San Juan del Sur truly is a hard place to leave. I originally arrived here with three Aussie blokes who I bumped into outside a fully booked hostel on the evening that our bus finally arrived in Nicaragua. We piled into a taxi and mutually decided on taking the taxi drivers advice on an alternative hostel in Managua. A semi good nights sleep later (the hostel had incredibly loud and expressive birds in reception who started a merry chorus of squawking around 5am), and we grab some breakfast and work out the chicken bus route to San Juan where, as it transpires, the Aussies are headed too. The chicken bus is, as usual, packed, but the novelty of getting a coca cola drink in a plastic bag with a straw from one of the venders who hop on and off the buses keeps us entertained for a while.
San Juan del Sur is famous amongst travellers for its weekly 'Sunday Funday' so it turns out that arriving on Friday night there is no space for four at the no reservation hostel we'd been recommended. Instead, we end up in a shabby little hostel downtown run by a lovely Nicaraguan family whose main inhabitants seem to be Harley Davidson wannabe bikers. However, it's good value for money at only £3 a night; it's clean, and central enough to get everywhere we need. Saturday we explore the town, the beach, the market, and find a quaint little stall to eat at. It's cheap, good, local food, and therefore becomes our go to place for the duration of our stay. On Monday the boys head over to stay at Playa Madeiras to surf, but, afraid of being shown up with my poor surfing skills and also wanting to catch up more with Beth and Joe who have also travelled to San Juan from where we originally met in Guatemala, I stay and check into Casa de Olas who immediately welcomed me with open arms.