Only been a short time since my last blog but so much has happened that i need to express otherwise next will be too long!

so with my border run in full swing, i carried on life in costa rica with a visit to Tamarindo beach where i instantly gained colour back that i had lost staying in the mountains in el salvador! then went to an israeli food cafe where i had amazing food, then was stuck for 3 hours due to a massive rain storm. in the end i knew i had to leave and braved the rain when it was lighter, got soaked and covered in mud as all the roads are tracks.

There was an international marathon in Tamarindo the Saturday so a couple of the runners from Costa Ricas capital were staying in my dorm, so gave me a good chance to wise up on where to go in costa rica and also practice my español! i stayed out of the way of the marathon which began at 5am because of the heat there in the day. the people i met did 10k, 32k and 42k. the oldest guy in his 50s did the 42k. then wanted to know why i dont like sports!!! haha

so sunday i left Tamarindo for my long slog back through the country and border and into Nicaragua again. I was told the bus was at 7am so i got up and ready and was on the corner for 6:45 and no bus. i waited a while then wandered off for a cuppa and saw my bus go up the hill into town. i drank it quick and recommenced my waiting around. at 9am, 1.5 hours after id began waiting the second time, i got on the bus. that took about 2.5 hours and then changed to the border bus in Liberia. at the border, hoardes of men wanted to come to my aid and to walk with me through the 1km walk between the 2 immigrations, and even though i had only done this 3 days earlier i forgot the way and ended up going through a hole in the fence with a random man following me offering me a taxi!

Eventually a nice lady pointed the way for me between the HGVs and i found Nicaragua immigration. Next step after i paid and got my stamp was to get into Nicaragua. The gap in the wall, yes thats all it is, was covered by a lorry so i couldnt see and wandered off only to be followed again by 2 men who then showed me the way. i managed to get a good price for a taxi but $15 is still too much when i can get 2 buses for $1 each. so i chose the bus route. walked through the hole and paid to enter the area and 3 more men began following me shouting where you going and this place and that place and prices and telling me there was no bus. lies i could see the bus to managua which stops in a change terminal an hour away. so locals staring at me because i have 5 men following me, imanaged to get on to the bus and into safety! i paid $1 and the driver stopped at a crossroads where my bus to san juan would stop so i didnt have to back track. i waited with 2 local ladies and began chatting to them asking if i was in the right place. a car pulled up with 2 young guys driving and offered us all a lift to san juan as they were going that way anyway. the women both got in and i hesitated as i tried to listen to their spanish then i was called over. i checked them and where they were going and got in. everything was fine and i got there so much quicker. i know some of you will think thats mad but its the culture here in central america, kind people offer lifts for no other reason than kindness. i got there so much quicker.

My next day i went to a beach near san juan supposely for beginner surfers with tiny waves. when we got there the waves were bigger than everyone thought. i got in with the teachers board after a while of him teaching kerry and gave it a go. his board was so much smaller and thinner as its for people that arent beginners! i got on and rode a few waves while led on the board. it was fun but one time i was walking to come in a bit to shore and a huge wave come over and snatched the surfboard from my arms with force and pulled me under. i was so worried about it landing on me but it had thrown it fairly far and it was attached to my ankle otherwise it wouldve gone further! so i decided my time was up and i just sunbathed instead and fed the street dogs!

Next day me and kerry got ready and left for Isla de Ometepe. We got the ferry over and was mobbed with offers of taxis etc when we arrived. we moved along to the main town on the island called Moyogalpa. grabbed some lunch and a guy turned up at the cafe and sat outside nearby with a friend. id noticed he had a cool motorbike. he began talking fluent english to us asking about us etc and said he has a shop where he rents motorbikes. i really had an urge to do it so i took a night to think about it! We got a taxi to our hotel in Charco Verde, near the national park. it was a cute hotel with lake view and volcano behind. perfect.

We decided the next day to hire bicycles from the hotel and to ride the 13km to Moyogalpa so i could have a motorbike lesson. it was heat of the day when we left and my bike was too high and for men and the long saddle was giving me a LOT of Pain!!! we stopped about 4km along after a long time of me moaning and asked a local guy how far it was to a beach we liked the sound of. he said a long way more. and then got a wrench out and moved my saddle so it was more comfortable. what a gem. i managed to ride to the beach names Punta Jesus Maria where we took a swim to cool down and admired the amazing volcano and lake views. we decided the cycling was doing us good, and to carry on the next 6km to Moyogalpa. We made it and were chuffed with ourselves. didnt know where the bike shop was but we bumped into the guy riding around luckily. chatted and i sat on a bike but he said i couldnt wear flip flops that i had cycled all the way in!!! annoying. well he recommended anyway so i took the advice. then he said or we have an ATV(quad bike) and when we saw it we both said YESSS ok and reserved it for the morning and to have it for 24hours. went to a place recommended in LP for a burger and the american crazy guy who runs it clearly hadnt spoke to anyone in a while and was crazy and wouldnt stop talking and telling us of how he was arrested for growing maraijuana for medical reasons haha! he rescues street dogs and offered us both free lodging if we chip in. too crazy a man to work with thank you! burger and beer were great though! we caught the bus back to Venecia with our bikes in the back too and almost killed ourselved walking in pitch black down a 1km track to our hotel. scary.

We got up extra early and went to get our new play thing the ATV. we both had lessons with the guy Robinson and i found it kinda easy to get the hang of. it has shift gear down by the feet like a dirtbike. so was good to get to grips with that for my lesson the day after. we took the quad to Merida, and half way along the long ride the road is no longer a road, just a load of rocks, perfect for the quad. it was downhill most of the way and really scary to look at but the quad just aced it. we went slow and took it in turns. kerry didnt master the quad well and there was a lot of stalling and a lot of stopping in very inappropriate places like in the middle of the wrong side of the road. luckily the island doesnt have many vehicles! was amusing though. so we got to our mission where we wanted to rent horses but arrived to late n the afternoon to go. the woman rescued dogs as well so when we arrived the dogs all ran at us barking so we spoke to them and calmly approcched and they loved us. a local lady who came up the track with us ran away in fear and said they bite. i didnt get that impression at all. they just are friendly land owners! she had 9 dogs and a few cats too. and obviously horses which we couldnt ride.

so we went back and kerry allowed me to drive back, blisters and all from the bumpy ride and holding the gas stick there. i just did what atvs are made for. i put my finger on the gas and we flew up the rubble tracks and through the potholes and holes full of water and through the grass. we made it in half hour and it had taken about 2 hours to get there. it was so fun! sore bums though!

We drove to Ojo de Agua half way back and stopped for an hour. its a natural swimming hole and the water is freezing cold but refreshing once your body adjusts. after we rode to punta jesus maria to catch the sunset but kinda missed it and only caught the crappy ending! gutted.

That night we went out in Moyogalpa as we had transport to get back to venecia. we had pizza and invited Robinson to join us for a few beers which turned out to be a lot of beer. having all had too muchand me getting annoyed with a local idiot, we went for a walk first to get air. then i drove the atv back the 13 kms. After a race with robinson on his dirtbike vs our ATV on the deserted roads, i got on for my lesson! i managed to ride the dirtbike fairly good and caught up with kerry on the atv and swapped back over so robinson could go back home to the town. hed drove us most of the way home though following.

Next morning i got up and i took the atv back to robinson and did my first foreign filling up of gas well i told the man and he put it in for me. i made sure it was full and returned the bike. checking it over thoroughly they gave me our deposit back as we hadnt made damages! YES!

I hung around to wake up more and then got a ride back to Venecia on the back on Robinsons cool bike. we swapped and i had another unofficial lesson so i didnt pay the full days rental of the bike. it was so fun and i was riding in 4th gear after a matter of minutes. shifting gear no problem. im quite proud of myself been as its bigger and more powerful than the normal beginner dirtbike that i was originally having.

Got back and me and kerry decided the next activity to master was horesriding. we got 2 horses and a guide who took us to Charco Verde the nature reserve. my horse was fine for half of it then in the reserve kerrys refused to move and mine didnt like his rope on his head, think it was in his eyes and kept being odd. then we moved and 2 minutes later he freaked out and went onto his back legs with front reared up and then spurted into a gallop in which i instantly stopped with the reins. was scary though and a group of locals walking ran into the bushes for safety. i was freaked so i swapped horses and had the guides who was taller and faster but so much easier to control. we got off and tied them up and me and kerry went into the reserve and saw howler monkeys , a group of 9 of them, babies and adults. so cute. walked round the small lake there and then after an hour went back to the horses and back to hotel.

Had the most amazing pizza last night in a pizzeria so i need more of it tonight! chilled out and went back to pack.

we left the hotel for the 7:30am ferry however i was warned that there is a political thing between managua and granada today and the ferry is free for locals to go over. so it was jam packed and left 1 hour later than usual and then the road to rivas was blocked with chicken buses, our taxi driver said there was no buses at all because theyre all in use for the thing so we have no hope of getting to leon. we could see this was true from the roads and i decided to go hang out on ometepe again and kerry in san juan where she had left something she needed to collect. dont know when we will meet again now because her card was swallowed by an atm and its sat so she has to wait til mon or tues to get it back. so delayed again! im here for now.

sorry if this is lame sometime but this is my diary too so its for me when i finish travelling!