What was supposed to be an early morning wake up and departure, turned out to be a beach day instead! I woke up and headed to a little cafe with wifi and ate a bowl of fruit and toast while updating my blog and my mom.
Then, we had decided that we were going to head to Honduras next so we had to book a Tica bus from León into Honduras. A Tica bus is their international bus that is great for long trips and the safest because they don't make public stops. Tickets have to be bought in advance, and it's like riding in luxury compared to what we were used to. Air conditioning, reclining seats, movies, bathroom breaks, and very clean. I was very excited to be booking this bus, even though it meant a nine hour bus ride. The Tica bus office in San Juan booked us a ticket for 6am out of Leon on Sunday. It was the best thirty five dollars I had spent on this trip so far haha.
Not long after taking care of the bus stuff, we met Adam and Vig, hopped in the back of the same truck as the day before and hit another beach, Playa Maderas
This beach was much more populated than the one from Thursday. It was a hot spot for surfing along with a couple bars and beach volleyball. A hot and dusty truck ride made the water look really appealing, so we set up our things and got in the water. Although a little warmer than the first beach, it was still pretty shocking to our sun-warmed skin, especially when the waves rushed in and splashed us higher and higher. We had to use caution in the water because there were SO many people surfing. The waves were great at this beach and had obviously attracted a lot of people, which Vig said it does often.
Just like the day before, our beach day consisted of swimming, laying out, walking the rocky shores at the base of the cliff in the distance, and sand drawing competitions. I got a banana pineapple smoothie from the restaurant we were camped out near and tried to soak up every minute of being beachside. It's awesome days like those that I have been very appreciative of. I take mental notes of my surroundings including smells, mental photos, the feeling of the sun beating down and the sand beneath my feet.
I watched some beach volleyball for a bit before our truck arrived at sunset and took us back into town. Before we even changed from our beach clothes, the six of us set out for some food on the beach of San Juan del Sur. Naturally, we ended up at the Iguana to try their food for once, instead of drinks. The boys had eaten almost every meal there and suggested the food to us. They were definitely right about the food being delicious.
We went back to our rooms to shower the salt water and sand off us and get into fresh clothes. After showering and getting comfortable for a little while, I didn't really feel like going out and I kind of caught that vibe from the other girls too. Nicki was the only one really in the mood for a couple drinks and Erin said she was going to hang out and read. That left both options open for Niki and I. As much as I didn't want to go out, I really wanted to be able to say goodbye to Adam and Vig, so Niki and I decided we'd go out for just one. Well......
....the "just one" phrase was out the window about halfway through our "one" drink. We forgot that it was Friday night, so the bar was hoppin'. A long dinner table was packed with beautiful girls about our age all dressed to the ten with their hair and make up all done up too. That is about when I noticed the camera crew and the satin ribbons draped across the girls' chests for the Miss Nicaragua competition. That table was filled with the winner and all of the candidates who were finishing up their meals. The table that a big group of us were sitting at neighbored the dance floor which acted as front row seats for their entry to the dance floor. The girls circled around each other and took turns stepping into the middle to show off their Latin dance moves. The camera men reached high above their heads to get footage of the dance-off while the girls cheered each other on. I couldn't believe the height of the girls' heels they were wearing! Definite superstars in my mind. The guys we were with drooled at the beautiful girls, short skirts and long legs dancing, while us girls got more and more pumped to dance. After a little while, the ladies left the building to head to a different location, and their place was quickly filled by many of the bar guests, ready to continue dancing.
We spent the rest of our Friday, dancing the night away with anyone and everyone on the dance floor. A couple different guys, who clearly knew what they were doing, would grab me and LEAD me in really fun salsa dancing. I felt like rubber at times as they spun me, twisted and dipped me like gentlemen while I laughed uncontrollably.
At the end of the night, Niki and I had met up with a couple Chilean guys that were totally wasted, but absolutely hilarious. Rather than being creepy though, they just wanted to chat and laugh with us. They reminded me a lot of how my friends back home are, just super goofy. Somehow, a story got started about how the three of them got tattoos one night after drinking and we got to see each and every one's tattoo. One had gotten 'Made in Chile' on his thigh, the second guy had something poetic on his calf and the third guy wouldn't show us the one on his foot. The three of them were laughing so hysterically at the story that we were just assuming it was one of those "had to be there" moments. He finally ended up showing us and it was something along the lines of the tattoo guy messing up or something. We'd given up on figuring out their hilarious story and exited the bar because it was closing. We ended up walking out of the bar with them and chatting more in the street before saying our goodbyes. Niki and I hit up Taco Stop again for a 2:30 am snack and got home in time to set our alarms for a two and a half hour sleep. We fell asleep talking about how much we were going to hate ourselves in the morning for not sleeping, but how worth it it was to spend just one more night in the crazy town of San Juan del Sur!
Photos:
1) Playa Maderas
2) San Juan del Sur sunset with clouds
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