It is safe to say that Costa Rican / Nicaraguan border crossing was the worst we've had yet, a sign or two would've been lovely! We only got fleeced once, $2 each as a donation to... we don't know what. Once we crossed the gates into Nicaragua we were mobbed by hawkers, we were polite at first, but ended with the words 'don't touch me' and 'leave me alone'. Following two chicken buses and Cara nearly falling out the back doors because it forgot to stop, we safely made it San Juan Del Sur. So far it can be noted that Nicaragua is the most authentic Central American country that we have been to, some would call it 'edgier'.
Our first day in San Juan Del Sur was spent exploring the little town. We spotted a monument of Jesus Christ on top of the hill (a bit like a poor man's version of Christ on the hill in Rio De Janerio), so we decided to hike up there to get a view of the bay. After many wrong turns we made it 3/4 of the way up and saw a sign indicating that we had to pay $2 each once we got there. Discouraged by this, we decided to give it a miss. While out for dinner that evening we bumped into some american folk (Jessie, Matt and Alena) that we had met in Bocas Del Torro. We told them about our 'half-a-job' trek up Christ and they proceeded to inform us that we had made a mistake and that we should go again because it is absolutley stunning.......wonderful! We managed to make it all the way up there on a day that there was no surf and when we were particuarley hungover. The yanks were right, it was absolultley stunning. Beautiful emerald coves as far as the eye could see, not to mention the statue of Jesus himself. When we made it back we immediatley informed the Yanks we had 'found Jesus', much to their amusement!
Most of our days in San Juan was spent surfing, we would catch a ride via 4x4 to near by beaches; Maderas and Ramonso, where we surfed at least 3 times a day. The shuttle service was run by a surf shop called Arena Calante, who comprised of local surfers. Great guys and great fun, they did not batter an eyelid when we handed them back snapped leashes or broke the bus seat, although this was defiantly not our fault, I have never seen so much rust on a vehicle that can still move! The surf was great with consistant offshore winds and some really big swell on a few days. Most days we would come back and have to nurse wounds, or tend to some pretty bad sunburn. Following a hard day at the beach we would relax with dinner and drinks and many games of fooseball. We also met a lovely British couple (Michael and Kylie) who hung out with us for a few days, along with the yanks it was really cool to have a big group of us. Between us we managed to polish off a 2 litre bottle of 'Flor de cana' a high quality bottle of rum, which we got for the bargain price of $15.
We really enjoyed our time in Nicaragua, having spent a total of 10 days there, it meant that we really got to know the place and made some good friends. Next stop, back to Costa Rica to San Jose, not our favourite place, but needs must as we had to get our flight to Los Angeles.
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