After a straightforward trip on the Greyhound (which was a relief after the last time we tried to use them!) we got off and couldn't find the bus the hostel told us to get from the station, so we found a map and set off walking. We eventually found the hostel after about twenty minutes, but we already knew we wouldn't be able to get in until 5pm. The place has some pretty strict rules on opening hours - all guests are locked out between 11am and 5pm and there's an 11pm curfew at night, so no late nights for us!

We locked our stuff away in the outside lockers and headed straight for the beach. On the way we found a fantastic cafe and had sandwiches and beers outside, looking out at the beach and the ocean. The food was excellent and was a good start to our stop in Santa Cruz. We found a shop that sold beach towels (travel towels are definitely not a good idea on the sand!) and then plonked ourselves on the beach for a few hours. I had my first dip in the ocean, which was freezing but good fun in the waves, which were a BIT bigger than the ones we get at Redcar!

Eventually we headed back to check into the hostel and even though we'd had to book beds in separate male and female dorms, we managed to get beds together in a mixed dorm, sharing the room with two other guys, a Kiwi and a South African. The hostel is one of the best we've stayed in - clean, comfortable and felt like home. Plus they have two free computers, which we made use of.

We had our tea Downtown, in an Irish bar called Rosie McCann's - more fantastic food! We finished off the night in another Irish bar, where we'd just missed the start of a pub quiz. Had a couple of drinks there before heading back to the hostel to beat the 11pm curfew!