San Juan Del Sur (Week 2)

So week 2 is coming to a close now in San Juan Del Sur which means that only one more week remains here. This week was very action-packed! On Monday, I had just come back from our mini trip to Playa Maderas last weekend with Samantha and there we planned activities for every day last week. So let’s start with Monday.

(My group at school with all the teachers the first week)

Monday we went back to Playa Hermosa and did some more surfing. I am getting better! I stand up a lot but have really messed up my knee with a cut that won’t heal because it is too moist to heal here. That beach is equally as beautiful as last time. Easily my favorite beach in San Juan Del Sur.

(Playa Hermosa the first time I went with some of the girls I have met)

Tuesday we got a new student at school named Nathan who is a pretty cool Australian guy that really likes to travel as well. He was really down to do all of our activities with us so he joined us for most of the week as well. After school, I hiked to the large Jesus statue that is on the hill overlooking the San Juan harbor area. It is not as big as the one that is in Rio but it is still pretty large and it is lit up at night which is pretty beautiful. I hiked there with my Spanish teacher Martin because he said that I needed to speak more Spanish since everyone else in my school was a beginner and he knew that I mainly spoke English with them outside of school. The statue is up a pretty steep hill and it was absolutely gorgeous to overlook the harbor. After I got back, Samantha and I took the two little boys who lived at my house to the park. They rarely get out so I am trying to get them out and playing with other kids their own age. The little one gets really moody though, or maybe I am just not used to dealing with 6-year-old children.

(View from the Jesus statue)

(Jesus statue that overlooks San Juan)

Wednesday was really fun!!! Samantha, Nathan, and I went ziplining after school in the canopy. We went with a company called Da Flying Frog. They picked us up at the school and went straight there. It was really close to town and they had 17 different ziplines. They drove us up to the top of the mountain in a big four-wheel truck and then we started ziplining. The first couple of ziplines were pretty short to get us used to ziplining. Then they started to get longer and longer. The views were spectacular and we were going right through the forest. Once they started getting longer, we went between mountains, over the valleys, and were even able to look out over the coastline of San Juan Del Sur. I was hoping to see monkeys while we were up there but no such luck. After that, we went to the beach and cooled off in the waves. The water is literally the perfect temperature in Nicaragua. It is cool enough to feel great getting in but warm enough that you can run straight in.

(Me ziplining!!)

Thursday we went on a sunset/booze cruise with a company called Nica Sail and Surf. It cost $75 for a half-day trip that went from 1 pm to 6 pm. It was on a catamaran and there were only 6 guests on the boat because it was a bit rainy which I loved because we had a lot of space. It was all you could drink so naturally I had a lot of Mai Tai’s. The coastline is so pretty and were we able to sit right out front. I met 3 older ladies as well who were so awesome! Two of them had met here at surf camp earlier in the year. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a surf camp! I guess it is all run by women which is amazing and then the one woman brought her partner down as well. They were a lot of fun and awesome to talk to. We arrived at Playa Blanca and swam around a bit and swam to shore and chilled on the beach for a while. On the way home the sun was setting. It was just a really great time. After, Samantha and I even had Indian food which was a nice break from rice and beans.

(My friends on the catamaran cruise)

(We just found that guy so happy to have caught a huge fish)

Friday was pretty chill. I just took the boys to the park again and got some ice cream with Samantha because it was her last night.

Saturday I went back to Playa Hermosa early in the morning because I wanted to surf and chill all day. I mixed surfing and relaxing with a beer. There I happened to meet up with the 3 ladies from the Catermerand cruise and it was really great to be able to chill with them and even surf with them! They gave me some great pointers because I was struggling a bit because I had rented a board that was shorter and lighter which made it harder. After class, Jess (an Australian girl I had met the first week) met up with me at the beach and we chilled with a Pina Colada. Later Jess and I went to get dinner because again…I am avoiding rice and beans lol

(Pina Coladas on the beach)

Which brings us to today…Sunday Funday where all backpackers swarm into San Juan to party starting at 2 and go to 3 different hostels with pools. It’s supposed to be pretty crazy so I just wanted to check it out. I probably will not have pictures as it would be a terrible idea to bring my phone so will just have to google it to find out what I am talking about. I will let you know how it goes!!

(Taken as we were coming in from our catamaran cruise)