San Juan del Sur
Trip Start
Jun 16, 2008
1
8
23
Trip End
Sep 01, 2008
San Juan del Sur,
Nicaragua
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Sunday was a very lazy day as I think Rachael and Ellie needed to recover from their 'heavy' drinking on Saturday night and nothing much was done until the evening when we went for a romantic meal. We all put on our finest clothes and headed for a restaurant along the sea front where we discussed the ups and downs of our relationship so far, how we see our future and posed for couple pictures! After the meal we returned to the bar that we had been in the previous night, although I'm not sure the girls remembered where we had been the previous night. We had multiple cocktails and played cards to round off a nice evening.
When we got back to the hostel we were planning to play cards on one of the tables outside the rooms when I found a camera that someone had obviously forgotten to take with them. The camera was very nice, touch-screen and expensive-looking, and there was 910 cordobas (a beer is 40 cordobas!) in the carry-case. You'll be glad to know that we did the decent thing and took several funny pictures of ourselves on the camera before leaving a note telling anyone that had left something at the table to come to our room - thinking that if we handed it in the hostel would keep the money and that if no-one came for it we would have a great night out with the money and a nice new camera!
At half past eight on Monday morning an Australian girl knocked on our door asking if the item was a camera and, recognising her from the photos on it, I handed it over to her complete with all the money.
Me and sea turtle
I've been waiting for my good karma ever since but ironically my camera has broken instead! I tried to get back to sleep but couldn't until the girls got up and put the TV on to watch an awful American film (Kickin' It Old School) which did the trick and sent me back to sleep. Having finished the film we went for some lunch at a restaurant on the beach and spent most of the meal watching the village nutter who has to hold his trousers up because they are about three sizes too big. He walks along the beach in circles, talking to himself and occasionally stopping then pacing backwards moonwalk-style before continuing off in a straight line! He looks like a castaway and quite scary but apparently he walks here from his home a few miles along the coast. The locals know and look after him because he is harmless, but no matter how many times they drive him back home he still makes the long walk back to San Juan del Sur.
Not wanting to waste all of Monday, the girls booked a Turtle tour for the evening and after I had uploaded my photos onto the computer (so that I don't lose them through my camera being broken) we quickly got something to eat before heading for the tour at 7:00pm.
The tour began with a thirty minute presentation about sea turtles and then we hopped into a jeep to drive the fifty minutes to La Flor wildlife reserve. We were told that we might not get to see a turtle lay her eggs but that most tours saw at least one during the time they were on the beach. Fortunately, as soon as we got onto the beach one of the guards (who protect the turtles and the beach) signalled to us that he had found a turtle.
Sea turtle eggs
We headed straight over with our guide and as we arrived she was digging her nest. About ten minutes later she began to lay her eggs and it was amazing to be feet away from her and witnessing something that you'd normally only get the chance to see on TV. I got a good picture of her on Rachael's camera and as she headed back to sea me and Rach got some David Attenborough-style photos.During the presentation we had been told how not to disturb the turtles but halfway through her laying some Nicaraguan tour guide came in flashing a white light (which they are sensitive to), taking photos with the flash on and even touching her as she made her way back to the water! As they are endangered and will not return to lay eggs if they have been frightened or disturbed during their laying, our tour guide was not impressed with him and she reported him when we had finished our tour!
We walked along the beach and later saw another turtle making her way back to the sea having laid her eggs and then towards the end of the trip we saw one making her way onto land. We stuck around for a bit but the turtle was actually stuck on the sand, either through injury or tiredness. After our guide had called a guard to come and watch over her we left, happy with having seen three turtles. On our way back to the jeep my beedy eye spotted a hatched egg on the beach in the darkness - the similarities with Attenborough don't end at simply coming from Leicester!
Tuesday was a pretty lazy day but I needing some laundry doing so I headed for the only laundry place I´d seen since we´ve been here.
Rachael and Ellie
I am already finding it harder to get by with being unable to speak Spanish here but I just about managed to understand what the lady was saying to me and I think it was pretty evident what I wanted through the big bag of clothes I was holding! After a bit of lunch I took a walk along the beach and spent some relaxing time listening to music and watching the surfers before meeting up with the girls on my way back as they were waiting for the massages they had booked.The evening meal was designated as a celebration meal for Ellie´s degree result (she got a 2:1) which she had found out on Monday evening so the restaurant was of her choice. She chose one of the many restaurants along the sea front with a waiter who promised great service and fresh fish - fine by us. The waiter did work hard and the food was nice although it was a bit annoying when my starter of soup was placed down and thirty seconds later my main was placed next to it on the table!
After we had finished our meal the waiter came over to talk to us, intrigued by the fun we were having with Rachael´s mosquito bite stick which gives an electric shock to your bites. The waiter called himself Marlon Brando and having held a conversation with him in Spanish the girls invited him to the bar for drinks with us. He took us to a bar not too far from our hostel and the conversation continued with translations into English every so often. Ellie did a good job of keeping me reasonably informed with what he was saying and the girls told me that he obviously works hard, had given some good security advice and they were taken by his all-round charisma and charm (he wished that it was Saturday so that we could go and dance with him, he was praying for sun so that we´d stay longer in San Juan del Sur and he liked Fridays because he could go to mass)! He also explained the situation that meant he had to drop out of university and take a poorly paid job in San Juan as a fisherman for the restaurant where he is also a waiter, so the girls paid for his drinks.
Rachael and Ellie again
Feeling tired, and a little bit outside of the conversation through my lack of Spanish, I headed for bed having checked that the girls were okay with Marlon.Wednesday morning began with Marlon´s prayers being answered as there was sun and we were staying another day in San Juan del Sur. As we were packing to move hostel, because of our dodgy toilet, a maid came to tell us that Marlon was outside, knowing where we were staying having walked the girls back the previous night. He had booked the day off work and wanted to go swimming with the girls. After some internet time I found the girls on the beach with Marlon where he kindly rubbed tanning oil into their backs and legs (a good job the boyfriends weren´t there as he even offered to do their chests!) and took them into the sea!
Although I haven´t been able to speak to him much because he doesn´t speak English, the girls have certainly taken a liking to him as he´s different to the sleazy men in Costa Rica and they have bought him a hat and a shirt as a leaving present, which they will give to him tonight before we head off on our travels tomorrow. It will be emotional!
Comments
Hello Again!
Hey! I've FINALLY managed to check my e-mail again (we still have no internet and might not have for another month yet). Guess where I am?! In a LIBRARY!!!!!!! It's so sad that it's had to come to this! There's a grand total of three of us in here and I'm the only one under 60! Anyway, glad I can now read your entries again - sounds like you're having a good time! Fill me in on any goss by sending me an e-mail! ;-) Is the time going quickly? Seems like you've been away quite a while now. So long, in fact, that you've started wearing bracelets and nail varnish from the look of some of ur pics!!! What's all that about eh?!
Back here all's good. I'm getting more hours and more responsibility at work. We've moved into the new flat and it's really nice so you'll have to come and stay when u get back. Anyhoo, I'd better go as I've got that count down clock in the corner of the screen and I'm going to get cut off soon! Keep having fun! xxx
Poor locals
No flies on Marlon, eh? Drinks, a hat, a shirt... He's right, he DOES work hard!!!
Glad to see you are having some 'once-in-a-lifetime' experiences care of the Turtles.
Love
xx