On the way to Paraguay from Nicaragua, we hung out for a week at Miami Beach in Florida.
This gave us the opportunity to purchase some new laptops and other much needed technology. Buying technology in Guatemala & Nicaragua is costly due to high import duties/freight, so many people stock up when they are in the US/Canada or get people to bring goods through for them. We weren’t sure what would be available in Paraguay and the cost so we decided to head to the US from Nicaragua before heading to South America.
Travelling to South America from Nicaragua
Getting to South America from Central America isn’t as easy as you think it would be! You can travel by road/boat/flight but it’s a mission as you are essentially unable to travel through the Darien Gap so you have to around it somehow.
We flew Avianca from Managua (Nicaragua) to Miami. We used MYTRIP to book as the Avianca booking website wouldn’t play ball – we hadn’t used MYTRIP before to book anything which was a bit nerve racking. But it was great and it was the same pricing as direct with the airline. The booking process was easy and logical. Many of the other booking sites display prices that exclude luggage & fees so the advertised cost is incorrect!
MYTRIP also tends to offer more airline options than the bigger flight booking sites. There are many smaller airlines in Central/South America that offer great value price wise. They also have a convenient app.
From Miami to Asuncion (Paraguay) we flew COPA, the national airline of Panama. We had a short stopover in Panama. This flight was booked directly with COPA, their website is easy to navigate around with a country and language option in the top right hand corner. After a ‘dog’s breakfast’ check in at Miami airport(which was luckily not an indicator of things to come) we relaxed and enjoyed the food & movies on the way to Paraguay.
Out & About in Miami
Miami Beach
We spent most of our time hanging out in our apartment, walking around the local area and at the beach.
It was generally pretty hot as it was August, so we headed to the beach early in the morning or late in the evening. The beach is pristine and very well groomed and the water was a lovely temperature, with gentle lapping waves. Quite different to the Nicaragua beaches that we had been hanging out on with crashing waves that can pull out your hair ties and relocate your bikini top!
Wynwood Walls
Wynwood Walls is a cool wall art graffiti-esque museum. It features works from the worlds leading fine artists, graffiti writers and muralists. The sidewalks in the area are also painted with designer graffiti and stencils. Look up and many of the high rise buildings have giant murals on them.
Art Deco District/Ocean Drive
Worth a stroll. This pic was taken early in the morning so this is the quiet! Later in the day and into the evening (especially on the weekends) its bars & restaurants are crowded to the early hours of the morning. It’s a bit like a circus on the weekends….. people watching at its best!
Lock & Load Machine Gun Range
We’re not generally Machine gun people but we you say ‘Miami’ of course ‘machine gun’ comes to mind.
If you like to pack heat and put hot lead down range then knock yourself out. At Lock n Load you can blast away until your fingers are numb and your bank account is empty!
Where We Stayed
Finding accommodation in Miami Beach took a bit of online searching! So much to choose from and some options were quite pricey.
We ended up choosing an apartment in the heart of South Beach on AirBnb – Only a 5 – 10 minutes walk to the beach, shopping and restaurants. It was in a perfect spot to access everything we needed but away from the noise of Ocean Boulevard. It was also great value. Conveniently it had a beach umbrella, chairs & towels.
Getting around Miami is easy as they have a great public transport system but we tended to use Uber if we needed to head somewhere that wasn’t walkable. After living in Nicaragua for five months, haggling with taxi drivers about price and getting squashed on local buses , we enjoyed the luxury and convenience of Uber. There is no Uber in Nicaragua.
After six days in consumer heaven we were ready to head to Paraguay and hopefully to what would be our new home.
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