El Cuco is another coastal town. Our hotel, El Tortuga Verde, is about 15 minutes from town and literally on the beach. Great location and it has a beachy theme. We have a lazy afternoon when we arrive and then meet for dinner. After about a 1km walk along the beach we find the restaurant we were going to is not open. No other options so back to the hotel where we just grab some light food at the bar and have a few drinks. The next morning is a first for me. After spending many years holidaying at Torquay I am about to have my first attempt at surfing. We have a lesson booked for 9am so 4 absolute novices turn up to be taught surfing by a Nicaraguan who doesn't speak English. This will be interesting, but fortunately Marial is close by to assist. A bit of a dry run on the sand and then its into the water. The waves are small and choppy and the current and undertow is very strong so we don't venture too far out. Much to my surprise I manage to stand up on my 2nd attempt. Pretty pleased with myself but I struggle to do it again. But by the end of the hour Ihave got up a few more times. I was surprised at how physically demanding it was. Back in for lunch and then I find a hammock and don't move from it for the next 6 hours. A little bit of reading and then I just lie back listening to music with a few cold Suprema beers. A hard life but someone has to do it. My waiter, Salvador, does a great job keeping me topped up all afternoon. Late in the day a massive storm comes through. Torrential rain, thunder and lightning. The ocean becomes very rough and the spray off the waves is about 3 metres high. It's quite a sight. It calms down after a while and a few us have dinner. We have a 5am departure tomorrow so we all decide to hit the sack early.