also getting really hot, around 90F. When we finally got to the palace garden, it turned out to be a very large dusty place surrounded by old stone walls. Some parts of it were open for public recreation and people were playing baseball and tennis there. There were nice calm ponds with huge carps and small cute turtles swimming in them. We walked through the park, and came out close to a subway station. We took subway to the main Kyoto station, boarded a local JR train bound for Nara, and got off after two stops at Inari - home of the famous Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. This shrine was founded in 711 and is dedicated to five Shinto deities. We walked the 4 km path up the mountain (233 m high), through more than 10,000 vermillion torii gates, and many stone statues of foxes. The mountain, the greenery, the red torii gates, and many small shrines along the way make this a truly unique place. By the time we got back down, it was close to 5 pm and we were getting tired. We took the JR train and subway back to our hotel, showered, changed, and went for dinner to Hisagi Zushi - a small quiet restaurant tucked in between OPA and Gap in the main shopping district of Kawaramachi. Hisagi specializes in Kyoto style sushi, which comes with lots of rice and includes, among other things, vinegared mackerel (shimesaba). Kyoto style of sushi traces its roots to pre-refrigeration days, when shoguns' and emperors' chefs had to find creative ways to serve fresh fish in landlocked Kyoto. After dinner, we went for a stroll and found Uniqlo, where I bought a pair of shorts (the weather forecast for the next two days was 90 - 95F). Completely exhausted, we returned to our hotel and went to sleep.

May 31 [Leon] Kyoto

Today we had our full day guided tour in Kyoto. We woke up refreshed, had a very nice breakfast in our hotel, and met the guide at 9 am. We told her we wanted to spend the day exploring the eastern part of Kyoto - Higashiyama district with its many temples, shrines, and gardens. After a brief stop at the main Kyoto railway station to get daily bus passes, we went by bus to Sanjusangendo Temple - a very impressive huge (120 m long) Buddhist temple with its 1,001 statues of Kannon (Goddess of Mercy). The powerful statues of the Thunder God and Wind God are positioned on raised pedestals on either side in front of the Kannons. Twenty-eight statues of guardian deities are placed in straight line between Gods of Thunder and Wind, protecting Kannon deities and pious Buddhists who may come to pray. Many of these guardian deities have their origin in ancient India. Sanjusangendo Temple was built in 1164 and later rebuilt in 1266, after the original building burned down.

Afterwards, a quick bus ride brought us to Kiyomizu-dera Temple, founded in 798, with present buildings dating mostly from 1633. This temple is perched on a steep hillside, with its wide balcony and part of the floor overhanging the abyss. The construction is quite impressive, especially given how seismically active Japan is. The temple was quite crowded with tourists, mostly Japanese (see note below), but we got to see a prayer service for world peace.

Note: Most everywhere we went on this trip, we generally saw many Japanese tourists, and many groups of schoolchildren in particular. As our Kyoto tour guide told us, this is the "season of the class trip", when many schoolchildren go on educational trips with their teachers. Since Kyoto has such rich historic and cultural heritage, many groups come here. Seeing so many little kids around, I'm starting to seriously doubt the much-publicized Japanese demographic crisis.

After Kiyomizu Temple, we strolled through a street lined with souvenir shops and food stalls to Kodai-ji Temple. On the way, Sofia bought 3 handkerchiefs (or bandannas), and we also sampled some very tasty marinated garlic. We wanted to buy some, but weren't keen on carrying packs of garlic with us all day. However, our guide talked to the saleswoman and found out they had another store in Gion, where we planned to end our guided tour for the day.

Then we got to Kodai-ji Temple, established in 1605 by noblewoman Kita-no-Mandokoro (Nene) in memory of her late husband Hideyoshi Toyotomi (1536-98). Hideyoshi lost a power struggle with his chief vassal Tokugawa Ieyasu, who later became the Shogun of Japan. Tokugawa heavily financed the construction of Kodai-ji, producing a temple renowned for its beautiful design and unique craftsmanship.

With midday approaching and everybody getting hungry, it turned out that Sofia and our guide both like takoyaki - fried octopus balls. So, we decided to head to our next stop - Ginkaku-ji Temple - looking for a lunch place which served takoyaki as we walked. Nothing interesting came up on the way at first, and we already decided to look for something around Ginkaku-ji after our bus ride. However, walking through the torii gate of Yasaka Shrine, we saw a street vendor selling takoyaki from his cart. There were benches in the shade nearby, so we bought three portions of takoyaki and sat down to a quick but delicious lunch. The balls were huge and stuffed with lots of octopus, drizzled with both spicy sauce and mayo.

After lunch, we jumped on the bus and rode for about 20 minutes to the famous Ginkaku-ji Temple, known as the Silver Pavilion. The temple and its gardens were absolutely stunning. The trees, the rocks, ponds with tiny islands, buildings that seemed to float on the water... Everything came together in complete harmony to create a landscape of serene beauty. This truly felt like a Zen temple. Our guide provided some interesting details about Ginkakuji Temple. It was built in 1474 as a villa by Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the 8th shogun of Muromachi Period, and converted to a temple in 1482. During this time, the shogunate power was on the decline, and Yoshimasa was a shogun with "a very good taste, but not enough money". So, he worked for several years to build a palace rivaling the famous Golden Pavilion, built by his grandfather when shogun's power was much greater. Although called the Silver Pavilion, Ginkakuji was never actually covered in silver as intended. Our guide suggested we see the Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji Temple) the next day and decide which one we prefer.

Afterwards, we got some green-tea flavored shaved ice, and walked down the Philosopher's Path towards Nanzen-ji Temple. It was pretty hot (at least 90F), and at least half of the path was in the sun, with dust kicked up from the gravel. So, the ensuing 45 minutes or so weren't all that pleasant. The guide kept commenting how tough we were and Sofia kept muttering that it was a really bad idea to take a mid-afternoon stroll outside in the sun in 90-degree weather. On the way, the guide led us to a simple small temple with a beautiful shady garden. It was Honen-in Temple, named after Buddhist priest Honenbo-Genku who promoted the teaching of Buddhism to ordinary people during 12th century, when in Japan Buddhism was primarily a religion of aristocracy. The temple was austerely beautiful and its gardens provided us with much needed break from the sun, if only for a short time.

Back on the Philosopher's Path, we finally made it to our destination - Nanzenji Temple - which was originally built in 1264 by Emperor Kameyama as a detached palace (a summer villa). The Emperor later embraced the Buddhist faith, became a monk and donated this villa as a Zen temple in 1291. In 1293, Nanzenji became the head temple of the Rinzaihu-Nanzenji school, one of Zen sects, and ranks above the "Five Great Zen Temples" in Kyoto. Its main gate - the Sanmon Gate - symbolizes the three paths to Buddhist enlightenment and is well-known as one of the three biggest gates in Japan. The garden was beautiful, with trees and rocks grouped together at one end of a large open space. The Hojo Hall (living quarters for master priest), with excellent paintings of landscapes, animals, and birds on the walls and sliding doors. Some of the most remarkable were paintings of tigers and leopards, including the famous "Tiger Drinking Water" by Tanyu Kano. Apparently, during 13th century, there were no tigers or leopards in Japan and artists had to base their work on animal furs imported from China. Because of that, tiger and leopard heads and muzzles look stylized, even though the stripes and spots are realistic. In many paintings, tiger and leopard are portrayed together, as Japanese thought that leopard is a female tiger.

Afterwards, quite tired, we caught a taxi to get us to Gion area quickly. It was Saturday afternoon, and the area was very crowded, both with locals and with tourists hoping for a geisha sighting in this old geisha quarter. We walked around a bit, didn't see any geishas, but found our marinated garlic shop and bought a couple of packs. We also found the yakiniku beef restaurant that both our guide and taxi driver recommended, but they had an hour-long wait for the table. So, we found the bus stop and went to our hotel to take a shower and relax a bit.

In an hour, feeling somewhat recharged, we walked out to look for dinner closer to our hotel. In about 3 minutes, we stumbled upon a yakiniku restaurant called Ichi right on our Karasuma Street, on the next block. They had an English menu and an English speaking waiter, and some really good beef which we grilled at the table. We tried tongue, which was a bit of a disappointment, and then a plate of short rib and a very nice set of lean cuts, which was bigger than we expected. We grilled and ate it, enjoying every bite. This restaurant was a totally unexpected find and an excellent reward after a hard day of sightseeing.

June 1 [Leon] Kyoto

We woke up in the morning and, while having breakfast, decided to take it a bit easier today. Our plan was to spend the morning sightseeing, then have lunch, and spend the rest of the day shopping and relaxing to avoid the 95F degree heat outside. So, after breakfast, we took subway and bus to Kinkaku-ji Temple - the famous Golden Pavilion. We tried to get there by the opening at 9:00 am, but hordes of schoolchildren beat us to it. The temple was beautiful, despite the crowds, with the main building seemingly floating on water and gleaming gold, reflected in the surrounding pond, with a shining phoenix statue on top of the shingled roof. The ponds with islets of various sizes, and surrounding gardens add to the beauty and splendor of this temple. It was built as a villa in 1397 by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the 3rd shogun of the Muromachi Period, and converted to a Zen temple after his death. The original structure burned down in 1950 and was rebuilt in 1955.

Afterwards, we found a bus stop with some difficulty, and caught a very crowded bus to Ryoan-ji Temple. This temple is famous for its rock garden, which our guide book described as an "exquisite garden of 15 judiciously placed rocks and raked sand, designed by Soami in 1473". It certainly felt very Zen, however we found it a bit minimalistic even for a Zen structure.

Without a direct bus back to central Kyoto, and getting tired of buses in general, we caught a taxi to Nijo Castle. Built by the Tokugawa Shogun in 1603, this huge castle has some exquisitely decorated rooms with beautiful paintings on the walls and sliding doors. Also of note is the so-called "nightingale floor" with squeaky boards to warn of approaching visitors (or ninja assassins). I am still not sure whether this floor was by design, or a bug that became a feature. Perhaps the floor started squeaking after some time, as wooden floors often do, and the head carpenter quickly came up with a great rationalization for it, to avoid becoming a headless carpenter...

Leaving the castle and getting hungry, Sofia and I had a lively debate about where to have lunch. I really wanted to have pork katsu, and there was a great katsu place called Katsu Kura recommended in our guidebook, located at JR Kyoto Station. Sofia was thinking of going back to the Sukiya chain outlet for more unagi, especially if there was a location close to Nijo Castle. There were no Sukiya locations close by, and we had to go to JR station anyway to reserve our seats for several train rides, so we headed there. The station was crowded, however with moderate effort we found our way to the 11th floor and found Katsu Kura. After a brief wait we were rewarded with the best katsu ever - lean and juicy, not greasy at all, with spicy sauce that we had to grind sesame seeds into ourselves. After lunch, we explored the rest of the very impressive futuristic looking JR Kyoto building and did some shopping. Finally, we took care of our train seat reservations and went back to our hotel.

There we changed and headed to Uniqlo on Kawaramachi Street to return a couple of items Sofia bought on May 31. We also remembered seeing an interesting-looking sushi place across the street from Mina building where Uniqlo is located. After stopping by Uniqlo, we found that sushi restaurant called Uoshin, with big pieces of fish on display. We walked into a narrow space, with sushi bar on one side and a few small tables on another. It looked busy and lively, so we took seats at the bar, got English menus, ordered a small bottle of sake, and started ordering sushi. Uoshin was a great find - they specialize in their own style of sushi which involves placing huge pieces of fish on small clusters of rice. We had some amazing toro and toro salmon, hotate (scallop), ikura, and a few other types of fish. They were out of shimesaba (cured mackerel), but the abundance and quality of other fish more than made up for it. Another delicious reward for a slightly easier day of sightseeing.

June 2 [Sofia] Kyoto to Hiroshima and Miyajima

This morning we woke up, had breakfast at the hotel where I observed that Leon is decidedly avoiding all Japanese style breakfast items. In what is already becoming a routine, we turned in one of our bags to be delivered to our hotel in Osaka and boarded a train to Hiroshima, with a switch in Osaka. There was a noticeable number of westerners on a train. In Hiroshima after some search and asking around, Leon found a very big locker for 700 yen to fit in all our bags. After some confusion with fare - our book had obsolete information about a 2 day pass - we took a tram to the A-Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Park.

The A-Bomb Dome (Genbaku Dome) is a completely gutted domed building that served as Industrial Promotion Hall before and during the war. Now only some parts of the outside brick walls, some mangled steel beams, and roof skeleton remain. According to the plaque outside, the bomb exploded almost directly above the building, leaving the structure destroyed, as we see it today. It is kept as a timeless reminder of the devastation wrought on Hiroshima by the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. The Peace Memorial Park is situated directly across the T-shaped Aioi-bashi Bridge, which we crossed walking past a couple of riverside cafes and stalls selling fruits. As we were walking, we saw to our amazement a few stand-up paddle-boarders just pushing off the dock on the river below. They wobbled about for a bit and then took of downriver, and we continued into Peace Memorial Park. The park is a somber place, with several memorials, reflective pools, and fountains. Especially sad was the Children’s Peace Memorial, dedicated to children who died in the blast and later from long-term effects of radiation. We slowly walked through and around the park, stopping to ring the Peace Bell.

Across the bridge and on the left from the Memorial, we found recommended okonomiyaki place Nagata-ya, with large griddles in the center of each table. Oyster place that we initially selected in our guide book was closed. We ordered one pancake with seafood and another with garlic chips. They came with big chunks of seafood and soba noodles on top. While I was struggling to pick out "the good stuff" out of my pancake, Leon quickly and efficiently worked on extinguishing his pancake, dipping it in thick sweet spicy sauce. Completely stuffed, we marveled at how okonomiyaki chefs work flipping pancakes on big griddle with gigantic spatulas. We headed out through the shopping arcade which goes through half of the city but looks very provincial and took a tram back to the station.

We wanted to go to the Three Waterfalls Temple Mitaki-dera but instead of quick 2 stops by train we had to switch trains because of a line closure. The Mitaki station and houses around it all looked very quiet, with not a single soul around. We made our way to the hill and discovered this amazing place, with untouched greenery, very serene and peaceful. There was a big cemetery on both sides and a sign that this pagoda was moved to Mitaki-dera to hold a memorial service for the victims of the atomic bomb. At every few steps we discovered one sight after another - waterfalls, big statues protecting Buddhas, a group of fun Buddhas in red knit hats, beautiful trees. The path was getting narrower and steeper, and forest looked darker, so we decided not to go to the top and turned back to the station.

Arriving back to Hiroshima, we stocked up on sake and Japanese whiskey in a grocery store to bring with us to our ryokan and boarded a local JR train going towards Miyajima ferry. After a 30-minute train ride, we caught a ferry to Miyajima. During the ferry ride, an elderly Filipino gentleman told us a story how he came to Japan as a missionary and how he visited the headquarters of his mission in United States. Leon called the ryokan to pick us up at the ferry dock and they met us with a welcome sign. There were many wild deer wandering around the island. Ryokan was surprisingly comfortable, and all the staff very polite and welcoming. We were served a very decent dinner with sashimi in our room at 7:30 pm and went for a quick walk afterwards. Leon tried to have meaningful conversation with a deer, to get him to move off the road but that didn't have desired effect. We gave up and went to sleep.

June 3 [Sofia] Miyajima

We had a western-style breakfast in the dining room and caught the 8:00 am shuttle to ferry dock and town center. The island feels sleepy and dreamy, with mist and haze rising over hills and valleys. We walked towards famous floating Torii gate which had very little water around it due to low tide. The gate is part of the beautiful Itsukushima shrine complex constructed partially over water, with walking passages and wooden bridges connecting several shrine buildings. Of course, due to low tide, there was no water under these walkways. Then we headed for the mountain Misen (530 m high). As usual, we decided to do the strenuous hike to the mountaintop instead of taking the easy ropeway up, like most people do. The 2.4 km hike up through the forest started slowly, but later became very steep, with big rocky stairs leading up. There was a sign that this seemingly wild forest was in fact one big civil engineering project. After a big mudslide in 1945, government preserved the area by building multiple drainage pipes and retaining walls. This must have been an enormous and difficult undertaking, since most of the work probably was done manually or with small equipment to preserve the surrounding forest. After viewing a few shrines and halls and a bunch of cute smiling Buddha statues, we came to the mountaintop observation deck with amazing views of hazy ocean and mountains around, Hiroshima and other smaller cities on all sides. We were practically by ourselves at the top and didn't want to leave, but it started drizzling and we went to the 2-stage ropeway which took us down over treetops.

Back at the foot of the mountain it started raining heavily and we bought an umbrella. We found the oyster place Yakigaki-no-Hayashi recommended by everyone as the best local place for oysters which are farmed on the island. We ordered 8 oysters on half shell which were the biggest oysters we have ever had. The plates came decorated with little Tori gates. The restaurant owner at the cash register told us a story that Ronald Regan had oysters at this place on his visit to Japan, even though he did not take a picture with him, because it was a “secret mission”. After lunch, we sleepily walked over to the rambling long Senjokaku hall with roof reinforced with big tree trunks on top and a handsome red five-story pagoda next to it. Afterwards, we walked around Omotesando shopping street a bit more and called our ryokan to come pick us up at the ferry terminal.

After resting a bit at our hotel and eating a huge dinner served in our room (sea bream three ways - sushi, sashimi and stewed, beef, salad, soup, tofu, watermelon) we took the 7:40 pm shuttle to go back to the Torii gate and walked under and around them. The area was brightly lit and looked very romantic and serene, except for all the school kids screaming their lungs out.

June 4 [Sofia] Miyajima to Osaka

Today we left Miyajima and took the ferry and local train to Hiroshima, where we switched to Shinkansen and arrived at Osaka. Here we left our bags at a luggage storage room, had a very quick takoyaki lunch (fried octopus balls), and jumped on a local train to Suntory Yamazaki whiskey distillery. Leon reserved a free distillery tour for 13:00, and it was a lot of fun, especially the tasting part. After that we took a train back to Osaka, made it to our hotel, which is very simple and even somewhat shabby, but is in the middle of central Dotonbori shopping area.

It was starting to drizzle, so we changed into our rain shells and went to explore. Once we got to the shopping street, we found one big shopping arcade with cheap and not so cheap stores everywhere. We had a short break at Starbucks and decided to go look at Umeda Sky building. It wasn't all that easy to find when we got to Umeda station, a labyrinth of long shopping arcades, restaurants and crowds of people everywhere. We had to find the underground tunnel which led us to a very impressive building, architected by Hara Hirochi who also designed Kyoto train station. The building is very futuristic looking with a floating garden on top. We took a glass elevator and a long escalator going through a glass tunnel to get to 37th floor, 173 meters above ground. On top we took in an amazing panorama of Osaka, with brightly lit high-rise buildings, helicopter pads on top of many, little trains running in all directions and highways streaming between the buildings down below. We went to the open-air observation deck, even though it was exposed to rain and wind.

After we came down, Leon fearlessly led us to our favorite sushi restaurant Uoshin following directions that we received at information desk earlier. We passed a shopping mall with Ferris wheel on top and huge red whale in the atrium. The restaurant was in another bright shopping arcade, loud, stuffy and rowdy. However, menu looked the same and they had shimesaba (cured mackerel) we wanted to try. It was a great dinner, just like at Uoshin’s Kyoto location. Afterwards, feeling completely exhausted from all the walking, we took subway back to Namba station and our hotel.

June 5 [Sofia] Osaka to Takayama

Yesterday we had switched our train reservations for a later train to allow us a little more time in Osaka. Initially we thought about going to local fish market, which is one of the biggest in Japan. However, then we decided that the visit to Osaka famous castle is certainly worth spending our morning on. We had a quick and insufficient breakfast in the hotel and took subway to Osaka Castle. On the way, Leon commented how large all walking distances and stations are in Osaka, and I agreed. I find Osaka very spread out and unnecessary confusing.

However, the castle was very easy to find - sitting high on a hill, surrounded by a big moat and nicely landscaped gardens. The stone walls around it are massive and made out of huge rocks. The castle is well-restored and freshly painted in white, green and gold 5-story structure with golden images of tigers on all sides. Inside it is pretty empty and has been turned into museum with funny holograms depicting samurai battles and other historical events related to Osaka and its castle. The view from observation deck was spectacular, overlooking very green lush gardens and Osaka skyscrapers. The walk to subway station again was pretty long - we had to go through the entire park. Back in the hotel, we quickly checked out, shipped one of our bags to Tokyo via Kuroneko (Black Cat), and took the subway to Shin-Osaka.

Quick one-hour ride to Nagoya, and we are in the land of original miso-katsu that Leon has been looking forward to for a while. The place I picked, Misokatsu Yabaton (http://www.english.yabaton.com) is on the 9th floor of Meitetsu Department Store which Leon found very quickly, probably led by his well-honed sense of smell for katsu. There was a bit of a wait, but we ordered while waiting outside, which helped. Leon had teppan (hot plate) miso-katsu, while I ordered something called "precious black pig" which was very lean, served on top of salad, with good miso soup and rice. We spent some time looking for Starbucks to finish our meal and found it in the same department store. This Starbucks had a counter where customers could order rare exquisite types of coffee, such as Kona. Then it was time to board our JR train from Nagoya to Takayama.

Two-hour ride to Hida-Takayama on a somewhat shaky train was very scenic, going through rural mountainous areas. We took a 5-minute cab ride to our ryokan on top of a hill overlooking town. We felt tempted to go for highly praised Hida beef but decided to give ryokan's dinner a chance, since it was included in our stay. There was a lot of small dishes as usual, with some beef, good soup with egg and noodles and sashimi, which went well with 12-year single malt Yamazaki whiskey. We went exploring into town after dinner, where everything was pretty dead and closed except for an occasional bar here and there. We actually saw some half-drunk commuters making it home from the station after 9pm.

June 6 [Sofia] Takayama

This morning we had the special-order western breakfast, served on traditional Japanese-style low tables. I refused to sit on the floor this early in the morning and ate standing, watching Japanese version of "Fox and Friends" on TV. After strong morning rain, weather turned gloomy and drizzly. We headed to morning market which did not have local apples we hoped for. I was not surprised - June isn't apple season. We went to another market where one could try all kinds of marinated things, crackers, nuts and other stuff. Leon even found some sausage, even though it wasn't all that tasty. We bought two nice red and black lacquered wood bowls to use for chirashi sushi back home. The sun came out and we decided to do Higashiyama walk which started in the woods. We observed a good looking lean wild boar eating leaves on a slope above us. After we came out of the woods, we walked for a bit through several rural-looking streets, all very clean, with nice houses and amazing vegetable patches. Once we approached the historical area, we came upon one temple after another. Some of them were moved to this area from other places, all landscaped and well taken care of, with large cemeteries behind some. We finished the historical part of our walk by going to Hida Kitchen restaurant, which serves Hida wagyu of 3 different grades, all with various degrees of marbling, from A3 to A5. We ordered a piece of A5 sirloin and bigger piece of A4 sirloin, to compare. The restaurant was decorated with dark wood, decidedly in a western steak house style. Steak was tender, fatty and melted in the mouth, with A4 being fattier than A5. We finished our meal with good coffee and watched chef making steak. He poured oil in a copper pan, threw some chopped onions in it and a piece of steak on top, covered it with lid and flipped it on top of onions in a minute, covered it again. Then in a different pan he melted a big chunk of butter, threw a steak in there, seared it on one side, flipped it, salted and added a mix of soy sauce, lemon juice, red wine and rum, setting the skillet on fire in the process. Deep in a steak coma, we sleepily wandered around shopping for souvenirs but did not find anything good this time and went back to ryokan.

It started raining as soon as we got in and continued until dinner, even though we still had a minute to go and buy a little bottle of good sake in town. Dinner at ryokan was extensive - beef shabu-shabu, beef with mustard, crab, sashimi, unagi don, edamame soufflé. We finished the day by going back to town to Cafe Don we found yesterday. It had a really nice and relaxed atmosphere, with classical music playing, and felt like a Viennese coffee house. Leon had a piece of apple pie, and I had cassis sorbet.

June 7 [Leon] Takayama to Tokyo

Early and quick breakfast, and a short cab ride to the station to catch our 8:00 am train to Tokyo via Nagoya. After 2.5 hours on Hida Limited Express, we got to Nagoya and switched to Shinkansen. After arriving in Tokyo, we switched to a local JR train and made it to Shinjuku Station. It was just about lunch-time, and I looked up the local Katsu Kura location in a department store next to the station. Knowing the drill by now, we waited in line, asked for an English menu, ordered while waiting, got a table, ground sesame seeds for sauce, and finally got our delicious katsu. After lunch, it was time to check into our hotel. It was raining pretty heavily, so we took a taxi from the station. The hotel Citadines Shinjuku is a modern all-suite hotel, with decent-size rooms, comfortable beds, and even small kitchens. We got our bag sent here from Osaka, changed and took subway to Harajuku to shop for souvenirs. It was still raining heavily, so the walk was not all that pleasant. We also did not find anything decent to buy, except a couple of cute sushi-themed mouse pads. Then we jumped back on a subway and took a train to Ginza. The rain had stopped and we strolled through the streets taking in the scenery and people-watching in this very lively central neighborhood once again. We got to Toraya and again had their delicious bean jam and rice balls dessert and coffee. Afterwards, we walked around some more, did some souvenir shopping, and headed back to our hotel in Shinjuku.

Back at the hotel, we had to re-pack our bags for next day’s 1:00 pm departure. Afterwards, still not hungry for dinner, but with the clock approaching 9:00 pm, we headed out in the general direction of Shinjuku station and the local branch of our favorite sushi restaurant Uoshin. A few blocks from our hotel, the area got noticeably livelier – lots of young guys and girls in “going out clubbing” outfits despite heavy rain, crowded bars and clubs (a few looking suspiciously like adult entertainment establishments), and a couple of posh brightly-lit hotels. The whole neighborhood was hopping, and I wondered what it would be like if the weather was nicer… Finally getting hungry, we found Uoshin in a club/music venue building. This Uoshin was very different from Kyoto or Osaka locations. It was nicely decorated and empty even at this late hour. I suppose, they get after-club crowd craving a sushi breakfast at 6:00 am. Anyway, the menu was similar if somewhat more expensive, so we had a nice sushi dinner. Then we walked back to our hotel through the rain and growing party crowd.

June 8 [Leon] Tokyo

After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and left our bags with them to store until 1:00 pm. Then we walked over to Shinjuku Gyoen gardens. It’s a large and nicely laid out park with Japanese, English, and French garden sections, several beautiful ponds with giant carp, turtles and ducks, and a hot house with tropical plants and orchids. We had a very relaxing walk through and around the park, stopping to take pictures and admire the amazing art of Japanese landscaping once again. After that, we headed towards Shinjuku station for some shopping. We came across a Uniqlo store, where I bought a couple of t-shirts and Sofia bought a denim shirt. Heading back to our hotel, we stopped at Sukyia for a quick unagi-don lunch. After that, it was time to drop our mobile Wi-Fi device in the mailbox, and catch our “Green Tomato” shuttle to Narita airport. In the airport, we checked in and passed through security quite quickly, bought some duty-free stuff and some sushi to take on the plane with us for dinner… And then, sadly, it was time to say goodbye to Japan. Until next time!