The Aurora Beachfront Realty team has just returned from a successful 10-day investment seminar tour in Northern California. The investment seminars were inspired by large amounts of people in northern California who eagerly expressed the desire to learn more about investing in property on Nicaragua’s Pacific coast.  The focus of this trip was to present the best real estate investments in Nicaragua, as one of the only locally owned real estate firms in San Juan del Sur.

Aurora Beachfront Realty carefully selected three projects that we assessed as having the best value and being the highest quality real estate available in Nicaragua.   These projects included Balcones de Majagual, El Encanto del Sur and Agua Azules Condominiums.

Balcones de Majagual

Balcones de Majagual is a 265-acre beachfront project that offers ocean view lots with the option of building custom homes and a few different houses that are already completed.   The project is located 6 miles north of San Juan del Sur and has access to Los Playones beach, that is only a 10 minute walk from the famous Playa Madera surf beach.   Balcones de Majagual builds in an eco friendly manner and has some of the most impressive architecture in Nicaragua.  Balcones de Majagual is being developed by the same people that built Morgan’s Rock Eco-Lodge Hotel, a high-end eco lodge located directly north of the Balcones de Majagual property.

El Encanto del Sur

El Encanto del Sur is located 5 minutes north of San Juan del Sur and is the best selling Pacific Coast project of Nicaragua in 2008.  The land, almost 350 acres, begins just north of San Juan del Sur and meanders to the top of a ridge providing unparalleled views of the Pacific coast to the west and the island of Ometepe to the east.   El Encanto del Sur has set aside more than half of their land as protected green area, which shows their dedication to being a low impact green development.  They are offering large ocean view lots in Phase one and turnkey construction in Phase two as well as financing.

Aguas Azules Condos

Aguas Azules Condominiums is a project found within Hacienda Iguana in the Tola region directly in front of the surf break at Panga Drops.   Hacienda Iguana has the only fully functional golf course on the pacific coast of Nicaragua.  This is the ideal condo project in Nicaragua if you are a surfer, golfer or just looking to be directly on one of the best beaches.  The exterior of the building is a contemporary interpretation based on the rich colonial architecture of Nicaragua.   The beachfront condo building will be 5 stories with 5 units on each floor.  Aguas Azules is offering 1, 2 and three bedroom units all with direct ocean views and access to the best surf in Nicaragua.

The investment seminar tour had stops in San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Los Gatos. At each investment seminar Aurora presented a brief overview of the history of Nicaragua, recent trends in tourism and real estate in Nicaragua, and why Nicaragua is poised for growth. Each project developer presented his own individual project followed by a short question & answer session.  These presentations gave our clients a deeper understanding of the Nicaraguan marketplace and the specific projects that you can’t get through browsing the web.  Aurora will be hosting a series of seminars about Investing in Nicaragua in other locations across the US and Canada.  Please let us know if you would like Aurora to visit your area to learn more about Nicaragua real estate.

Great news on the horizon for the city of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua and the surf beaches north of it. The mayor has announced plans to pave the “Chocalata highway” going north from the new municipal offices all the way to the Talanguera. The “Chocalata” is a road that hugs the back of San Juan del Sur and connects downtown San Juan del Sur with its residential side, across the estuary to the north. The “Chocolata” is also the only road that connects San Juan del Sur with the beaches north: Marsella , Maderas, Los Playones, Majagual. (for a description of these beaches visit Beautiful Beaches of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua)

The road improvement project has already begun the first phase, which is installing proper drainage and bridges along the 1.5 kms of road that will be paved in the next 12 months.

The project has gained huge financial support from a new apartment project called “Talanguera Beachfront Apartments”. Their contribution has helped pay for more than 80% of the costs of this road improvement project.

Last month the Talanguera beachfront apartments broke ground and made significant progress on the construction of their large scale beachfront endeavor. The project is being called one of the most ambitious beachfront condo projects in Nicaragua. They will be building over 50 different condo units in 3 different styles of buildings. The premier building will be called “Estrella del Mar” or Sea Star and will have 14, 3 bedroom penthouses to choose from all located just steps from the sand.

The project is located on the north end of San Juan del Sur in the residential area called “La Talanguera”. This area is characterized for its large beachfront mansions. Homes that have been traditionally owned by wealthy Nicaraguans. These beachfront homes are most often used for weekend getaways and during certain national holidays. Nicaragua Vacation Rentals rents a few different beachfront homes in San Juan del Sur in the Talanguera neighborhood. Click here for a description and some photos.

The area is naturally isolated from its more commercial counter part to the south by the estuary of San Juan del Sur, which runs in the middle of the bay.

The downtown side of San Juan del Sur is known for its restaurants, bars, shops, and night-life. The more tranquil, Talanguera, side of San Juan del Sur is a good option for second home buyers who are looking to be on the bay of San Juan del Sur with great access to the amenities of town while in a quieter more relaxing setting.

Talanguera beachfront condos are affordable pre-construction units that Range in price from $220,000 to $395,000. Sizes of each condo range from 122 sq meters (1300 sq feet) to 184 sq meters (2000 sq feet). There are 2 and 3 bedroom models available with the largest option being the penthouse that offers 3 bedrooms plus service quarters for live-in maids or caretakers.

The project has a large pool and bar/ restaurant area that will be shared by all apartment owners.

This project holds the promise of being one of the best and most affordable beachfront options in Nicaragua. The location also guarantees great appreciation in value. With the town of San Juan del Sur developing at an astonishing pace to cater to the huge influx of beach going tourists, Talanguera beachfront apartments are sure to go up in value.

You can reserve an apartment with $10,000 refundable deposit.

Whether you are visiting on vacation or in search of real estate in Nicaragua, everyone has to eat. We, here at Aurora Beachfront Realty, have compiled a list of the best food available in San Juan del Sur.

The Bambu Beach Club

San Juan del Sur’s newest spot is open daily from noon to 1 am, Bambu’s menu draws inspiration from Europe and Asia while maintaining a distinct Nicaraguan feel. The restaurant also offers a wide variety of cocktails and movie nights on Mondays and Thursdays. Bambu is located at the northern end of the beach in San Juan del Sur.

El Pozo

An eclectic American bistro serving cuisine made with fresh local Nicaraguan ingredients in a stylish, contemporary setting with a full service bar. Special sushi menu every Sunday. Open 6-11 pm, Wednesday-Monday. Located near the central market.

Josseline´s

This restaurant on the southern end of the beachfront road in San Juan del Sur serves up great seafood dishes including: shrimp, lobster, ceviche, fish, and calamari. They make great steamed clams as well. It is a worth a visit for lunch or dinner.

El Timon

If you are looking for typical Nicaraguan cuisine this is the spot. El Timon, meaning “the helm” is located at the end of the main road into town, directly on the beach. The landmark restaurant has been around so long it is used as the central point in describing addresses in the area. Their specialty is seafood and they serve all kinds.

La Cascada and La Canoa at Pelican Eyes

Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Daily lunch and dinner specials. Options include steak, lamb, fish, stir fry, pizza, salads, soups, sandwiches and more. Enjoy the 2×1 drink and appetizer specials during the Happy Hours (Wed. and Fri. from 5-8pm.) Located on the hill on the eastern side of town.

The list continues, check back soon.

San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua has a new hotspot to watch the sun set on the Pacific wth your feet in the sand.  Bambu Beach Bar & Restaurant has a great selection of cocktails as well as appetizers and entrees.

The restaurant design is open and welcoming with chill-out areas on the beachfront.  Bambu Beach Bar is great for hanging out and having drinks or sitting down for dinner.

The menu draws inspiration from Europe and Asia while maintaining a distinct Nicaraguan feel.  Bambu Beach is certainly unique to San Juan del Sur and brings a fresh new vitality to the community.

Take a look at their website

www.thebambubeachclub.com/

This past Sunday April 20, 2008, Aurora Beachfront Realty participated in the third annual cleanup of La Chocolata, the 22 kilometer dirt road from San Juan del Sur to Rivas. This road is the access from San Juan del Sur to all the beaches north including: the surf beach Maderas, Playa Marsella, Playa Majagual and Los Playones.

Morgan’s Rock organized the annual event, helping bring hundreds of volunteers out to clean up the Chocolata. Aurora is always happy to work with Morgan’s Rock in community endeavors and especially to help make Nicaragua cleaner and more beautiful.

The day was sunny and the road has never looked better. Volunteers woke up with the Nicaraguan dawn and started picking up trash at 6 AM. Volunteers were treated to lunch and music after donating their time to help the community. Aurora Beachfront wants to commend Morgan’s Rock for their time and energy.

Last week (april 18th - 19th), San Juan del Sur was proud to host the first Music Fest Nicaragua 2008. The inaugural community event brought thousands of people to our sleepy beach town to enjoy Nicaraguan art, culture, and music.

The two-day event opened on Friday night with Noche Urbana. DJ’s, graffiti artists, and breakdancers pleased the crowds and kicked off the event in style at the new San Juan del Sur Sports Park.

Saturday afternoon featured Arts in the Park, with local artists displaying their work on San Juan del Sur’s newly remodeled town square in front of the cathedral. Artists showed their paintings, photographs, ceramics, furniture, and jewelry while a jazz quartet played in the background.

The finale on Saturday right was a rollicking affair with Nicaraguan music groups & rock bands playing late into the night. We at Aurora are looking forward to helping Music Fest grow and we’re exited for next year’s event.

Nicaragua in the third Central America Surf Competition

The third edition of the Central America Surf Championship was held in Panama from the 21s to the 23^rd of March. Teams from Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador competed.

Every country brought their best surfers to compete in different categories:
- 4 open Men
- 4 Juniors
- 2 open Women
- 2 Longboard
- 2 Bodyboard Men
- 2 Bodyboard Women

The Nicaraguan National Selection was made up of the 11 best surfers in Nicaragua determined by the results of the Claro Nicaragua Surf Circuit. The Nicaraguan surfers come from San Juan del Sur and the Tola region of southern Pacific Nicaragua. The small surf towns in Tola have some of the best waves in all of Central America and produce some of the best Nicaraguan surfers. Here is a list of the Nicaraguan surfers and the categories that they competed in:

Open Men

Luis Chamorro
Augusto Chamorro
Mario Martinez
Samir Duarte

Juniors

Rex Calderon
Junior Martinez
Darwin Jacamo
Larry Davila

Open Women

Ashley Blaylock
Elsy Marin

Longboard

Roque Calderon
Junior Martinez

Bodyboard Men

Rex Calderon
Darwin Jacamo

Bodyboard Women

Ashley Blaylock

The Nicaraguan National Surf Team traveled to Panama City, Panama Wednesday, the 19^th of March thanks to a 50% discount on airline tickets given by Copa Airlines. The Nicaraguan National Surf Team was greeted at the airport by the president of the Federation of Panamanian Surf, Ruben Garcia. The team loaded onto a microbus and was taken to Playa Venao in the province of Los Santos on the Pacific coast, 5 hours from the capital.

Thursday was a training day and the Nicaraguan surfers worked hard to analyze and get to know the type of wave, and the tidal conditions that Playa Venao offered.

In the morning on Friday classification began in the different categories and in the afternoon the first rounds of competition started. Luis Chamorro classified for the second round in the Men’s Open category, Rex Calderon in Juniors, and Roque Calderon in Longboard for the Nicaraguan National Surf Team.

On Saturday in the second round Luis Chamorro went up against Diego Salgado from Panama and Juan Carlos Naranjo from Costa Rica. Luis was in the third position in the heat, but thanks to his intelligence and ability he managed to get his adversary penalized and finished in first place in the semifinals. Rex Calderon was in first position in his heat from the beginning demonstrating the ability that he had shown on the Nicaraguan National Surf Circuit.

The semifinals and the finals were on Sunday. Roque couldn’t find any good waves and was eliminated from the finals in the longboard competition. In the Open Men’s category, Luis Chamorro confronted 3 of the best professional surfers that Costa Rica has to offer: Gilbert Brown, Diego Naranjo and Luis Vindas. It was one of the best heats in the Central America Surf Competition. Wave after wave the four surfers showed their domination of their boards. Luis finished in third place and didn’t advance to the finals. In the Juniors category Rex continued his domination from the first wave and classified in first place.

Immediately before the finals started the wind changed direction and the waves lost their good form creating a bad feeling for all the surfers and spectators. Rex was not accustomed to surfing in onshore wind conditions because in Nicaragua the wind direction is perfect nearly all year.

The Juniors final was extremely close, the point difference between the finalists was minimal, but this didn’t bother Rex. It simply helped him to demonstrate in front of everyone the diversity and level of competition that he possesses at such a young age. Mr. Rex Calderon (as the team calls him) was crowned the new Champion of Central America Surf in the Junior Category. The Nicaragua Surf Team was ecstatic and exploded chanting REX! REX! REX! Meanwhile, Rex showed his happiness with the big smile that characterizes him. This was not just a victory for Rex but for the future of surf in Nicaragua.

The final results in the team competition were as follows:

1. Costa Rica

2. Panama

3. Nicaragua

4. El Salvador

5. Guatemala