Surfin´in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

Having spent our obligatory days on the Costa Rican coastline, we moved on to play catchup with our elusive friends.

Checking out of the Coral Reef to tearful goodbyes from all the "dudes" there, we got our bus to the town of Liberia. The guidebooks had good things to say about this place despite there not actually being much stuff to do. We considered staying one night but upon arrival, the hot dustbowl town was just not that appealing to us. We got on the next bus to the Nicaraguan border. On the bus we met Jen and Amy, some Aussies who were heading to the same town as us, San Juan del Sur. We agreed to share a cab through from the border into town and we all ended up camping down at the Casa Oro hostel... a place that seemed perfect for the surfer clientelle. After spending a short time there I noticed that just about everybody was either Australian or French Canadian. There were a few English and Scandinavians present too but I was surprised by the make-up of the tourists.

The heat was again pretty intense. That night we relaxed and had dinner with our new friends and went out for a few cheeky drinks at Iguana´s beachfront bar. The most common creature around these parts is the gecko. There are hordes of them everywhere all making a distinct noise that sounds like the mix between a click and a squeak. The morning was spent preparing for our first day of surfing. The town of San Juan del Sur has a totally different feel to that of Tamarindo. For starters there are no signs of resorts and US commercial enterprise. The buildings are all single story and colorfully painted. The area is also very dry and the roads are dusty.

Main Street in San Juan del Sur

The beach in front of town

We got a taxi to take us to Maderas beach, which reputably has the best surf around. The beach was super crowded with surfers (beginners and pros alike) and the water was stunningly clear and warm. I rented a board from the local "dude" on the beach and got out into the surf. Waves were competed for by everybody, making it difficult to catch many. Nonethless I did manage to get onto several, most of which ended in a spectacular wipeout.

Maderas beach

Amy from Australia

The intense sun took its toll and by the end of the day I felt pretty roasted on my back. Arriving back in town, we decided to move hostel to the more spacious and less crowded Rebecca´s Inn. The place was a family guesthouse which had thin separator walls installed to facilitate guests rooms. The owner´s name was Martha and we couldn´t figure out how it had recieved its name. A day of surfing had left us exhausted and although we had intended to go out and meet some friends for drinks, a movie followed by sleep was a far better option.

Too much sun

Enjoying breakfast on my Barbie plate at Rebecca´s Inn

Marie's Bar. It never seemed to be open

Surfing commenced again the next morning at Remanso beach. It was just Irina, Marie and myself there for the day along with a bunch of other Gringos. This place was more suited to beginners and it was far less crowded. The swell however had picked up significantly from the previous day so we still had some pretty rough encounters with big 6 foot sets pushing through. I managed to grab some decent waves and stood up several times but still fell woefully short of where I wanted to be. As the sun set, I gave Marie another capoeira lesson on the beach and was impressed by how quickly she was picking up the movements.

Waxing the boards at Remanso Beach

Set to go!

Working on the Jinga

Capoeira on the beach at sundown

Loading the surf boards

After a nice dinner at the hostel, we went out to Henry´s Iguana bar for some drinks. Every time we came to Iguana´s, we were able to view huge lightning storms over the ocean which was entertaining. Later on we moved onto a local nightclub called The Jungle Room which was ok. We met some crazy Canadian people as well as some locals who were incredibly good at salsa dancing. I resolved that I would learn this as soon as possible. Elaine, Helene and Irina left in the morning for Isla Ometepe. I was going to spend a few more days in this little town before heading through there too.

Left to right: Jenn (Aus), Max (Eng), Jeanne (Quebec, Canada), Amy (Aus) and Jack (Eng)

I decided to rest my aching shoulder for the day. I got fully stuck into one of Isabel Allende´s novels, Ines of my Soul, which I rarely wanted to put down. I did manage to take a walk around town and check out the local beach which was chilled out but not as cool as those we had visited in the previous two days. Overall a very chilled day which ended in yet some more beers in the evening at Henry´s Iguana Bar with some Aussie and English friends. The next morning was another relaxing one for me. Marie went out for another surf but I abstained citing injury. In the afternoon I signed up for a fishing trip out into the bay. Two Swedish guys from our hostel, Victor and Niklas, had signed up too, so we got some beers together and joined the rest of the group consisting of 3 fishing-crazy Americans. We started out with a bit of trolling and it didn´t take long for a reel to scream as a fish took the lure. Luckily for me I was closest to the rod (a cunning plan of mine) so I got to haul in the first fish. It turned out to be a fair sized Bonito (small tuna) which I was very happy with. Next hookup was another bonito followed by a large needlefish.

My first ever Bonito

Bonito Landing: Click to view the video

Throughout the trip we were enjoying some lively banter mixed with delicious beers. As the sun began to set we stopped the boat and started some handline fishing. Just about everybody caught fish which included red snapper, rock bass and a triggerfish. It was a pretty great way to spend the evening hours and it only cost $15 each! A bargain in my opinion. The return journey was exciting too. They had a big outboard engine on the little Panga boat so we decided to test it out a little. We ended up launching off several waves and got some great airtime! The crash landings weren't too comfortable though.

I think this is a Red Snapper

An ugly Triggerfish

I kept my Bonito with the intention of spoiling ourselves with fresh tuna steaks that evening. I set about cutting at it with a blunt knife which proved to be a severely arduous task. I made a proper mess in the kitchen too with fish blood and guts just about everywhere. I was waiting for the hostel owners to storm in and give me a tongue lashing for ruining their whole kitchen but when they did come in, they seemed quite unaffected and even somewhat envious that I had fresh tuna! At the same time, the Swedish guys were filleting their 2 small red snapper which I felt was a far simpler task! When I finally managed to extract the tuna steaks I handed the cooking duties over to Marie whilst I took a necessary shower. She did a sterling job and we all enjoyed our meal

Niklas after getting caught in a downpur for a minute

The next morning was our last. Next stop was at the Isla Ometepe. We had a hasty breakfast at Big Wave Dave´s. I had a breakfast burrito which I suspect was the reason for bloating I felt for the rest of the day. A cheap taxi took us to San Jorge del Sud where we boarded a ferry to the island.

Big Wave Daves