Montezuma

Now these are the picture perfect beaches you dream of visiting after seeing them on a postcard. The trip was long and slightly more expensive than ideal, but we finally arrived in Montezuma, Costa Rica a couple of days ago. Located on the Nicoya Peninsula it has some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. The first night we stayed in a cabana that was in the jungle, on the side of the hill. The owner said to not leave our things on the porch outside during the night, because the monkeys have been known to steal. We were worried one would pop through the hole in our screen!

The first day here we took a long walk along the beach to find a white sand beach that looked like it went on forever. We also discovered a black and red beach. At the red beach, we climbed the freshwater waterfall and relaxed in refreshing pool. Since being here, we have had the most delicious (and expensive) food. I recently had banana pancakes and an organic mango lassi smoothie. Fortunately, the hostel Hannah and I recently moved to has a kitchen so we can save some money and cook our own meals. The owner of this hostel has put us in charge of the place while she is gone for the day, and we were moved into the honeymoon suite free of charge.

While here, we plan on hiking another waterfall and possibly going snorkeling off the coast of the nearest island.
Well, I'm off to the beach!

Mud, Goodbyes, and Cantaloupes

Well, I made it up Volcano Maderas, which is about 1400 meters high. About 45 minutes into the hike I was sure there was no way I was going to make it, but did not turn around because I was assured that the first two kilometers were the most difficult. It turns out the whole hike, more like climb, proved to be just as difficult as the beginning. Overall the hike took about 8 hours and consisted of rocks, mud, branches, stubbed toes, many stops, and more mud; at times I was on all fours. At the very top we could see little because of the cloud cover, but we then descended to the lagoon which was amazing. It was surrounded by trees and covered with mist. It was mystical as the clouds moved in and out to allow for small glimpses of the entire crater lake. The descent was more difficult than the ascent and by the end I was running to reach our hostel. My calves and thighs are still as sore as ever, and I have yet to clean off all the mud, but overall it was a memorable experience.

The following day, we said goodbye to Cyndi who had been studying in Nicaragua last semester and therefore served as our trusty tour guide. It was sad to see her go, and Hannah and I have been only a little clueless without her. We are learning. After splitting up, Michael, Hannah, Amanda, and I headed to San Juan del Sur where we caught a bus up to Playa Maderas, a gorgeous beach on the Nicaraguan Pacific coast. Upon arriving, we were unsure about fitting into the surfer scene, but we eventually found a hostel on the more secluded part of the beach. We swam in the ocean while watching a beautiful Pacific sunset and ate probably the best dinner since arriving in Nicaragua.

After being awoken by loud howler monkeys, we spent most of the day enjoying the sand, sun, and sea and then headed back to San Juan del Sur . We quickly made ourselves at home at Hostel Esperanza and then went off to explore the small town of San Juan. I bought three whole cantaloupes for 20 cords (about $1) and shared them with Amanda and Hannah as we watched another beautiful sunset.

Very early this morning we bid farewell to Amanda as she headed back up north to Matagalpa. Hannah and I are now slightly more lost, seeing as Amanda is fluent in Spanish. Again, we are learning.

I then went to pick up Hannah's and my laundry from a lady a few blocks away. It is nice to have some clean clothes, and she did a better job folding my t-shirts than I ever have. On the way back to the hostel, I picked up some croissants, which we ate with our last cantaloupe for breakfast. The rest of today has been spent exploring the town. We were touring a hotel much nicer than our hostel and were tempted to jump in the refreshing pool, but only dipped our feet in until we felt like the paying guests noticed our presence. So far living on a budget has been easy--Hannah and I ate lunch for 35 cents today. Bargain. Tonight we may have to splurge for dinner (around $4).

Tomorrow we head back to Costa Rica where everything is slightly more expensive but just as beautiful. Nicaragua has treated us very very well, and we hope to return soon again.

Sending you all some sun.

Granada y Ometepe

I only have a few minutes to share as I am paying 1 cordaba a minute for my internet...A couple of days ago we toured Granada which is a beautiful colonial city. The architecture and colors of the buildings were something I had never seen--the city was full of history. While there, we went to see Avatar in which I immediately fell in love. After Granada we arrived in Ometepe where I am now. Ometepe is a volcanic island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. So far we have eaten delicious seafood and spent a lot of time in hammocks and playing cards. Tomorrow we are climbing a volcano with a guide, of course...I´m excited because towards the top we will be above the clouds (I´m also hoping it will be cooler up there). We got a real taste of the tropics today after witnessing monkeys playing in the trees and a parrot flying overhead. One valuable lesson I have learned is to not order spaghetti, unless you prefer ketchup to marinara sauce. Whoops. More later.

Managua

After a 12 hour bus ride Hannah and I finally arrived in Managua where our friend Cyndi picked us up. We caught a cab to our hostel, Managua Backpackers, and then got some not so great Mexican food. We then met up with our friends Amanda and Michael who are both traveling Nicaragua and went to a bar where we heard a feminist music artist, Vaca Loca, play. Today we toured the market where children kept giving us palm frond artwork, and I would have bought a couple hammocks if I had the room...To cool us down, we drank cacoa out of bags and talked about going swimming but ended up taking naps in hammocks. Tomorrow we are headed off to Granada, one of Nicaragua´s oldest cities. I have learning some Nicaraguan Spanish, which is much different than that of Mexico. I can´t wait to see what this beautiful country has to offer.

San Jose

Well, I made it! Late last night Hannah and I arrived at our hotel in San Jose and were welcomed with a free drink. We spent the night planning our next few weeks of traveling. Today we walked around San Jose touring the many parques throughout the city. We managed to get more food than we could eat for only three dollars and had the best juices--Cas and Tamarindo. Everywhere we looked we saw people, beautiful plants and trees, interesting architecture, and more people. We also learned drivers are not so aware of pedestrians...Tonight we are staying in a hostel complete with a swimming pool riding bull. Our stay in San Jose is short as we are leaving for Managua, Nicaragua tomorrow at 6am. After the 8 hour bus ride we will meet friends from school who have been studying in Nicaragua.
So far we have met many nice people and look forward to our adventures ahead.