San Juan del Sud

We fell head over heels for this place! We arrived on Thursday at about 4pm after catching a couple of chicken buses- checked into a hostel and chilled on the beach til sunset. We didn't leave til 6 days later!

On the friday morning we got up at 6.30am to get ready for a yoga class. We waiting outside a cafe where a pick-up collected us and drove us to the most beautiful setting. We had our yoga class under a fixed gazebo with a thatched roof, surrounded by mago trees, over looking a swimmimg pool. We did the yoga for over an hour an in the relaxation period, the lady came around giving us all mini-thai massages and rubbed essential oils into our feet and temples- it smelt amazing. At the end we all got complementry home made iced tea too, it was really refreshing.

Once we'd been dropped back, me and Katie got a typical nica breakfast (huevos revueltos with frijoles, potatos, coffee and orange juice- yummmmmm.) Then we all searched for a cheaper hostel and ended up renting a room from a lovely lady who owned a laundrette. We loved having our own room, with our own house key, it smelt of soapy washing powder and was pretty shabby but it was home. We spent the rest of the day sunbatheing at the beach and then at 7.30pm we met at casa oro for a talk on turtles and turtle conservation before going to the reserve. 21 of us climbed into a large pick-up truck and were driven down dirt roads for about an hour and a half before getting to the beach where the turtles lived. It was pitch black but for the most incredible stars and red torches we'd been given (white light can damage the turtles or confuse them). We watched 75 baby turtles be released into the ocean, they were so cute. Then the guide took us to a grown turtle and we watched her dig her nest with her back legs, lay around 100 eggs and bury them in order to protect them. it was such a cool experience.

The next morning we went to yoga again before relaxing on a beach. We bumped into a girl that we've now bumped into in 4 different countries (she's lovely), her and her friend sunbathed with us and then we ended up all going out for dinner together (and 5 other people aswell). We had gallo pinto with barbacued chicken-nice! Then all went out to a really cool bar called the pier where there was this ultra hippy band was playing, a belly dancer and beach bonfires. We decided the night was still young as the bar began to close, so went out dancing to the only place still open and didn't stop dancing til 5am.

We'd spent most of the evening with three guys travelling together from Canada and met them the next day because they'd promised to teach us how to surf. We all rented boards and got a collectivo to a beach called El Remanso. I had a great day and we surfed right till the sun was setting, it was amazing.

Once we got dropped back to our hostels, we were starving and so got changed quickly before all going out for dinner together again, there was about 9 of us and we had the most delicious pizza ever (we got a free shot with the bill).

Next morning Katie and Allegra stayed in bed, but I got up and went to the guys hostel and off we all went to Yoga (they were really good... put me to shame) Then I picked up the girls and we all had brekki at El Mercado, I had Gallo Pinto with scrambled eggs and tortilla, then we hopped in the van to go surfing.

In the eveing we all went out to a fish restaurant and then reaturn to their hostel for a pre-party where we made our own cocktails from Flor de Cana and fruit juice. We stayed out late hanging out at the pier and iguanas (another beach bar).

The next day was again very relaxed, although i burned the entire back of my body and this morning we caught a bus to Cota Rica... well serval buses... and it didn't take so much as a morning as all day because we left San Juan del Sud at 8am and arrived in San Jose (Costa Rica) at 7pm.