Trip Report: A Quick Winter Escape to Aruba

A few days of intensely cold weather in NYC made Thomas and I want to leave for Aruba pronto. This 5-day Xmas trip was my idea. Although Thomas objected to it at first (he always does that when I book our trips far in advance), he seemed very ready to be somewhere warm a few days before our departure (right when the cold snaps hit NYC). I was very ready to leave town for a few days as well. Somehow 80 degrees fahrenheit sounded better to me than minus 5 degrees fahrenheit.

Aruba sure did not disappoint us with her weather. Even though rain was in the forecast during our entire stay there, the rain would last no more than 10 minutes and when it was done, the weather was sunny, windy and warm. Aside from a submarine ride we took in Oranjestad, followed by a tour of the capital city, we pretty much stayed in the hotel and tanned ourselves away. Aruba beaches have nice fine sand. The beach at our hotel was nice but was packed with all these families from the States (which frankly ruined the experience for me). The beaches in the low-rise hotel area are much nicer if you want peace and quiet. Trust me, you will find fewer American brats (those 9-12 year olds who would die for the Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana) in beaches like Eagle Beach, Manchebo Beach and Druif Beach.

The food in Aruba, though pricey, did not disappoint us in the quality and taste department. If you want inexpensive food, take a trip down the main street of Oranjestad and you will find a few inexpensive restaurants where the local frequent, including one that is run by this Chinese guy who serve up Chinese and Surinamese dishes. Didn't try it but the place was packed when we walked past it. Also for people who can't live without Asian food for more than 3 days, there are a few Chinese and Thai restaurants there as well as a supermarket chain called "Supermercado Kong Hing" where you can buy Asian groceries. I persuaded Thomas to go to this Thai restaurant called "Sawadee" and found out after we ordered that none of its staff were Thai, including the Chef, who was this German guy who took up Thai cooking classes when he was living in Bangkok. Needless to say, the Thai food there tasted very bland but the shrimp was fresh at least. The three restaurants that we really liked were as follow:

1. Amazonia Churrascaria
Website: http://www.amazonia-aruba.com/
This is a traditional Brazilian grill located in the Palm Beach area that serves great grilled meats and offers a great salad bar.

2. Gianni's Restaurant
Website: http://giannisaruba.com/default.aspx
An Italian restaurant in the Palm Beach area serving up great and authentic tasting Italian dishes (make sure to order its seafood risotto but stay away from its broccoli rabe -- the pathetic portion size of this hot antipasti dish can almost make you cry). Reservation is highly recommended since this is quickly becoming a popular dining spot in the Palm Beach area.

3. Casa Tua
Website: http://www.casatuaaruba.com/
A pizzeria in Oranjestad serving up great thin crust pizzas and pasta. Make sure to get a table on the balcony.

A lot of Americans travel to Aruba. In fact, it's such a popular destination among those who live in the New York metropolitan areas that hotel guests can get the local New York City channels on the major hotels' cable programming there. We felt like we never left New York when we watched TV in our hotel room.

We had a great time in Aruba. The food was great, the weather was perfect, the Arubians were friendly and the beaches were beautiful. Now only if our hotel had banned families, especially those from the States, then it would be perfect vacation for us.

Trip Report: Discovering Nicaragua

Every year I would organize a trip during the week of Thanksgiving for my close friends and this was my third trip. After visiting South Africa in 2006 and Egypt in 2007, we all wanted something different this year. Perhaps something less exhausting that would give us a break after putting up with the tiresome travel itinerary we had for Egypt. Several destination suggestions were thrown my way, but one that got my attention was Nicaragua. I had read somewhere earlier this year that Nicaragua is fast becoming a key tourist destination in Central America. The article even described it as "The Next Costa Rica". Wanting to be at the forefront of tourism, I decided that this would be the destination for our '08 Thanksgiving trip. When my friends all talk about Nicaragua as the place to be five years from now, I want to be able to tell them that this is old news and I was there many moons ago. Yes, please meet the bitchy and snooty side of Andrew Lim.

After doing some research, I contacted a local tour operator called "ORO TRAVEL" (http://www.orotravel.com/) to set up a private tour for me and five of my friends (Peter, Alison, Ein, Cynthia and Geoff). Our itinerary would be for 8 days. We would travel to Granada, Ometepe Island and San Juan Del Sur. This appears to be a popular itinerary for first time visitors. My jaw nearly dropped when I received the price quote from the ORO TRAVEL rep. It was slightly over USD500 per person and was certainly an amount we were happy to pay considering how much we have lost in our investment and retirement accounts as of late. We signed up for the tour without any hesitation. By the way, I would highly recommend ORO TRAVEL to anyone who wants to travel to Nicaragua. It is reliable and the customer service is top notch. I also highly recommend our tour guide, Julio Flores. He speaks very good English and can be contacted via email at julio@orotravel.com.

Many of my friends in the States expressed concern when I told them we were going to Nicaragua. A lot of them still think that Nicaragua is a dangerous place because of what transpired in the 80s. Leave it to us to be so paranoid about other countries. Contrary to the general impression the country has over here, Nicaragua has the lowest crime rate among the Central American countries. We felt very safe when we were there. I would not say the same for its neighboring countries like El Salvador. Some hot dude who sat next to me on the plane ride over was from El Salvador and in our conversation about the safety of his gang-ridden country, he reassured me that the gangs only attack the locals and usually would leave tourists alone. That's quite some reassurance if you ask me.

We started our tour in Granada. the fourth most populous city in Nicaragua and has quite a history. The city has a lot of Spanish colonial buildings dating back to the 1880s. We visited the Masaya Volcano, Catarina (with a lookout point of the Apoyo Lagoon), the local Craft market and the city of Granada. We also did a boat tour on Lake Nicaragua and a canopy tour at the Mombacho Volcano. The canopy tour was my first and it was very fun. I felt like Tarzan except I wasn't wearing a loincloth.

We headed to Ometepe Island on our third day. It is an island on Lake Nicaragua formed by two volcanoes, Concepcion Volcano and Maderas Volcano. We visited a couple of places on this island during our two days' stay here but honestly, this was the most boring part of our trip. The island is really rugged and lacks proper tourist infrastructures. The island is also filled with little insects and creatures that could be found even in our chalets. Some people may find this fascinating but urban snobs like us cannot appreciate nature that much. Fortunately, the delicious grilled tilapia served at the hotel restaurant and a few games of UNO helped our time pass a little quicker. When Julio mentioned to us in the van that this island is very peaceful and has had no major violent occurrences in the past, Peter leaned over and whispered to me that the only violence that would have happened was when residents/visitors who were bored out of their skulls fought to get on the ferry to cross back to the mainland. I burst out laughing.

Our last stop was San Juan Del Sur, a former fishing village now popular with surfers and beach seekers. It is a crescent-shaped bay and has several spectacular beaches nearby. Aside from taking a trip to see sea turtles lay eggs, we didn't do any sightseeing here. We just sat by the hotel pool and ate Asian snacks all day long. We love to eat. Some of us also love to shop.

One of things I enjoyed the most in San Juan Del Sur was my daily sunset run. The locals would look at me funny since they don't really run for the sake of good health. When they run, they are usually running away from stray dogs (plenty of stray dogs on the streets of Nicaragua). They really don't need to run since almost everyone there is skinny. We didn't see any overweight individuals save the American tourists and the owner of a local ice cream shop in San Juan Del Sur. I am guessing he did way too much taste testing over the years -- a clear occupational hazard for someone who owns/works in an ice cream parlor.

Overall we enjoyed our trip to Nicaragua. The people there were friendly, the seafood was yummy and things were so inexpensive. I would consider this an eco-trip since we did a considerable amount of nature activities like standing on lava soil and having lunch at a farm (ha ha. what else do you expect?). Alison who just went to Costa Rica earlier this year told me that she actually prefers Nicaragua over Costa Rica. So for those of you who love Costa Rica, it's time to turn your attention to Nicaragua but please don't tell too many people about it. An influx of tourists will only ruin the unique charm of this developing country.

Andrew recommends:

1. Granada

Hotel: Hotel El Patio del Malinche (http://www.patiodelmalinche.com/english/)

Restaurants:
A. El Bucanero (facing the Apoyo Lagoon). This place serves the best ceviche at $2-$3 per order.
B. El Zaguan. This is notably the best restaurant in Granada. Serves a great steak and other meat and seafood dishes.

2. Ometepe (if you can skip it, skip it!)

Hotel: Villa Paraiso Hotel (http://www.villaparaiso.com.ni/welcome.htm).
* Make sure you ask for a chalet facing the water when you book a room there.

Restaurant: the restaurant in Villa Paraiso Hotel. The grilled tilapia is to die for.

3. San Juan Del Sur

Hotel: La Posada Azul aka "The Blue Inn" (http://www.laposadaazul.com)
* Highly recommended! Maria, the manager and her staff will take great care of you. This hotel is owned by a couple who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Restaurant: El Timon Bar (the best seafood in town), Pizzeria San Juan (serving tasty pizza and pasta and is owned by an Italian guy who moved here 20 years ago).
* in general, the food in San Juan Del Sur is not as good as the food in Granada.