Once we were off the boat from Ometepe we debated on our options for transport to San Juan Del Sur. We chose the naughty option and followed our taxi driver, Freddy; to his car and passed the chicken bus without a second glance.....even travellers can indulge sometimes!!!

We arrived to San Juan 35 minutes later to the setting sun over the beach....absolutely spectacular!! This was one of the warmest welcomes to a destination on this trip. We both looked at each other, and with a synchronized ¨WooooooooooW¨ agreed that San Juan was going to be fun.

That night we grabbed a bight to eat, decided on the next days´activities, watched a movie at the hostel lounge and snuggled in for a nice sleep. Ummmmm, turned out to be not so nice. Two lovely girls in our dorm decided to come back to the hostel at around 3am and continued to narrate to each other that nights´ excitements. Apparently the German one couldn´t understand how the American one didn´t know the term ¨drunk¨ in Spanish. At first I thought that it won´t be long till they pass out, however after 30 minutes they were still at it and of course I spent that time rehearsing what I was going to say. Yep....I´ll just go to the bathroom (give a greasy along the way....damn, no lights) and then I´ll say something!! I came out ready to unleash my fury.......they´re sound alseep!!! Secretly glad as I am rubbish at telling people off!!

That day we had our breakfast included (not bad) and got ourselves organised to enjoy the beautiful day. Surf board, check. Book, check. An attitude that says ¨Lets chill out¨, check. So with that in order we jumped on the surf bus and headed to the beach of Maderas. The beach itself is quite long, however sectioned off by beautiful cliffs and intricate rock pools. There are a couple of bars there and a hostel....however that´s it!! One look around and you can see why so many travellers and surf bums come her to indulge in the relaxed and ¨far out¨ atmosphere. We easlily could have stayed longer.

So, after assessing our surroundings we dumped our gear and jumped into the surf savouring the waves of the pacific ocean. As I´m a learner, I listened to instructer Lex and tried my best to ride the waves. After a couple of times I was standing up like a pro!!! (More like squatting with my hands out to the sides with a big goofy smile on my face). Uncle Phil...you´d be proud!! After a few good waves I passed the board over to the (extremely) patient Lex who was eager to enjoy the surf too. I was happy to rest on the sand, read my book and savour my surroundings.

We left the beach to head back to San Juan to check out the town grab some food. That night we enjoyed a couple of beers at the hostel and then headed out to experience the night life. As it was Thanksgiving that night, we made many American friends and enjoyed many more drinks with them......and then some more. After a little dancing (on my part) and a few more chats we headed back to the hostel and with memory not very intact fell into our beds to rest up for another day in the surf.

That morning we signed up for the bus and ran into Hayley (Lex´s dive buddy) and her friend Christina who were staying in a different hostel. We all borded the bus and enjoyed another day of surfing and basking in the Nicaraguan rays. With our heads still thumping from the previous nights antics, all plans of another big night were quickly forgotten and our beds beckoned us to be used......no complaints there!!!

The next day we enjoyed a half day of surf fun and spent the second half exploring the beach of San Juan, relishing in the sunset with a couple of brews and enjoying quiet conversation with fellow travelers.

We had to stay an additional 2 nights due to the buses being too full on the intended day of departure, so the next day with bags packed and ready we made friends with a Kiwi guy who shared our taxi and set off for the bus stop to indure a bus trip that beats all the others.......