I always want to keep my blogs short and simple but sometimes it is just not possible… there is too much to tell.

On Monday 9 August I set out for one of the bus stations in Granada to go to San Juan del Sur (SJDS). First it was difficult to find the bus station since it was not the kind of bus station I expected (obviously, Nicole… you are not in Europe anymore). Once I got there it I had no difficulties finding the bus I had to take because there were a couple of guys standing in the street screaming “RIVASRIVASRIVAS!” (Rivas was the place I had to go to in order to change for a bus to SJDS) pointing at the bus in question. I quickly hopped onto the bus.

First we passed the cemetery where a number of guys were taking it easy in the morning sun, most of them lying on the family graves (graves that in this case are not just grave stones but large blocks of stone big enough to lie on). To both Rivas and SJDS there were horses, cows and chickens along the sides of the road. The horses and the cows that were not on a field were tied with lines next to the roads. Now, it may sound like the animals were in a bad spot, but it should be added that the road was not heavily trafficked at all and the animals has a lot of green areas to eat from and seemed quite content. Though maybe, it is still not the healthiest environment considering the toxic fumes from the cars…

The landscape along the road was incredibly beautiful; it was so green and untouched. No large buildings or fences, just lush green forests and fields for as long as the eye could see. Time went by in no time since I was busy watching this beautiful part of the country. The only thing ruining this was all the garbage that was lying along the road (bottles, plastic bags and alike). After a while I understood why it was there. Throughout the trip people who were selling foods and snacks from baskets would enter the bus at one stop, walk around for a bit yelling whatever they had for sale and then get off again. People who bought something would eat whatever they had bought and then simply toss the garbage through the window. When I saw it I felt a bit sad. I am sure that if the people here were more educated about the damage this does to the country they would not do it. I am pretty sure this has a lot to do with education.

Once I arrived in San Juan del Sur I could smell the ocean (After this trip I really realized that I HAVE to live next to the ocean once I settle down). The first thing I did when I got off the bus was to walk down to the waterfront to sit down and look at the  waves of the Pacific hitting the beach. Before long I had to take the shuttle to my hotel “Buena Vista Surf Club” (if you travel to SJDS and have a little bit of money: Go here!). It was somewhat 8 km away from SJDS, at Playa Maderas. When I arrived at the hotel (after walking a steep, muddy slope in the humid weather in my flipflops) I got shown through the property and completely lost my breath. It was so beautiful! Like nothing I have seen before. From the infinity deck you could see the ocean and the main building was surrounded by, what seemed to me, a jungle of vegetation in all shades of green. In the evening a home-cooked meal was served and eaten together with the whole hotel. I was lucky enough to be there at the same time as two honeymoon couples and one regular couple… awesome… but they were all very nice people, no doubt about it. I went to bed completely exhausted and feel asleep to the sound of the waves rolling onto the beach. During my time here I spent most of my time at the beach and I even took a surf lesson one day (my first time ever surfing). It was amazing, the feeling once you got up on the board was indescribable. I have been snowboarding before but the feeling of freedom that you get from catching a wave with a surfboard can´t compare with snowboarding (I know that there are people that disagree with me). I spent one night in SJDS where I mainly enjoyed the ocean and the beach. When I stepped on the bus back to Granada I was a little bit sad, but as soon as the bus entered the city of Granada it felt good, it almost felt as coming “home”.

There was a lot more to the trip but it would take too long to write about it all. But I believe I covered the most important stuff. Something I learned this trip is that I (unlike some people) do not enjoy travelling alone. It was alright for this trip but it is not my favorite thing in the world, and I think its alright, right? Until next time!