beach camp

So we decided to rent a car to get from Playa Sámara to Playa Montezuma, because the bus would have taken us 6 hours plus a few transfers and a ferry ride, to get there, which is only just along the coast a few hours. But after talking to the guy who rented us a mini SUV, he told us that we couldn`t take the road along the coast because of the rainy season, since most highways aren`t paved. So we drove up the penninsula some and back down the other side. We definitely needed the 4-wheel drive. It was a fun experience, driving Costa Rica´s rocky highways.

Playa Montezuma is similar to Sámara in some ways, but pretty different. This town is more "discovered", more tourist oriented businesses and hotels, people selling artesanías on the street and making a lot of sales. There´s also a bit of a sketchy element, since it seems that there are a lot of people who just sleep on the beach. Particulary at the hotel where we´re camping. We keep a lock on the tent, whatever good that may do against an opportunistic theft. But the place we`re staying has a smaller beach separated from the main beach by a rocky point, so I`m working on my tan a lot, sleeping only a few feet from the ocean. Because of the rockiness, there´s no surfing right here, so Ian´s bruises and raspberries have a chance to heal.

We´ve also been staying dry through rainstorms nearly every night we´ve been in the country.

cheese.

a mix up of pictures

Here we are in Costa Rica! We are cruising the famous Pacific beaches of the Nicoya Penninsula, known for great surfing. Ian is taking it up, and I am dutifully cheering and photographing from the shore. We spent a night in Liberia after crossing the border. Nothing exciting. We've spent the last few days here at Playa Samara, where there are good beginners' waves and beautiful views for everyone else.





Here I have a random assortment of pics from the last few weeks, in no real order.





















The ruined cathedral in Managua, Nicaragua. After earthquakes in the 70's, lack of funds for rebuilding and fears of more quakes, it sits in shambles.





Granada, Nicaragua-




































Local dance and costume in the plaza in Granada.




















The swine flu scare has reached Nicaragua.


























Couchsurfer's house in Granada.





















Observing an everyday street procession of a Jesus, in Granada, Nicaragua. These processions are usually accompanied by a marching band.


























Ian's sweet caracol ear plugs.








































Ponies.





















































Ian learns to surf at Playa Samara, Costa Rica. Yo, no.





































A dusty soccer game on Isla de Ometepe






















Our sweaty bike ride from Moyogalpa back to Charco Verde on Isla de Ometepe






















Volcan Maderas

























Playa Santo Domingo, Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua





















The twin volcanoes of Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua






















What I like to believe are wild ponies living on a cliff above Playa Samara. They come rollicking down the beach and through our campsite, untamed and majestic.





















Our camp setup on Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua, where we survived a full blown tropical thunderstorm, dry as a bone.

mar dulce

I loved Granada! Colonial, with a beautiful plaza where there`s always music and dancing and ice cream men. There`s a pleasant lake front, although you can`t swim from Granada, it`s a good place to cool down and relax. We also checked out the Fundaciòn Casa de los Tres Mundos, an artists` residence and work space where they also showcase their work - a really great place for budding artists and musicians of all ages to get access to materials, other artists and teachers, and the public eye.

Our couchsurfing host was kind of a thorn in our enjoyment of Granada... he built a ridiculous home/nightclub/hotel with the hopes of turning it into the premier spot for rich people to squander their money in town, but after a year of construction and living there, all he could do was bitch and moan about the country and it`s people, that he`s selling the place and moving to Panama. We took it all with a grain of salt and didn`t let his negativity influence our perspective of the place. On the other hand, he had a pool, a maid, 5 chihuahuas and all that luxury stuff, so it was comfortable digs.

Now we`ve made it to Isla de Ometepe, a wonderfully unspoiled island in Lake Nicaragua. The ancient Nahuatl prophecy was to find twin volcanoes in a freshwater sea - and it`s easy to feel like we`re in the middle of the ocean here, it`s the largest lake in Central America. There`s also the only species of freshwater shark in the world in this lake, but they`ve been hunted and their population is decreasing, so we`re not too scared to swim in the lake (although I would have liked to shark fish). We´re camping on the south side of the bigger volcano Concepción, a little area called Charco Verde for the green lagoon, where we have beaches and hiking trails (we saw monkeys yesterday!) pretty much to ourselves. There`s no real center of tourism on the island, since the tourism is the natural beauty, all the towns and accomodations are scattered around the volcanoes. Today we biked some 7 miles from Charco Verde to one of the main towns, Moyogalpa, where we came in on the ferry. Getting supplies and internet is our day´s itinerary.

Unfortunately, becuase of our lolly gagging nature and because our trip is coming to an end, we can only spend a fews days here, but I wish we had more time!