Making my way

Volcano Maderas was a great hike. It’s about 1390m (4500feet) so I’m very proud of us to make is happens and come back in one piece. The start is quite flat and then it gets steeper all the way to the top. We are talking about mud, lots of mud, rainforest, cloud forest and more. It’s not a gentle walk on the path. You are literally crawling your way through the jungle relying on tree roots, ropes, wet stones to climb your way up. I felt like Tarzan:) On the way we suppose to admire beautiful views, on the top the crater lake…well, not on that day. It was too cloudy and now I think I know what British mean by “pea soup” expression. It was like that.. You could not see a thing! Well, it’s not about destination, it’s about the journey, and I enjoyed this challenge a lot! We made it in 7hrs and I had a great time sliding in the mud on the way back. I was constantly on my bum ha ha Running shoes are not great in the mud!

We left Ometepe island the next day, but of course not without adventure. It turns out that it’s Bank Holiday  so no buses are running in the country. We were wondering what the guy in our hostel was thinking when we checked out. We were in a small village, the dead-end of island and there was no other place to go…When we came back to ask about delayed bus he just said Of course it’s Revolution Day today – no buses, no ferries. At that point we though we are stuck there. We instantly knew why everybody left the hostel a day before. We were the only one left! My imagination has kicked off and I started to say that we are in kind of the Truman Show. The viewers voted us to stay on island and now the game will start. Locals will hunt us ha ha Simon said I’m mad like box of frogs, I’ve learnt new english expression and had a great time coming up with different scenarios for a game show!

Anyway $ are miracles makers so for 30 of them we’ve got a lift in a pickup truck all the way to the ferry. Locals could not agree if ferry is running or not and we decided to take a chance. Ometepe is known to be the biggest island in fresh water on this planet. On a map it looks small but from Merdia where we stayed to Moyogalpa was almost 2hrs drive. It was fun to see island from the back of the truck!

We made it to the land, and with another taxi with 20 more of $ we’ve got to San Juan del Sur. San Juan is a party town on the Nicaragua’s Pacific coast. It was not on my itinerary, but as I had so much fun with my new companions I’ve decided to join them for Saturday night fun. The town was packed! Only when we got there some Irish girls stopped us to say that the only place where we can stay is Hostel Rosy around the corner. They spent hours walking around the town to find a place, so kindly saved us an effort. In Hostel Rosy  we managed to get a bed with quite okish price. Few hours later Seniora was charging 26$ for a bed in corridor!!!! That would be a total rip off

San Juan was not what I’ve expected it’s not totally a party place. It’s quite chilled with yes lots of bars, restaurant but at night with only few places to dance. I was so keen to move my hips!:) We ended up with Irish gang in the salsa bar, then some beach party until 3am so overall I had fun and guess what? I still not touch alcohol! It’s another blog story why it’s important for me personally, but just to point out I’m not boring!!! I still can go out!! ha ha with love to those who think I lost my spark

The town was busy for two reasons  – Bank Holiday weekend and Sunday Funday – the best marketing thing to boost the town tourism ever! Generally you pay 20$ to be driven to 4 different pools to get drunk and get a t-shirt on the end. Apparently about 400 kids every Sunday are doing it. That was too much for me:) I’m not in my spring break mood and age limit so I’ve decided to leave San Juan with Sam & Simon who were flying back home from Costa Rica. Yesterday at 10am we’ve started a journey….it was a long day yesterday. I left them at the border. They were heading towards the capital and I went south. I was aiming to get to Montezuma yesterday.

After 2 chicken buses to the border, again crossing the border on the foot (I’m getting better at this!) and another 2 buses later I managed to get to Puntarenas and it was already 6pm. Kind gentlemen on the bus station said I had no chance to catch a ferry today. Yes, my fault. I don’t do research so I have not realised how far Montezuma is. The bus driver was another kind soul. I was the last passenger when we got to Puntarenas. He said it’s better to stay here and take a ferry tomorrow morning so here I am. I’m writing to you from Puntarenas, Costa Rica. The bus driver literally dropped me off on the front of the hostel that he said it’s cheap. They had a free room which is more like a prison cell but it’s ok. I don’t need much these days:) I’m paying 10$ per nigh so if you had a picture of me in one of the Costa Rica resorts its time to change a frame. I could not be any farther:)

Puntarenas surprised me with a long pier and beautiful sunset yesterday. I only managed to walk around a bid, and now I’m about to check out and catch the ferry at 11. Another bus or 2 drive later I might finally reach Montezuma. I hope it’s worth it.

Ok enough of my adventure report. I hope you enjoyed. Stay tune. With love. Gosia xx