Back on solid ground after Ometepe, we let ourselves be convinced by a nice taxi driver to share a cab together with another person. We don't really know where to go and discussing it with him, we decide to go to Playa Gigante. Apparently it is less touristy and cheaper, one can eat there good fish just fished for cheap (try saying that 10 times really fast). He a real taxi driver and tells us about his adventures with his class S car that he drives kindly. A colleague of his is doing the same route and they salute each other every time they pass each other by. There is about a one hour drive. We could gave taken a bus from Rivas, the city closest to the embarcation point for Ometepe but we arrived a bit late and the traffic mostly lives with the light of day. After thinking about it, we might have found a bus in Rivas but our driver didn't have much interest letting us know about the buses I guess. Not a big deal, we have a good time talking to him.

Arrived there, he finds us a room at a place he knows about. Basic comfort but enough. Not too expensive that is true. We go for a walk on the beach, it's cute, it's small and there are fishing boats on it. There is a spanish language learning school at the end of the beach, a class is ongoing as we pass by. We stop for a drink, water. We leave and go drink actual drinks, fresh beers, on the terrace of a bar to end up in the restaurant below where indeed fish is cheaper and rather good. Playa Gigante is nice but you are quickly done with the place, nothing much to do except doing absolutely nothing on the beach or in the beach bar of the coolest hostel of the area. Seems that this hostel is organising one-day cruises as we see them embarking loads of youngs one small boat after another to leave them all on a bigger boat which stays around a while, goes a for a round and comes back with inebrieted youngs disembarking at the beach bar and continuing the party there while we are enjoying our end of the day cocktails. 

The next day we leave in order to reach an eco-lodge that Jack, met on the way to Santa Teresa in Costa Rica, told us a lot of nice things about. There is not real bus station bus there is supposed to be a bus passing through early morning here so we wait on the space that forms the end of the road that leads to the village. We also looked to buy water but apparently they don't sell any here. We are very surprised, it is the first place where it is impossible for us to replenish our water supply.

Luckily for us there is only a one hour bus ride to get back to Rivas so we buy some there. People gather litte by little so we are pretty sure that is where the bus will stop. Good, we get on and get to Rivas. The bus station is right next to the market. I buy water while Tom went to look for some cash machine. He gets ripped off by the taxi which takes him two blocks away for a very high price and I discover that the price of water here is higher than that of a soda. Let's get out of here. 

Off to San Juan del Sur, the touristic spot of the West coast. We expect the worse after Manuel Antonio yet we find out that even if it is a very touristy village, very built up, it is not as decadent as Manuel Antonio in the end. Rather little surfer shops, small hostels and restaurants with a few hotels. Perhaps it is because it is Nicaragua, villages tend to be built with real buildings in the touristy places and so it gives off the impression of being cleaner and less messy. I don't know but I am reassured thinking that it won't be to stressful.

Casa Maderas (more here) is 7km away from San Juan Del Sur. We start on the trail on foot, our backpacks on. Physical. We still go forward even though the terrain is becoming dryer and dusty with the sun raising up higher in the sky. Luckily, a car stops by and takes us hitchhiking, local fishermen riding about. Very nice. We chat. They let us off a few meters from the eco-lodge and we give them a bit of money to grab a beer without us since we cannot invite them as they are going the other way. We spend two days there and then two days in San Juan afterwards. These four days are very relaxing. 

This area of Nicaragua is a nice place to live. At Casa Maderas, even with the high prices for our budget, we eat very well. Moreover, Crisanto and the whole staff are really welcoming. We go the playa Maderas with the shuttle and discover a little beach with beautiful rolling waves, very structured and long to the joy of the numerous surfers there. I take the time to enjoy a little stroll along the coast while Tom takes pictures of the surfers. The sand is soft and there is horse riding colum I pass by coming and going, there are loads of nice looking seashells and small creeks, some of which are inhabited by campers that seem well set-up out here. On the beach, there are two bar restauants where one can get dinner. It is nice and since it is not so easy to access there are not so many people either.

Soon it is time to leave again and we have this time, for once, booked a room ahead in a hostel in San Juan. Not too bad, and the village being small, it is quite well located. We get out in the evening in a very animated city. It is very nice. During the day, we had asked ourselves if there wasn't a festival or concert organised because there were stands everywhere growing up and an enormous scene on the beach. During the afternoon we bought a little rhum bottle of the country to taste it and a coco-pineapple juice as well as a coco milk bottle to make a mix which is very delicious and a change from the perpetual beers, Imperial or Pilsen in Costa Rica and Toña in Nicaragua. 

We stroll about in the festive atmosphere next to the beach when suddenly, as we are buying beers, Tom gets called around. The French girl is one he worked with during his reportage in Salvador on coffee plantations. She lives over there still. Pretty amazing coincidence that she is taking just then a few days off with her boyfriend here. After that we even meet Lee, from the Finca Bona Fide (more here and here), visited a few days earlier. Crazy small world and everyone meets back here in San Juan Del Sur it seems. We end up on the beach where everyone is gathered in front of the big scene. The ban playing traditional music goes away and... we end up with a video projection of the local sport tv channel. Perplex, we watch. All this set-up is in fact to celebrate spring and in addition to watch the final of the world boxing championship where one of the two fighters is from nicaragua! People watching here are so proud of it! We follow the fight together with the people but big disappointment, he loses. The fiesta runs short, that is the least we could say. But during this evening we ate on a big stand, a little outside the bigger flow of tourists, eating a good local meal in plastic plates and cooked on a mobile bbq. It was good, filling and cheap.

Okay, time to go back through the boarder to Costa Rica and reach San Jose, mandatory passage to get to the East coast. Going through the boarder is as unpleasant on the other way and as unclear too. Arrival in San Jose, capital city, is morose and get off in a not so nice neighboorhood, away from the touristy axes of the city. We end up in another taxi and ask them to take us to a hotel close to bus terminal that will bring us to Purisal, from where we wish to reach the Rancho Mastatal we were told about before continuing towards the coast. The driver is rather nice and chatty and takes us to a well-guarded hotel, close to the bus terminal. Well-guarded and we see why when below there a few slot machines establishments with very drunk people shouting at them. It isn't a very cosy place but anyhow, we get down looking for dinner and find the bus stop restaurant open. We watch from there the ballet of the lost tourists, arriving late at night in the city, and dancing with the taxi drivers while we are enjoying our pollo frito with rice and frijoles. The day after we are quite happy to get onboard the bus for Puriscal.

Venues:

Casa Maderas

Portraits:

Crisanto