Costa Rica and Nicaragua can be described in just one trip since they are nations that share a common natural border, the San Juan River, a place that felt the boot soles of Captain Morgan and even Mark Twain.

Get set for adventure in these lands where flowers crown every daybreak over a colonial village that now serves as a hotel. And discover the charms of the sunset from behind the windows where you can also gaze at the new day as the sun emerges from the sea.

Let’s first leave the Juan Santamaria Airport in San Jose. The Xandari Resort & Spa –a former coffee plantation estate of brisk colors, smooth curves and amazing views of the Central Valley- is just a 15-minute drive away from the terminal. If you are the kind of traveler who’s never seen volcanoes, swing by the Poas Volcano National Park. Up there, you’ll find a whole lot more than just a chance to climb 8,852 feet high for a peek at the volcano’s crater or practice rafting in the nearby Reventazon River. You’ll see gardens of orchids, bromelias and hydrangeas, and there’s even a butterfly breeding farm –penciled in as the world’s largest facility of its kind. This is no doubt one of the finest tours around.

When it comes to scouting the Pacific coast, it’s better to get the show on the road down the least commercial trails. That place is the faraway Peninsula of Osa, between the ocean and the Dulce Gulf that can be reached on a one-hour charter flight. National Geographic once called it «the most biologically intense place on the face of the earth», because you’ll hit upon motley parrots, crocodiles, an unexplored forest and a handful of beaches that will make you feel as if you were Robinson Crusoe. In the Nicoya Peninsula you’ll get a chance to stare at white-sand beaches and small towns that appear to have been built just for you. Mal Pais and Santa Teresa, not far from the Cabo Blanco Natural.

Don’t forget to visit Tortuga Island. As you head for it, you’ll feast eyes on an astounding waterfall that jumps down into the sea, not far from Montezuma Beach. Nearby Tamarindo Beach is one of the country’s most popular foreshores for its huge and quiet bay.

Less than a one-hour drive from Tamarindo lies Liberia. The Daniel Oduber Quiros Airport is in the outskirts of town. If you can’t afford to waste time, take a 45-minute flight taking off from Nicaragua’s Granada. In the banks of the Nicaragua Lake –it’s so large that Spanish conquistadors thought they’d discovered a new ocean- stands Granada, one of the mainland’s oldest colonial enclaves. Pirates and filibusters ransacked the city and set it on fire, yet the town has managed to stick to its nicknamed Grand Sultan pride intact.

Nicaragua boasts over 40 volcanoes. The city overlooks the Bombacho Volcano and clambering up to the crater is just another must-see. From the top of it, travelers may follow down a trail into the woods, crowned by fumaroles and hammocks, from where they can make out one third of Nicaragua’s total surface. Take this other tip: tour the 14-mile stretch between the former Masaya Marketplace –home to a magnificent festival every Thursday- and a strip of land where you could take a fancy at swaying in a hammock or purchase the finest pair of snakeskin boots money can buy. On your way back, step up to the crater of the Masaya Volcano, where conquistadors staked a huge cross to chase away the devil that used to live in it. You’ll hardly forget the landscape before your eyes.

Another 20-minute stretch stands between San Juan de Oriente and Catarina, a location teeming with excellent craftworks. The town’s main street leads to a watchtower from where visitors may look down at the Apoyo Lagoon –a jaw-dropping lake that rests atop a volcano crater. Its sulphurous waters are simply wonderful for the human skin. Its banks are crowned by the Norome tourist compound.

If you love the sea, Nicaragua’s Pacific coast is not far from there. Steer down to San Juan del Sur, just a 20-minute drive from the Costa Rican border. Just a half-hour drive from San Juan del Sur, Morgan’s Rock –Nicaragua’s first deluxe ecoresort- stands tall. Perched on Ocotal Beach.And don’t you forget, of course, Little Corn Island, a tiny white islet of powder-thin sand and deep blue sea with unbeatable conditions to practice scuba diving.

Drop in on Puerto Limon. The 9 miles of land stretching into the Panamanian border looks like a picture-perfect Caribbean postcard, with palm trees, deserted beaches of crystal-clear waters and schools of frolicking dolphins. And it’s all about Central America, a world region that always has something to offer and wears its heart out on its sleeve.