south of the land border with Costa
Rica at Guanacaste, to La Flor beach, a
turtle nesting sanctuary. The wildlife
haven doubles up as a sun-drenched
blaze of blonde sand and shallow
crystalline sea, backed by lush forest.
As I walk through the greenery, the
beach opens up as an invitation to
a private playground of fairytale
beauty. I spend the morning, pitched
up under the shade of a tree, stunned
that there isn’t a soul in sight. This is
the definition of Nicaragua; remoteness, breathtaking natural beauty and
absolute freedom from tourists, or in
this case, people.
San Juan del Sur paints the polar
opposite picture. Long known as an
insider surfer and yogi spot, the party
town is Nicaragua’s most famous
destination. A long and expansive
crescent bay is fringed by shallow
mountains dotted with the homes of
wealthy locals and expats, overlooked
by a Christ the Redeemer statue in
the same way as Rio de Janeiro. This
is where the original Nicaraguan
surfing scene began and the town has
seen growth borne of it. Even here, at
Nicaragua’s most touristic, the scene
is laid-back and local.
Morgan’s Rock Hacienda
Hideaway
The star of San Juan del Sur is an
ultra-remote hideaway through a long
and winding dirt track. Straddling a
4,000-acre private reserve of jungle,
estuary, beach, farm and mountains,
Morgan’s Rock is a fully-fledged
eco-lodge. 15 hilltop cabanas, facing
out to sea over the mountains, are
designed using natural materials
from an on-site wood plantation.
Bathrooms are sumptuous in their
simplicity and inspiring in design,
featuring gnarled copper pipework.
Whilst Nicaragua is the home of the
hammock, Morgan’s Rock takes this up
a notch, as outdoor terraces feature
swinging double daybeds. It is a hike
up to my cabana. The 15-minute hike
climbs hundred or so steps carved
up a mountain, crossing the forest
canopy via a purpose-built suspension
bridge, through the heart of wildlife
such as sloth and monkeys. By dusk,
this jungle walk reverberates, as frogs,
birds and insects compete for the
loudest screech. The glory of Morgan’s
Rock is the thick and wide white-sand
private beach, accessible only through
the lodge or private boat. One side
of the beach is luxuriously appointed
with purpose-built individual thatched
shelters housing gigantic hammocks
and swinging cocoons.
I find little need to leave Morgan’s
Rock. Between the indulgence
of mealtimes and the option to
breakfast at the on-site farm and
organic garden, I take nature hikes,
fall asleep to rhythmic massages,
kayak and fish on the estuary and
relax in a home away from home.
With the ultimate luxury of jungle,
mountains and beach, little is left
wanting. But I’d return at a flicker of a
heartbeat for the guided horseback
riding from the in-house stables. My
knowledgeable guide, Carlos Reyes,
leads us to astounding views atop
surrounding hills, before trotting
through the farm to feast on freshly
picked blood orange and grapefruit,
and we end our daily horse jaunts
galloping on the sun-soaked empty
beach. Morgan’s Rock is as luxurious
as Nicaragua gets, in a property
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