San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.

The town of San Juan del Sur on Nicaragua's Pacific Coast.

What to do: San Juan del Sur, on Nicaragua's southwestern coast, is wedged between the Pacific Ocean and the massive Lake Nicaragua -- best known as the home of the world's only freshwater shark. Just outside San Juan are some of the few perfect beaches left in the world, both accessible to tourists and virtually empty. To the south, Playa Remanso has a soft wave (nice for swimmers and beginner surfers) and a beach bar under a thatched roof. A little farther down the coast is Playa El Coco, where you're least likely to see any surfers because the waves are puny by Nicaraguan standards. South of El Coco is Playa La Flor, a national wildlife reserve and turtle nesting site where, during the nesting season from July to about January, thousands of turtles crawl up onto the shore. Nicaragua Surf Report gives surfing lessons staring at $50, which includes a ride to the beach and back; non-surfers can also get rides for about $10 round-trip -- probably a better bet than renting a car since the roads are harrowing (50 meters behind the Texaco station, info@nicaraguasurfreport.com). For the requisite zip-line jungle canopy tour, stop by Da Flying Frog (Carretera a Marsella, Tel. 505-465-6781; $30). Locals gather for Sunday-morning baseball games between San Juan's team and neighboring towns at the stadium just south of town.

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An audible "buzz" filled the air along the Central Pacifica coast on Sunday, March 29, 2009, as over one hundred and seventy guests arrived at The Gran Pacifica Golf Resort and caught their first glimpses of Nicaragua's newest 18-hole golf course and luxury condominium development. With the constant sound of waves breaking on the beaches of this 2,500-acre Pacific Ocean resort, guests were treated to fabulous cuisine, a lively band performance and the excitement of witnessing the resort's first golf event and competition.

The air was hot and balmy, typical of the days before the "green season", while the finest steaks and sumptuous jumbo shrimp sizzled on the open fire all day long. As well, Flor de Caña rum and refreshing Victoria beer were immediately available at every call. The festive mood was enjoyed by the local guests and a multitude of foreign investors/buyers that had flocked to the beach to hear more about the real estate opportunities available at "The Milagro del Mar Beach Club", the newest beach development within The Gran Pacifica Golf Resort and one of Central America's most luxurious condominium projects to date.

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"More than Hope" Charity Concert at Gran Pacifica

On Saturday, March 14th Gran Pacifica hosted a concert to raise funds for two non profit organizations CHESS and Love, Light and Melody which benefit more than 3,000 children and their families both in Villa El Carmen, the municipality where Gran Pacifica is located and the Managua city trash dump community of La Chureca. Both organizations works and dedicate their efforts to improve the education and health conditions as well as to battle the physical, emotional, and spiritual effects of extreme poverty.

The concert featured the band Braddigan and a number of local bands. Gran Pacifica aims to grow this event into a yearly event that would rival those taking place in the States.

As the day progressed, more and more people showed up and by the end of the day the crowd totaled in the hundreds. Attendees enjoyed not only the music performance but also from food, drinks and fun activities for the youngest. People gathered around the pool, in the restaurant area and under tents and enjoyed from a different kind of activity.

 400 donated bicycles on their way to Nicaragua

The World Community Bikes folk are thrilled to announce that the container of nearly 400 donated bicycles is finally on its way and is due to arrive in the port of Corinto, Nicaragua later this month.

Beginning in the fall of 2007, the group purchased a 40 foot container and undertook to collect unwanted bikes from our community, with the specific purpose of sending them to EcoSur, a non-profit group in Nicaragua. Nicaragua was chosen as a destination as World Community has been involved in projects there for some years. The bikes will be sold at affordable prices so that locals can have an alternative to walking long distances or to the ever increasing cost of bus or taxi transport. Funds from the sale of the bicycles are used to support education and training for street youth.

Thanks to a great response from our community, the container was soon filled. Thanks, too, to dramatic increases in fuel prices over the same period, shipping costs created a bit of a setback.

World Community Bikes has now set its focus on providing and/or maintaining bicycles for low-income members of our community. To date, bikes have been provided to the Transition Society, Dawn to Dawn and to Canada World Youth participants.

Used bicycles and parts continue to be accepted. As well, any unwanted tools would be most welcome, especially a bike maintenance stand. The group is also seeking a small space in Courtenay where refurbished bikes can be stored so that perspective owners can view them.