Photos | Xander Visits

For 10 days we had the way-too-much-fun-fun-ness of hanging out with Xander, a 16 year old adventurer from home. The fact that he came out here by himself is pretty neat.

We took him to plenty of markets (which were his favourite part about Nicaragua), we explored Leon together, we went to Pizza Planet, we hiked a dormant volcano & spent 5 minutes at an active one, he climbed stuff, and John let him drive the Lada. Ask us about the Lada. In person, though.

Laguna de Apoyo - this time a day trip - honestly this place is a dream.

They'll both sleep in the middle of public, but the moment you add in a bedtime story, pyjamas and brushed teeth, you're asking for trouble.

On our way to San Juan del Sur we saw these volcanoes. John knows the names.

We spent New Year's Eve day in San Juan del Sur at Maderas Beach. Getting there takes either a 4x4 (or a Lada) and it's filled with a bunch of hippies camping in the sand. All in all, pretty great.

On New Years' Day the boys went to the Orphanage for a tour. The next day, we went to Mombacho Volcano where Xander did a canopy tour (zip lining) & we all took a hike in the rainforest. 

That's pretty neat.

How neat is that?

PIZZA PLANET.

"The Claw"

The Christmas House had warm water on the main floor, so bath time was easy.

We also went to Granada, Leon, a few markets, and a pool party - it was so much fun! But we left the camera at home for those. 

Closed out the trip by checking out Masaya Volcano (active).

Trying to wrap my head around what a volcano is. 

You're not supposed to go off the main road, but when with a 16 year old, you hear things like: 

"That looks fun to climb. I'm going to climb that."

The Lada. We met someone down here (Dan!) who was gracious & kind enough to lend us his car while he was away, and while it seriously has a pile of quirks, we thought it was a fun ride. On his last night here, John took Xander to a backroad and let him try it out.