Shannon McKenna Schmidt and Joni Rendon, the authors of Novel Destinations: Literary Landmarks from Jane Austen’s Bath to Ernest Hemingway’s Key West, have set their sites on the Rio San Juan in this latest post on their blog:

Mark Twainâ€™sÂ Nicaragua

They write about the famous author’s “wild-eyedÂ enthusiasm for theÂ verdantÂ Nicaraguan sceneryÂ he encountered along the way,” and include this great description from MT himself:

â€œAs we got under way and sped down the narrowing river, all the enchanting beauty of its surroundings came outâ€¦. The changing vistas of the river ever renewed the intoxicating picture; corners and points folding backward revealed new wonders beyond, of towering walls of verdure….”

Here’s the full text of Twain’s travel reports on Nicaragua for the San Francisco Alta

And here’s a modern story from the banks of the Rio San Juan, from fellow Living Abroad author Erin Van Rheenen: “A gay Border’s Cafe in the Nicaraguan jungle?”