The waters are fun and frightening

My few days in San Jaun del Sur were easily enjoyable. Again…I wish I knew more Spanish. The place that I stayed was not as much of a hostel as much as it was a surfer frat house with some wicked cool Nica surfers, and some from the US as well. Tuesday I basically wandered the town exploring, and then sat on the beach, swam and read until the sunset, at which point I hit up all you can eat tacos with a couple amigos…one from New Zealand, one from Australia, one from Marilyn and one from Michigan. Following that we were all too stuffed to drink much, so instead we headed back to the hostel/frat house and watched the beginning of Shawshank, before the power went out. Of course it was the only building in town with no power. Meh…so went for another little adventure in the streets and then slept.
Wednesday was surfing day, but unfortunately I did not have enough money to get a surf board so rocked out on the boogie board in the big waves. Nine of us squeezed into a pickup truck with our boards and made our way to a northern beach where the surf was rumored to be good...everyone else showed up as well, so it was good, but very very busy. So fun just messing around in the waves anyway.
Today, us all you can eat bunch, went to Rivas by taxi. Anyone in this country can be a taxi driver...all you need is a vehicle and the ability to cram as many people as possible into your car. Pretty safe eh??? From Rivas, the two from down under and chica from Michigan carried on to Granada, and Paul and I decided to go to Ometepe, the volcanic Island in Lake Nicaragua. Of course we picked the windiest and roughest day to go and it was the scariest boat ride in my life…also a bit of fun, so I’ll stick with “Most Thrilling”. The boat swayed back and forth and up and down and the waves came up through the windows. A couple people were sick, and more than a couple uncomfortably frightened…however, we made it in one wet piece, and the island is so amazing and friendly, it was much worth it.
We checked into a hotel in Moyogalpa with a private room with a private bathroom for 3 dollars a night and then carried on to the pizzeria for lunch. After the best pizza I’ve eaten in a while, we rented a couple of bikes for 4 hours. The two of us intended on going to one of the reserves to hike and whatnot, but completely forgot what it was called and passed it twice (way there, and way back), but still were able to enjoy the view of Volcan Concepcion from many different angles, considering we biked half way around it, and then went to a beach on the lake to watch yet another sunset (no matter how many I see, I will never get sick of them). A swim in the freshwater lake, which is the only one in the world with sharks, was a wonderful way to end an epic bike ride, followed by a few Victorias (the Nicaraguan cerveza of choice). I was thinking of heading to Granada for the weekend, but this island is so friendly I am not sure…we’ll see how I feel when 6 o’clock in the morning rolls around, assuming the boat will be running tomorrow, as we were the last ride over today because of the terrible conditions. Anyway, I’ll let you know what’s up in a couple days! Keep rockin!
-Mitchell-

Photos: Me biking around Volcan Concepcion (with style?), the little boat we came across on (the waters here are calm), and a refreshing swim in the lake after biking (yes ANOTHER sunset)