Days 66 to 68: San Juan del Sur, NIC

So it is Christmas day (day 68 of the trip) and we are a little worn from yesterday's surfing attempts and a sunburn. Perfect day to take a break from the beach and to catch up on the blog.

San Juan del Sur was exactly the kind of place we were hoping to find to spend a few days over the holidays: a mix of locals and tourists, no condos, laid back vibe, nice beaches and good party scene.

Mihai and Josh got there a day before me, due to my license problems in Granada. They booked a room in Hotel Colonial, a decent hotel with secure parking and a nice garden. Not bad, except for the high price due to the time of the year (60$ per night), and the three of us were crammed in a small room. 

Hotel Colonial

Our room. So much for privacy..hehe.

There are several bars and hostels in San Juan. Several are beach front. We really like the place. Unlike Zipolite in Mexico, where we hung out for a couple of days on the beach, this place is a backpacker's spot and there are very little hippies. This is a good thing, as Mihai and I have seen enough hippie bullshit on this trip to come to dislike the ''culture''.

Beachfront bars and restos

Beach football at sunset

The beach in San Juan is OK, but there is a much nicer one about 12 km away, called Playa Maderas. That's where we have been hanging out. It's a surfer's spot, so I tried it for the first time ever. I suck at it so far, but still enjoy it a lot. It's more of a physical workout than I would have thought. No wonder all serious surfers are very lean dudes.

Surfer ripping through a wave at Playa Maderas

Playa Maderas

Beach volleyball, always popular.

More of Playa Maderas

Our bikes at the beach

Chilling..... I definetely like this Sandy Xmas thing :)

There are many international travellers from all over the world here, mainly backpackers. Surprisingly, several motorcycles showed up too. On Christmas day, we have counted so far 12 bikes so far, from Canada, USA, UK and Costa Rica. Looks like, just like us, many of the moto overlanders are looking for a few days on the beach before continuing their respective journeys.

A couple from Michigan is riding this cool Triumph Scrambler 900 to Argentina.

Since we got here, our diet consists mainly of burritos, tacos, and beer. There's also a great little ice cream joint, which we have been hitting daily so far :)

The ice cream is awesome. Josh agrees

Tomorrow (day 69), we are planning to head out to the island of Ometepe, which is about 50 km from San Juan del Sur. We are looking forward to it, as it is supposed to be the highlight of Nicaragua. There are two volcanoes on the island, and it is apparently a very scenic place. We should be there for 2-3 days, before returning to San Juan for New Year's Eve celebrations and some more time on the beach. Hasta luego!