The Family at San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

Our group of friends randomly decided based on what where wanted to be and timing and who we wanted to be with that San Juan Del Sur was the perfect place to spend Christmas. So after separating in Antigua, taking a few different routes and recruiting new member to our traveling family, we finally made it to our final destination...

In San Juan we rented out a place and pretty much took over since there were twelve of us and it became our own little home. For the next few days we would take trips to beaches around San Juan, go surfing, tanning, skimboarding,beach soccer matches and lots of partying in the few bars around town. This was a nice time where we stayed in one place for a while, met new people and were also able to hang out and spend more time with each other.  

Lauren, Ayako and I at Rebecca´s Inn, which we dominated and turned into our own cozy home.

                              Part of the group on top of a bus on our first night out in San Juan.

                                                   Pedro and Nath

                                                               Way too excited

Some crazy dance I know nothing about

                                                                    Another dance

                                                                          Blue Steel

        Maderas, one of the beautiful beaches we visited to go surfing and have delicious fruit smoothies.

                                                                       The ride back

Loving life

My cute rental borad that I loved at Yankees in Nicaragua

After a few days of beach, surfing, smoothies, fish and chips the crew was complete and all 12 of us after meeting, splitting up and recruiting new members were finally reunited and ready for our delicious and exciting Christmas. I think this was a very special time for all of us. Most had been travelling for a while, missing their family and for a few this would be their first Christmas away from home. It was the time where evryone got together, helped with planning, decorating, shopping and it all came together pèrfectly. Thanks to Nath who cooked most of the food and everyone else that helped it was an amazing dinner and a beautiful christmas we people we loved that made us all feel a little bit less homesick.

Nath and Danny with the Christmas Piñata

Christmas joy

Pre-Christmas sunset drinks on the beach front

All of us with our secret santa gifts

Dinner time with delicious food cooked by Nath

Santa Nath giving out candy to the children

Doing dishes

Headbutting the Santa Piñata

Looks like a miss

Nath is the winner!!!

Going out Christmas night

After our farewell to Tom and Becks in the van on our way to Popoyo where we would stay in a beachfront beautiful house for the next few days.

                              
                                                   Maderas

      

         

        

Popoyo

    

Offshore winds at Popoyo

Our palace

Beachfront Heaven

Last group picture before leaving to spend New Years in Costa Rica

Bye Ayako and Ambi!

Granada, Nicaragua

 After spending a scary and lonely night in Managua, I took a cab early morning to pick up Pedro at the airport. I went hours earlier to the airport because I did not want to be in the dodgy neighborhood I had spent the night. His flight was super late, but during that time I recruited a following of little children who sat around me watching me make bracelets sitting on the airport floor. I gave all of the ones I had made away and Pedro arrived to participate in my adventure. We negotiated a ride and went straight to Granada and to the great Bearded Monkey hostel, with a beautiful indoor garden pation, hammocks and a bar.

Pedro and I were starving so we walked around the town and decided to eat at a small restaurant with tables on a park. There we tried a typical dish of mashed Yucca with a type of cole slaw and and some pork for Pe, it was very different with an interesting taste, but I really enjoyed and have since really enjoyed eating yucca.

At the hostel we ran into Tom, Becks and Ayako who I met briefly in Antigua, and together we got a crew to go on a little tour of Lago de Nicaragua which has hundreds of islands. Party boat time.

You have to pay just to look

One of the islands we floated around was filled with monkeys

One of them decided to come on the boat and greet us

Pedro, Ayako and I swimming in the lake during our lunch.

Delicious Lunch!!!!

Love it!

Another visit, this time we had food

After our great day on the lake we went back to the hostel to rest and there we ran into Lauren and Nath, who I had plans to spend christmas with in San Juan. We all decided to get together and have a night out.

Tom and Ayako

Nath and I

Lozza and Nath

                               

After a really interesting dinner at a restaurant in a not so good area, with dirt floors and expensive food, but with the advantage that you could buy a whole bottle of Flor de Caña rum and have it served on your table, which got us all a little bit too excited, I went to bed dead and in the next morning we all got together and decided it was time we headed to the beach since we were all aching for a bit of sun and salt water in our bodies and were waiting anxiously to celebrate our wonderful christmas with 3 new guests in San Juan.