Days 738-744! From hanging with a new good friend to starting a new volunteer gig in a beach jungle… I’d say it was a fantastic week. I got to hang out with my friend Anne-Sophie, who you may remember from a few weeks ago. After our wonderful time together, I headed to a new hostel in Playa Maderas to spend the next 3 weeks volunteering… Hope it’s a cool spot!

We kick off this week on Thursday, January 8th in San Juan Del Sur! Anne-Sophie and I are back! After a great 2 weeks with my friend Ryan, it’s really nice to be hanging out with another good friend for a handful of days.

We had a lazier start to the day, having breakfast at the hostel. Around midday, we finally got out and about, renting a motorbike from the same place I rented one with Ryan (and Anne-Sophie a few weeks prior). He was happy to see me again and happy to take my money! This time around, he gave us a 150cc motorbike, which made the drives around the hilly outskirts of the city much easier.

We wanted to check out a new beach, so instead of going to Playa Maderas for a surf, we headed to Playa El Coco, hoping to maybe catch some waves when high tide rolled around.

Playa El Coco was a very secluded beach. Even though it was lined with resorts, there was no one else on the beach. So we had a very nice beach day to ourselves. We spent the time relaxing, listening to music, and chatting a bunch, which was something we did a lot of this week.

After spending most of the afternoon at Playa El Coco, we decided the waves weren’t what we wanted. So we drove all the way to Playa Maderas to see if there was anything worth while there… After a long drive, we were met with no waves. We sat for a little watching and then decided to hustle back to the city to get a snack and watch the sunset.

We went to a restaurant called Vivian, which was the first place Anne-Sophie and I had watched the sunset, the first time in San Juan Del Sur. We enjoyed tostones with fried cheese and Toñas before heading to a new restaurant for dinner. I tend to fall into the habit of eating at the same places that I know are good and cheap. But we decided to try something new and went to a restaurant called Simon Says. It ended up being mediocre and expensive, confirming why I tend to find the good cheap spots. But I’m glad we tried!

With dinner being mediocre, we decided to load up on snacks and head back to the hostel to watch the second Harry Potter movie. We were continuing our Harry Potter marathon and seeing how many we could get through during the week. While also enjoying San Juan of course.

After a lazy start to Thursday, Friday, January 9th started much earlier. We woke up and packed our bags, we had only booked two nights and the room we were in was fully booked. We moved our bags out, had breakfast, and then set out for Playa Maderas. We were determined to get some waves today!

I ended up surfing a 6’ surfboard with 36 liters today, and had a really good time on it! It was honestly the perfect board for what I want to practice right now. I caught some nice waves, but overall it was a subpar surf day with okay waves.

We made our way back to the city to have lunch at a new restaurant. Unlike dinner, this restaurant was awesome! Craft Bakery blew my expectations out of the water. I got a delicious pesto chicken panini for 200 cordobas. They also had some desserts, so Anne-Sophie and I split a big cookie for a sweet treat.

We went back to our hostel, grabbed Anne-Sophie’s bags, and then I drove us to our next hostel. I then drove back, got my bags, and then drove to the new hostel again. We were staying at Hostel Namborus, which was my 4th hostel in San Juan Del Sur (SJDS). We relaxed for a bit, finished the second Harry Potter and started on the third, and then set out for a sunset hike.

Anne-Sophie hadn’t done the hike up to the Jesus statue, so that’s what our plan was for the sunset tonight!

Now, on the way there and on the way back we had to cross over a river flowing into the ocean. But, Anne-Sophie was wearing hiking shoes. So, being the good friend that I am, and not making her take off her shoes and getting the insides wet and sandy, I gave her a piggy back ride.

We went to get street food for dinner, which I devoured after our active day. And then we finished off the night with more Harry Potter before going to bed.

We woke up early again on Saturday, January 10th. Our new hostel didn’t have breakfast included, so we went to the grocery store, grabbed some items, and made our way to Playa Maderas. We ate our food once we got to the beach, watching the waves, and seeing how they were working. Today seemed a bit bigger and better than the day before, so we were both happy about that.

I rode the 6’ board again and had a really fun session! The waves were still nothing to write home about, but I was still having a good time. I had one ride where I got a few turns in, but other than that there wasn’t much going on in terms of long rides. We chilled on the beach for a little bit, enjoying the sun before heading back to the city.

We enjoyed the bakery so much, that we went back for lunch today. The worker was a really friendly local who was very happy to see us again! I chatted with him a bit about the city and what we were up to, which was some nice additional Spanish practice for the day. Anne-Sophie and I played some cards as we waited for food and she absolutely demolished me right as the food arrived.

I’d been on a losing streak the last few times we played…

We went back to the hostel to relax and finish the 3rd Harry Potter movie. We then started up on the 4th before heading out again. I had forgotten how quickly these movies got dark and intense!

We decided to just get snacks and beer from the convenience store for sunset today.

We sat on the beach and enjoyed the sunset and each other’s company. We had been doing a lot of chatting so far this week and that wasn’t letting up while we watched the sun go down for the day.

While we were watching the sunset, a person walking down the beach looked like they had waved to me… I had no idea who it was but I looked behind me and there wasn’t anyone else they could’ve been waving at. And… they started walking towards us.

Turns out it was Cooper, who I had met in San Juan during New Years with Ryan. He was the unfortunate traveler who was harassed while staying in the hostel with us. I had told Anne-Sophie the story, so it was a fun coincidence to give her a face to the story. He had been doing well and had no other bad encounters since.

After sunset, we went to La Reina Del Sur for dinner. We had some good cheap food and met a friendly dog, who was definitely looking for some handouts.

After dinner, we were of course craving something sweet. We headed to the cheap gelato place we had the last time we were in SJDS and enjoyed a couple scoops. They unfortunately did not have the dairy free chocolate gelato this time, but they did have fruit gelato, so I enjoyed that instead.

We wrapped up our day by finishing the 4th Harry Potter and then starting up on the 5th before calling it a night.

We kicked off Sunday, January 11th with yet another early morning. We stopped by the grocery store again for breakfast food, and then headed to Playa Maderas for one final surf together. Tomorrow, Anne-Sophie would be heading to Costa Rica for her flight out of Liberia (which I didn’t know had cheaper flights than Managua, Nicaragua).

Our final surf was another okay one, nothing to write home about. We spent a couple hours paddling around, searching for waves, and catching a handful of good ones. It’s been really fun having someone to surf with! I enjoy solo surfing, but having someone to constantly talk to and cheer each other on makes the experience so much better!

After surfing, we found a spot in the sun, lathered on more sunscreen, and relaxed on the beach. We were going to make the most of the day for Anne-Sophie’s last beach day before heading back to cold and cloudy Denmark.

We did our usual listening to music and chatting and spent a couple more hours on the beach. Every so often we went for a swim and I tried to teach Anne-Sophie to body surf since the waves were good for it at the time. We finished up our beach day and then headed back to SJDS for lunch.

We went to the cafe one more time and split the last two sandwiches we hadn’t had on the menu yet. We also splurged a little and enjoyed a slice of chocolate chip banana bread and a donut.

Our day was flying by and it was much later than we had anticipated. We hurried back to the hostel and dropped off some things before setting right back out to head to our sunset spot of the evening. I was told there was a little hike to a lighthouse on the opposite side from the Jesus statue hike. We motorbiked up a very VERY steep road… and when we reached the top there was no hike and no light house. So we pushed the motorbikes breaks to the limit and went back down to find the actual spot.

It was a race against the clock, but we found the right road eventually. We parked the motorbike after the road turned to dirt and rocks, then walked the rest of the way. It was a hilly dirt road with a lot of look out spots along the way. But after walking a little bit, we arrived to the light house.

We chit chatted the entire sunset, enjoying a beautiful view over the ocean… and unfortunately, not seeing the green flash yet again.

After the sunset, we walked our way back to the motorbike and headed back to the hostel to shower and relax. Since we had a late lunch, we didn’t have dinner till later too. We went out for a street food dinner, but our regular spot was closed. So we went to a very similar one a couple blocks over.

After dinner, we got some snacks before heading back to the hostel. Anne-Sophie and I chatted for a bit and then we finished the 5th Harry Potter movie.

It was an even earlier start than the past few days on Monday, January 12th. We woke up at 6am to get breakfast at Indio del Sur Coffee Shop, which was the earliest breakfast we could find.

Anne-Sophie was heading out today. She had a long travel day ahead of her as she headed to the Liberia airport in Costa Rica, where she was heading back home to Denmark.

We ate and then headed back to the hostel to hang out for a little before her shared taxi showed up at 8am. We weren’t expecting a taxi, so I asked the driver some questions first (in Spanish) to make sure it was the right driver and not some sort of scam.

With one final see you later, the taxi sped off to go pick up another traveler for the drive to the border.

I had such a wonderful time hanging out with Anne-Sophie. Her and I got along really well. It takes a specific person to be able to hang out 24/7, chatting constantly, and enjoying each other’s company. I’m not sure when we’ll get to spend time with each other again… but I hope it’s in the near future!

I was back on my own now. I took a nap, packed up my bag, and then filled up the gas tank of the motorbike before returning it. I ran another errand afterwards, I have been trying to get a pair of hiking pants tailored, which I bought in Guatemala. I’ve been carrying them around for months now and I went to a seamstress to see if she could work some magic. Turns out the material is too hard to work with and the pockets would get in the way. So… nope! Oh well.

I walked back to the hostel and left closer to 11am to head to the next hostel. I had a nice walk over to Saltwater Hostel, making it my 3rd stay at this hostel. I had a list of to-dos today and thankfully the hostel had a cheap laundry service which checked off one of my major todos. The hostel also had a physical review notebook and they asked me to fill out a page since I had been there so many times, which I thought was cute.

I settled into a hammock, kicked back, and read. I later FaceTimed my parents, catching them up on my past week!

Just before we wrapped up our FaceTime, I got a call from Anne-Sophie. We had been keeping in touch about her travels and she was already through the Costa Rican border. But it turned out, her taxi to Liberia had dropped her off on the side of the highway and she had no clue where she was going. I helped her navigate to the bus station and we chatted while she walked along the highway. After she was all sorted with a taxi to the airport, I finished up my FaceTime with my parents.

After finishing the calls, I went to La Reina Del Sur for lunch, went to an ATM to pull out some more money, and then went to the store We Stay Lost. This is a surf/skate clothing brand started in San Juan Del Sur that I’ve stopped in to look around a couple times. Most recently with Anne-Sophie, and I saw a shirt that caught my eye that day. So after thinking on it for a bit, I decided to go back and buy the shirt. Not that I really needed a new one, but it’s been a while since I’ve gotten something as a “souvenir” for myself. And this one seemed fitting since this has been a very surf centered trip (I’ll have a picture in it eventually).

I got back to the hostel and then ended up chatting with Anne-Sophie on the phone for a while. She had a long wait for her flight and I didn’t have anything going on, so if we hadn’t already done enough talking this week, we did some more.

I went out to dinner at La Reina Del Sur again, it is just too delicious and cheap to pass up. I then treated myself to a scoop of 40 cordoba ice cream.

I chatted with Anne-Sophie a bit longer but couldn’t keep my eyes open so I called it a night.

I was only staying at Saltwater Hostel for a night, because on Tuesday, January 13th I was heading to a new hostel that I’d be volunteering at! This hostel was near Playa Maderas, so I packed my bags, had breakfast, and then headed to another hostel, Casa Ora, that had a shuttle to the beach for 144 cordobas. I dropped my bags off and then headed down the road to the grocery store. The new hostel was nowhere near the city so I needed to stock up for the week.

I got myself all the essentials for cooking gallo pinto, we were back on the diet I had in Costa Rica! I went back to Casa Ora and while waiting for the shuttle, I chatted with a couple Americans. On the shuttle I chatted with two Israelis that were shocked I wasn’t also Israeli. But we had a nice chat on the 30 minute ride to the beach. The shuttle dropped me off near a road just before the beach and I started my hike to Hostel Clandestino.

The walk to the hostel was no joke, especially with heavy luggage. It was a 15 minute walk up a very steep hill, which I had to stop halfway up to catch my breath. To get to and from the beach I’d have to brave this hill… I was going to be in good shape after this volunteering! On the walk up, the owner and his wife drove past me down the hill and they both waved super excitedly at me. It was too bad they weren’t driving up the hill.

When I arrived to the hostel I met one of the volunteers, Jolien from the Netherlands. She showed me around the hostel, but unfortunately was leaving in a couple days, as her time at the hostel was through. I got to choose between a dorm bed and a more open lofted room, and I went with the lofted room.

The loft had a double bed with a mosquito net, and plenty of space for all my belongings. I pretty much had a private room that was missing two walls. But I was happy with it and excited to have so much room. The hostel itself is super nice, a beautiful jungle hostel with a skate bowl, a nice kitchen, and overall a solid vibe.

I wasn’t planning on it, but I decided to go for a surf. I went down the hill to the beach, which was a lot easier going down with no bags. I went up to the surf board rental I had been using and asked how much for a board for 3 weeks. We negotiated down to 4,000 cordobas (just over $100), which we both were happy with. This saves me the trouble of buying and selling a board and I would’ve sold it for at most a $100 loss anyways. The guy knew which board I wanted and referenced the 6’ board as “my board” before I even told him which one I was interested in.

I surfed for a couple hours, meeting a long time resident Karine from Canada. We chatted on and off and I caught a few nice waves. One of which I was able to maneuver the surfboard to extend the ride for as long as possible. It was probably my nicest wave in SJDS.

I hiked back to the hostel and ended up relaxing there for the rest of the day. I worked on the blog post for a bit since I was behind a handful of days. I also chatted with the other guests and that solidified that I was at a really nice hostel with friendly people.

Out of nowhere, two young kids came running up to me asking my name but weren’t willing to tell me theirs. It turned out to be two of the owner’s kids who said “we’re not allowed to annoy the guests but our parents said we can annoy the volunteers.” They also told me at one point “you’re an adult but a child” which I guess isn’t an inaccurate statement. They forced me into many games of hide and seek, and we had a fun time running around the hostel. Eventually they went off to bed, I chatted with the other guests, and then made myself dinner.

The guests and I chatted for a bit more and then it was time for bed!

I woke up at 7am on Wednesday, January 14th after a very solid night sleep in my lofted room. I actually had gotten really cold at night, which was a first in Central America. I got out of bed and went to the kitchen to have breakfast. 8am rolled around and it was time to start my first hostel volunteering shift.

Phillip, the manager, and I spent the morning going through the expectations and todos for being a volunteer. He also showed me around the hostel. Compared to my reception work in Costa Rica, this was going to be a very chill hostel volunteering experience. After we wrapped up going over everything, I spent the next hour hanging out and playing guitar! Yes!! The hostel has a guitar! I also don’t need to sit behind the desk all day, as long as I can hear the bell rung, I can hang out wherever.

Jolien came back from her surf around 11am and we swapped for the morning. We have to do 6 hours each per day, but we can spread it out how we want and we wanted to make sure we both got surfs in today. The surf was tiny but I still caught a few okay waves. I got back to the hostel around 1:30pm, braving the hill which is already getting easier to do. I made myself PB&Js for lunch and then at 2pm, switched back with Jolien to be back “on the clock.”

I was relaxing in a hammock and chatting with one of the guests, when 2 new arrivals came! One was the other new volunteer, Evan from Germany, and the other was a guest who had already been at the hostel. So, all I needed to do was show Evan around. Evan and I ended up chatting for the majority of the afternoon and it seemed like we were going to get along very well!

Everything seemed to be shaping up well at the hostel!

The remainder of the night was spent chatting with the other guests at the hostel, cooking myself more galo pinto, and more chatting. It was a really lovely way to finish off the week.

It was yet another amazing week on the road. I had a really nice time hanging with Anne-Sophie. It’s always sad when the time with a friend comes to an end, but I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing her in the future! And then to start up another, seemingly, amazing volunteer opportunity in paradise… how could it get better than this! I’m hopeful that the waves will pick up as the weeks go on… but I guess we’ll find out next week!

Thanks for following along!

– Elie