Rum and Beer: In the Clear

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Hey! Hey! It's been quite a long time since I've written a blovel! However, a lack of blogging does not mean a lack of trips! 😊

Side note: for those of you who don't know... I tend to go into unnecessary detail... blovel= blog + novel. Feel free to stop at any point. This is more of a reminder to myself, of life. 😊

So.. about a year and a half ago my (actual) Scottish friend Jill came to visit for a 3 week road trip around the Southern US. (Actual friend and actual Scottydog from Scotland) 😊 We started in Florida and a few days into the trip we'd already been at Disneyworld (Jill's idea) for more than enough time. It was our last night and we had a long drive to Atlanta the next day. We sat at the hotel bar (the most random hotel mind you) and ordered a pizza. It didn't come. We ordered another drink. It still wasn't there. A group of Australians showed up, as did our pizza. It really didn't take much convincing. We put the pizza in the room and met the Aussies for our last night out. I know, I know.. this is supposed to be about Nicaragua. I'm trying. Short story, long... we met up with the Aussies and I have stayed in touch with one in particular ever since. We have been on several trips over the last year and a half and just returned from.... San Juan del Sur. I hate I haven't written about all the trips as of late, but it takes time people! 😉

I landed in Managua an hour-ish after the boys. The boys= Ryan, the main Aussie man. Rhys, another Aussie (met him the same time as Ryan) and in the running for the funniest person I've ever met. Rhys sounds like Reece (but I like his spelling better). I could not understand him the first time we met. Lastly, Sean, the Canadian they worked with in.. well, Canada, because that's what Aussies do. Oh and Ryan sounds like Ryan except they say it like Roy-an. 😊 So, MK and the boys, whom you just met. If you read my blog from Vietnam, then you know I love an airport pick-up sign! The boys must have been bored waiting on me and made the cutest makeshift boy sign. Made my heart warm and fuzzy. haha, plus it took the nerve off seeing Ryan for the first time in 6 mos, Rhys a year and a half, and Sean, ever.

After the hugs and hellos, I notice 3 boys and 3 small backpacks. As in, small backpacks, not the travel ones. Now, in my defense, every trip Ryan and I have been on, he has had a suitcase the same size as mine. He may not have filled it to the brim, but he had it nonetheless. I can pack small, if need be. Noooo one told MK about the "who can pack the least possible" game. 😉 I knew immediately I was going to hear some comments from the peanut gallery later on.

So, they throw my monstrosity of a suitcase (ok, it really wasn't that big) and their backpacks into a taxi and we dart around for about 15 or 20 minutes. I can't remember where we stayed because we got in at 11ish, dropped off our stuff, Sean went to the bathroom with a beard, he came out without a beard. I didn't know this guy but it was funny, minus him pulling the ultimate boy move and leaving it all in the toilet for MK to find, gross. We walked down the street and that's where we met Tona, except she has the little squiggle over the n. Tona is the national beer of Nicaragua and we were all begging for her attention. Sean was hungry so he ordered a, I don't know, let's say quesdilla. The waiter is nodding, "ok, ok", he walks off and comes right back offering a different menu. The gringo menu. It was the exact same, all until you got to the price. ha. Same menu, white man prices.

We headed home to our cozy aircon room. First thing, "MK, do you have toothpaste, I couldn't bring it in my backpack". small victory. MK 1 Suitcase 0. I was pleasantly surprised to find out no one was a snorer!! 3 boys, no snoring, big victory! We were out at a reasonable time the next day and were heading to San Juan del Sur. Per the norm, I hadn't really done much research abt Nicaragua and only knew the highlights: it has surfing, volcanoes, speaks Spanish. Everything else would be figured out in time.

We went outside to get a taxi and this man starts telling us in his broken English about how we should donate money to him, so he could donate to his friend, who just had a house fire. We were all looking at him and each other and no one really moved. Somehow he ended up taking us on a goose chase to find the bus station. We walked. Ryan drug my suitcase without any complaints, but we kept walking. We got to a pretty hectic spot and taxi after taxi were passing. MK 1 Suitcase 1, from all the dragging poor Ryan had to do. ha. We got a taxi to take us to our original goal, the bus station.

In Nicaragua, much like I'd assume most of Central America, they have what they call "chicken buses". These are buses that were once used in the US and Canada, but have surpassed their "limits" to our standards. Big yellow buses now draped with the most vibrant of colors, patterns, illustrations, murals, and you can't forget the amount of people/stuff packed inside and outside. People were taking our stuff and shoving it above the seats in a not so large area. My suitcase included, granted it's not that big, but it should not have been in an overheard anything. They assured me it was jammed in and wasn't moving. Next, they stuck out their little hands wanting money for their assistance, which was nice, but not asked for. Not falling for that ole gag amigos! As we began to back out, that's when everyone in our group thought "this is the right bus, right?". It was. whew. It was hot and we were ready to get rolling. We were heading to Rivas, in order to take a taxi to San Juan del Sur. I'm gonna start typing SJDS for that because it's too long.

The ride was fine, big bus, plenty of room, overload of people watching and sights out the window. Then we go a little further and people are hopping in the front door, selling whatever item they had in the bowl on top of their head, and hopping out the back door. The most bizarre was the man who hopped in, gave a long speech about what we understood to be pills to take away headaches and pain and fat loss and any other ailment you might have. He then proceded to try to entice our fellow bus riders for the pills in his bag, but they were in boxes, so they were legit. Please don't make me explain that was a joke. Next, it's getting a little tighter.. I am now sitting with a bag under my feet, Ryan, and some other sleeping man on a bus seat. I don't know how long it's been since you've been on a school bus, but those seats aren't big. We cruised on, stopping ever so slowly to pick up/drop off here and there. Suitcase holding strong up top. The seat in front of us clears up after 30 minutes or so and Ryan bumps the guy next to us and points to the seat. He goes for it. A few seconds later I hear a thud. I didn't see it, but I knew. I jabbed Ryan with my elbow and he pounced up grabbing the suitcase off some other mans head. He was asleep and hardly budged at the thud that just gave him a concussion. I was horrified. MK 1 Suitcase 2. We made it to Rivas and off the chicken bus. We unloaded and met with our dearest friend, Tona. (don't forget her little squiggle) 😊 It was so cold and so good and all we wanted to do was get to SJDS for more.

A, what seemed like, short taxi ride later and we pull into the driveway for our hostel, Casa de Olas. Ryan and Rhys stayed in this hostel last Feb, thus wanting us to go back. The hostel is on a hill. A big, steep hill. So steep our taxi puttered out and began to roll backwards, but stopping quickly. We had to get out, the boys gave him a push and we met him at the top. I was all swell with that except had we gone much further we would've slid right off the side and into the jungle, but that's neither here nor there. At this hostel it's first come first serve, so we weren't entirely sure we'd have a room, but low and behold.. a 6 bed dorm for just the 4 of us. After throwing my stuff in the room, I sat on the edge of the pool with my feet slowly kicking in the cool water, Tona in hand. I met a girl named Nina from Germany, which was easy to remember bc that's my sisters name! Everybody was sitting around, chatting, not a care in the world.

We met most everyone there. If you notice in the pics, there is an infinity pool that backs up to the bar, lined on either side with rooms, and overlooks the hillside and out across the ocean. Rarely was there not a pretty sunset, gorgeous even. I mean gorgeous, gorgeous. The clouds over the still pool just added to the effect. Sunsets, always changing. I probably have as many sunset photos as I do regular ones. Anywho.. Each night they provide a family style dinner for 6 or 7 bucks. It was always something good too. Everyone who orders dinner sits and eats together, which is nice because you get to meet people. We wouldn't have had any issues though because Sean was going to meet any and everyone who had a pulse anyway. Chatty little thing, that one.

Casa de Olas, aka House of Waves, is run by an Aussie couple, Fred and Carla. They are such the entertainment and have WAY more energy than any of us did or do. Fred makes me laugh because he cannot say Olas ("oh-las"). He says "oh-lay". So the phone will ring, and Fred goes "Hello, yes this is Casa de oh, oh, olay!" hahaha didn't he name the place?! I loved it. It was a couple days from Carlas 60th birthday and the celebration had already begun.

We arrived in Nica on Tuesday, SJDS on Wednesday and surfing started Thursday! We went to a beach called Playa Maderas (meaning Beach Wood). To get to this beach we rode in the back of a pickup truck. The road was more of a path that had been washed away and re"dirted" a number of times. It was not smooth, nor was it short, but we made it. We laid out our towels and "checked the surf", which meant absolutely nothing to me.

After a bit, we rented boards and headed to the water. I was a little nervous, but not all that much until Ryan said "now hop on". What? I don't know how to do that. "Now start paddling" I was paddling, yet I was not moving. We only rented one board this day because he was going to teach me what to do and when I gave up, he would use it. I don't remember much of his advice except, paddle, push up, and stand up. I may have blocked it all out though because now I was more nervous. I had no idea. No idea. I've never even watched surfer movies. Well, he kept saying to paddle and I did, I still wasn't sure I was moving but my arms sure were. He was standing beside me, holding onto the board, and was going to push me into the waves. This is great, right? Yes. I don't remember how many times it took me before I stood up, but I did! I was so proud of myself. Then I realized that I was so focused on standing up that I was standing toes forward, feet shoulder width apart, straight ahead on the board. I told him this and he goes "oh, I thought that was obvious" haha I was just so happy I stood up, at all. After I got the balance on the board thing going, I was able to get the push up thing going. The stand up thing was happening, but not all as often as I wanted. The waves. Now, I grew up 3 hours from the coast and 6 hours from a pretty, clear water coast, and I don't even know how many hours from a surfer coast. I'm used to the kind of waves you jump into and come right up from. These waves were the kind of waves I got in once in New Zealand and came out with a sandcastle on top of my head. I am not used to this and it freaked me out a little bit. Every time I fell off the board, I went to the fetal position being tossed and spun out of control. I couldn't see the surface, my board, nada, but eventually came up. I'm sure it was 5 seconds but it felt like 20 each time. Once, I pulled the board back to me and sliced my leg. There was a small scratch, but it left a horrendous bruise! I also cut Ryan once, oops. I swear one time I got hit by such pressure from the wave that it made a little air bubble in my ear and I felt it come out the other side. I was not the most coordinated person with this massive surfboard. In and out, in and out, wave after wave, I threw in the towel. I was ready to sit, unable to harm myself, on the beach, so I did exactly that.

We made the bumpy ride back to Casa in no time. We had dinner, Tona, great music, small conversations, lots of laughs, rum shots, life-size Jenga that could only be played with your feet, fun times, blue painted middle fingers (the security system of Casa), Buzz the monkey nearby, and lastly chili shots. Sorry, A chili shot. No one told me this was a chili shot. I took it, along with everyone else and almost threw up on the spot. It was the most disgusting thing. Partly bc I didn't know it was chili, as in whole chilis seeds and all, left to soak in a bottle of vodka, and partly because it was just that gross. I told Ryan that if I threw up at all, it was bc of that tiny little devil in disguise. I found out the next day a girl took it later on and actually did throw up on the spot! ha

We went to another beach the next day called Playa Hermosa (beautiful beach). This also happens to be on a national reserve as well as the spot where Survivor Nicaragua was filmed. After the ride to Maderas, I knew this road wouldn't be much more promising so I squeezed in the back of the cab with 4 other girls. We were going through the jungle, over streams, small rivers, up hills, down hills, until we got stuck. Well, considering there were 18 people, yes, 18, in a small truck (7 in the cab alone) it wasn't that big of a shock. We all got out, the boys pushed, and we were soon on the beach. Surfboards were 10 bucks a day. We rented 2 from here on out because I needed a big momma board and Ryan used the little speedster boards. I was better today and the waves weren't scary at all. Now that's not to say I was going solo, coach Ryan was still in high demand. Poor guy, he ended up helping Sean and I more than I think he thought he ever would. Sean has surfed in Canada before (who knew you could do that), but was still working on it. This was good for me because neither one of us really knew what we were doing, he was just more willing to take a wave and get pounded.

So, I had the balance down, the willingness to paddle, and the focus to stand up. "MK, paddle, paddle, now paddle really hard!" Sad to say I was paddling my hardest on the first paddle! Paddling is hard people. Ryan has cantaloupes (as Sean says) for shoulder/arm muscles, he's good. I am awful. I don't know why but I always had the notion to do a double paddle, by pushing both arms down at once, instead of alternating, but when Ryan saw this he immediately started laughing and said it was not allowed. haha, bless him, he doesn't know my specialness level. 😉 Nina came out with us but she only lasted a little bit. I stuck it out and actually made some improvements. Don't get me wrong, I was awful, but I was trying!

We were meant to be picked up at 3 but Chili (the truck driver/shuttle man) didn't show up until about 5:30 or maybe even 6. Either way, all 18 of us were tired, hungry, thirsty, and long ready to go. We got back to Casa to meet a birthday party for Joe. He requested endless pizza for dinner and it was perfect timing. It kept coming out. Eventually we had fully bellys that only needed some Tona and Flor de Cana (rum). Beer, rum, beer, rum, beer, beer, piñata (ah! I just typed that and it gave it the little squiggle on the n! oh, the small things!), singing, foot jenga, pointless conversations, smiles, people watching, laughing, nonsense, and so on. We stuck to our little motto of Rum and beer: In the clear.

The next morning Fred got everyone at breakfast to come into their room and wake up Carla with singing Happy Birthday. Later she came out decked like Marilyn Monroe. The white dress that flies up ya know. She had it on, red hot lips, ready to go at 10 AM. She would randomly get on the microphone and sing "its my party..". haha loved that crazy lady! We went back to Maderas, but I didn't surf because I knew the boys wanted to really bad. I was quite the hassle for my teacher. I was helpless without him. I am not ashamed to admit it either. I had no idea what I was doing unless otherwise instructed! Plus, there were other girls from the hostel I could hang out with on the beach. Some man raking the beach (again, raking the beach) came to us and told us we needed to go to the "swimming pool". Saying there was this cool pool that was inside the rocks that we could float around in. We followed right behind him to this 5 by 5 puddle, right next to a rock. We still aren't sure if we misunderstood or he was just a looney toon??

We had been at Casa now for 4 nights and needed a break. It gets pretty crazy on weekends. We decided to go to Hermosa and stay at the little hostel there. They even picked us up! Ha, but when we were leaving Casa, Ryan carried my suitcase out and I think he was embarrassed. MK 1, Suitcase 3. I liked staying here because you could surf, go in for lunch, surf again, go in for some hammock lounging, and go back out for sunset surf. I think it was the first day staying there we were out there with the most beautiful sky. All around the most wonderfully painted wisps of colors. Easily every shade of blues and pinks. I loved the surfing, but I also loved just laying on the board (I was also very special when it came to sitting on the board) and going over the waves. It's like a little ride and every time you went over the wave it made you wanna say "whoop!".

We stayed here for 2 nights with surfing, chicken burgers, hammocks, Tona, Netflix, and sleeping on constant repeat. They had a little kitchen with about 20 dishes. I ate a chicken burger for 3 straight meals. Minus breakfast, which was either pancakes or a traditional Nica breakfast: eggs, rice and beans, toast, possibly fruit. At night it was just us and one other couple, that we met at Casa. It was VERY chill. We sat outside and watched TV, but it was slim pickins for English channels. You don't realize how long it takes before someone actually says something in a show or movie. We'd sit, waiting for the first word.. would it be English or would we be searching for another channel. Since Survivor was filmed here, they had excellent wifi. All the boys piled in our mosquito net covered king bed and watched Netflix. One big happy fam. 😊 My suitcase providing the perfect spot for the laptop. MK 2 Suitcase 3.

We were back to Casa the next Tuesday and in a private room, right by the pool. We spent the next week here. Ryan was telling us how he'd never had an ear infection, so what do you suppose happened? Correct. He had a blocked ear, but tried to ignore it. We went about our merry way and were consumed into the life of the party at Casa de "Olay". It was so nice to get away but it was so nice to be back. We had other people to talk to besides ourselves, drunk people to watch, rum to be shot, songs to be sung, games to be played, monkeys to entertain, Tona to digest, and memories to be made. The life.

The next day, the boys decided they wanted to take the shuttle back to Hermosa for another surf day but would be coming back at 3. You know those awkward moments when you're encouraged to do something (ie: catch your own waves) yet you know it's just not gonna happen? Exactly, well that was happening so I passed on the surf that day. I was in the way. In the way of the boys and in the way of other people. I even hit some guy with my board one day. I felt so bad, but really, did he think I had control over that big momma? No! I got really nervous when other people starting getting close to where I was floating around. Oh, and it was pouring rain, and yes, I do know you're wet whilst in the ocean, but it was a point for the staying at the hostel team.

Soooo... they left, I went to the hostel next door (Naked Tiger) with some people to order lunch. I ordered a pizza and it was enormous, and delicious. I had to pay 50 cents for a to go box. haha made me giggle. We mosied back over and now I was bored. People just lounging around, too early to drink, too stir crazy to sit, so I went to town with a New Zealand guy we made friends with, to watch a soccer game. HA. I know nothing about surfing, but I know less about soccer. If you don't know me, don't worry, this is not a pattern, there are plenty of things I do know about. 😉

We went to the bar to find a bunch of other Kiwis. As soon as I knew where he'd be, I went to the pharmacy to find Ryan some ear drops. Sadly, I do not speak Spanish (new goal though!), so you can imagine the sign language used on this trip. I bought some kind of drops that she assured me were for pain in the weird shaped things on either side of your head. However, when you look at the bottle it had a squinty eyed cartoon face with a puffed out cheek and little lines coming from it. Think about that. Then I bought some pills that I signed to her using my hands together like I'm praying, and then put to the side of my head, complete with eyes closed and a head tilt. Did you do it? (I wasn't sure what those actually were either so I tested them out on a "friend" at the hostel. He didn't die.) Then I was back to the bar for the "match". No one was to be found. I left 20 guys there and now they're all missing, but I walked a few bars down and there they sat. Eyes glued to the TV, beer in hands. The TVs at the original bar lost signal, or something. My phone rang. It was Ryan and they were left at the beach, again. I think about 12 of them went and 6 girls took the shuttle back, leaving the rest. They got back (very displeased) just as we were sitting down for dinner. So glad I didn't go!

Somewhere in there, Rhys had a friend from home come and meet up with us. Josh is his name, but is nicknamed "bucks".. Ryan told me it was bc he is really good at Buck Hunter, but the next day I found out it's bc of his last name. hahaha. He was with us for the rest of the trip and is still traveling through Central. (jealous) I can't remember what night he got there, but it just made for a bigger, happier family. 😊 He made us all laugh bc he, much like Fred, could not pronounce anything. ANYTHING. He was calling it San Juh-won!! Out of control!

So now that you know Bucks has joined the fam somewhere in there, we went fishing the next day. $40 an hour, for 3 hours, with 8 people, 15 bucks. Couldn't beat it. We had the lines "trolling" behind the boat (I say "" bc that was a new word to me-prob isn't even spelled that way). Not even 20 minutes in and the line catches. Apparently there's a rule that if there's a girl on the boat, she has to reel in the first one. I caught a tuna. If the video works, it was the last little bit, in the beginning, I thought my arm was going to burn off. It didn't. We only caught three fish, but the boys jumped from the boat with their boards and got in a little "surf sesh". I had a snorkeling mask but it only took 2 minutes to realize there was nothing to be seen. Water and sand, not even a measly little shell! No wonder we only caught 3 fish. I laid out and read. It was glorious.

I would not be exaggerating if I told you this day marked the highlight of the trip for the boys. Once back on the boat, all of them.. "Jim said he'd take us here" "Jim wants to come by tonight" "Jimmy was the coolest guy in the world" "I hope we get to hang out with Jim again" "I want Jimmy to be my Uncle" "He's been visiting and surfing here for 20 years"... oh. my. gosh. Who is Jim!?! They were like little girls! They met this man, Jim, in the water and he could not have made a better impression on these love-struck little girls! They were obsessed. Seriously, the whole way back was talking abt Jimmy. I finally had the pleasure of meeting him that night. He did as promised and came to the hostel for a beer. He walked in, but I had no idea he was Jim, THE Jim! The boys all cute and casual acting, chattin him up with googly eyes. It was hilarious. What they said is true though, the man is awesome! That night the cooks prepared our fish for us. Tuna sashimi.. oh my word. Tasted like butta!

Ryan finally went to the "doctor", the 90 year old pharmacist man that didn't speak English, who took him to the back of the room and closed a pair of swinging doors so we couldn't see. Ryan came out with three different medications. Nurse MK was now on duty. (some of you will get that joke! ha) He couldn't drink bc he was on antibiotics so that put a little damper on Tonas feelings, but we made it. 😉 We actually opted to go horse riding the next day. WTH. I'm allergic to horse dander, and I didn't make that up. But it was a whole day to spend with.. Jim! ha, and well we couldn't surf bc of the ear and we couldn't drink bc of the antibiotics and what ever in the world were we to do?! Me, Ryan, Sean, English girl, Shanina the hot German girl, and the German guy who does drugs in the bathroom, was skinny as a rail, even brought home a hooker he couldn't pay for one night! Anywho, I can't remember his name. He slept every day, so we were all surprised he was up for horse riding. We got there and realized they were small little things, so I wasn't too worried about my throat closing up. However, the last horse I was on, in sixth grade, I was bucked off. I was a little anxious. I ended up liking my little girl though. I named her Brenda. The English chick had the craziest horse. It did not like the water, or the rocks, or the walking, or the standing, or anything.. it made noises all the way there and back. We were heading to some pools that overflowed down into others. Once we got there, there was a guy literally taking a bath. I felt a little bad for the invasion, but he dressed really quickly and scurried off. Us girls were the only ones to get in, the water was nice, but now we were soaked and had to ride bumpity bump all the way back home.

These horses weren't the fastest of their breed. Painfully slow in fact. Mine was a little bit tooky and didn't like many of the others. German guy and Sean could not handle the slowness of their horses. I still am not sure why they thought we were going to be racing but the entiiiiiiiiiiiiiire way the German is making this sound and swatting his horse. "mop, mop, mop" Put your lips together, then make a popping sound. It was SO annoying! I could hear Sean and the German and I could not get further away. Just let the dang thing do it's thing. We weren't in a hurry to get anywhere. They didn't get this. Here comes German mop, mop, mopping from behind. Getting closer, and closer, until my horse stops, and kicks his horse twice, bucking me. I screamed, twice. I screamed mostly bc I had my phone in my hand taking pics along the way, but I also screamed bc the damn German wouldn't back off. I felt sorry for his horse bc I know my Bucking Brenda was really wanting to kick him, not his horse.

We didn't do a whole lot the next day, I don't think. I was getting a little antsy from being at Casa for such a long time. That night we decided we'd go out for dinner. Rhys and Bucks were in party mode so they stayed, but Sean, Ryan, and I went to a restaurant right on the beach. I was craving a glass of wine. Tona, my dear friend, was wearing out her welcome. I ordered the house pinot. It was 12 bucks and I think the most expensive thing we had at dinner. I didn't care. It was pretty tasty too! We ordered 4 meals, sharing everything. Fresh delicious fish. Really, we just pointed to a few things, hoping they would be what we imagined. 😊

Sean is midsentence, no lie, about an American girl getting robbed. Ryan bursts in and says, "there's a hand!" and points toward the bottom of my chair. Turning, I immediately reached for my purse strap, but instead grab a cord. I yanked it pretty hard and up comes a strand of barbed wire about 3 feet long! When it came up, still in my hand, I was in shock. I had my bag, with everything still in it. I like to believe that I am a smart traveler and take extra awareness to my surroundings. The only reason my bag was on my chair in the first place (rather than being in my lap) is because I was sitting next to a wall. The restaurant was over beach, with poles below to hold it maybe 3 or 4 feet above the sand. There was a 3 foot wall next to me and, upon inspection, a one inch crack between this restaurant and the next one. At the end of the barbed wire, they bent it into a hook. This was latched onto my purse. I believe they were trying to knock my purse to the ground, then reach inside. Even if they had pulled my purse off, it would not have fit through the crack. Ryan's wallet probably wouldn't have even fit through the crack it was so small. The greatest relief!!! Don't you love a success story?! I am thankful that it happened because it's a good story but more importantly, it makes me all the wiser about what I'm doing and how to do things in the future. We quickly finished up, and went straight to Eskimo, the ice cream place, for a "we didn't get robbed" celebration!!

I'm going to leave you on that happy note! Thank you so much for reading! haha, I warned you I was wordy! Anyway, check back for the 2nd part of my trip to Nicaragua coming soon.

Peace and safe travels,



MK



ps- shout out to Sean for some of these photos posted, be sure to check them all out! May have to go to 2nd page! 😊

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Photos

my welcome sign
tell me this isn't the cutest boy sign ever

Fred and Carla
love.

SJDS
walkin down the beachfront

Rhys, Ryan, Bucks
:)

top of the pools
only the girls swam.. hmm

barbed wire
that hook on top was latched onto my purse

Tona
complete with the little squiggle

I love Carla.
hey Sean.

he had a tough time with this
don't tell him that

for the boys
although I didn't brush mine the whole trip either.. eek.

trotting
German in the back.. mop, mop, mop!

ladies of the village
the one next to me is the "mayor" :)

Uncle Jimmy
the boys were jealous of this pic

Tiger Snake
they ran over it with the truck, brought it back to hostel, set it up where you walk in, almost killed people.

sunset 23049845
view from Naked Tiger

not being robbed victory ice cream
at Eskimo, of course

Lupe!
the chair got in the way of his handy dandy flashlight

Rhys' shorts
I had asked him earlier what happened to them, then I spotted this guy. LOL

San Juan del Sur
view from Jesus

my favorite randomness
brown and white cows appeared on Hermosa Beach

Playa Hermosa
he had to go to the beach to get reception for my card to work

baby shrimp swimming upstream
weird

Pinata for Joes bday
Nina and I