Many Happy Returns

On a visit to Rancho Santana, a resort on Nicaragua’s Pacific coast, Jen Murphy is reminded of why she fell in love with the country nearly two decades ago.

- Jen Murphy

"WAVES ALL DAY," my surf guide, Leni Espinoza, sang out. It was barely 5:30 a.m. and the morning's first blush tinted the sky sherbet. Most guests at Rancho Santana (doubles from $400) were still sleeping, but the surrounding jungle was wide awake. We waxed our surfboards to a chorus of bellowing howler monkeys, the high-pitched buzz of cicadas, and a symphony of birdsong. Above it all, the rumble of crashing waves called to us.

It was the promise of consistent surf that first drew me to Nicaragua in 2010. But the country's natural beauty, empty beaches, warm people, and untapped potential for adventure are what have lured me back a half dozen times, including my stay at Rancho Santana last April. The vastness of the resort made it feel like my own private national park. It has 21 miles of jungle trails and even a turtle sanctuary where guests can observe hatchlings from August through October.