Hey, So the map should show that after Granada we spent a night in San Juan Del Sur at the southwest tip of Nicaragua, just before the border.

It had been recommended to us as a great place to surf and hang out, but annoyingly the Lonely planet write up of the town meant that prices were extortionate in order to do anything or to go anywhere with waves. We just chilled, had some rum, watched Nighmare on Elm Street in a bar (in spanish, which apparently doesnt make one slightest bit of difference to films like that; they are bad whatever language they are in!) due to it being Halloween, and made it over the border to Costa Rica on Saturday.

After so many days on the road and what feels like two weeks of being rained on we were so so happy to make it to Playa Tamarindo on the west coast. The town itself was very very strange, hotels, plush resort complexes, tourist shuttles taking American travellers here there and everywhere, and just all round americanised and expensive; completely different to anywhere else in Latin America. Stu, Colin and Mike if youre reading this then we think it must have been really really overdeveloped in the past couple of years since you made that cool video. The beach was bloody amazing though, we were so happy to be there.

One side effect noted on our anti malaria tablets is that they may cause sun sensitivity. We forgot about this warning. Sun cream that costs two dollars is apparently not strong enough to overide this side effect, and it was super super hot at the beach, resulting in some absolutely crippling sunburn on pretty much every part of skin that was exposed. Ouch. Did give me an excuse to buy a cool rash vest though so not all bad :). New surfboards seem to be a bit of a rarity in Costa Rica, so our usual rental of massive longboards wasnt possible, meaning we actually had to use proper boards for proper surfers, but this resulted in a pleasant suprise of actually being a bit better than we thought we were, as we still caught plenty of waves, albeit a bit further down from the Ticos (some of the surfers here were absolutely amazing!).

Aside from the surf, the main reason we came to Tamarindo was for the Leatherback Turtles that nest on a protected stretch of the coast a short boat ride away. As the turtles are so endangered you cant just hang around on the beach at night waiting to see one, but instead we had to pay through the nose to join a tour with a guide to try and see some. The guide was actually great, told us loads of interesting stuff about the amazing Tortugas, but alas, 4 hours of waiting and they didnt want to play that night.

We were allowed to go back the following night for no extra cost, in the hope that they might come to nest that night. We spent the wait this time in a bar back from the beach, Kate and I leading the group as we knew the way from the night before. Just as we entered the bar we saw what we initially thought to be an exceptionally large cleaning hose in the swimming pool. Then the hose moved. Or I should say, slithered. It was in fact, the rather scared looking guide informed us, a wild Boa Constrictor. It was enourmous, and very very fast, so we were grateful when this strange semi naked man appeared as if from nowhere and prodded the snake a bit, then grabbed its head. He managed to untangle the snake from the pool steps and held it aloft, when we could see that it was over seven feet long!! Seeing a snake curled up in a zoo really doesnt compare to seeing this huge beast, it was incredible. Everyone in the group plucked up the courage to touch it, and you could feel just how strong it was, basically just seven feet of pure muscle. The semi naked man, who by this point had dangerously low trousers, took the snake away to release into the bush a few miles back from the beach, and we sat down and thought it was all over.

Then some strange demon possessed me and i decided it was a good idea to call the guy back and find out what it was like to have a seven foot boa constrictor around my neck :) in hindsight, as these snakes kill their prey by squeezing them to death this may have not been a wise decision, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up. It was amazing, so so heavy and powerful, and more than a little bit scary (this would not have been attempted if it wasnt for seminaked man keeping a firm grip over its jaws). The park didnt allow cameras whcih we are gutted about, but someone took a photo of me and i pray he keeps to his promise and emails it to me! The snake and good company that evening made up for a second consecutive night with no turtle activity, but the money has gone to a good cause helping to protect the Tortugas so we dont mind so much, we will just have to try and see them somewhere else later in the trip. We have now made it to San Jose, the capital and are going to try and sign up for a white water rafting trip tomorrow as Costa Rica is supposed to be one of the best places in the world for rapids.