From Popoyo I make my way to San Juan del Sur. It is strange how fast you adapt sometimes. I asked for the right bus and a few people told me that it is the right bus stop. A taxi driver tried to convince me otherwise and wanted to bring me to the market, or the main bus station. When I called him out another taxi driver started laughing and gave me a fist bump. Honestly you can’t even be mad at these people. Just take it with humor and laugh with them. They will find another gringo that will believe the taxi driver.

Unfortunately there is no wave directly in San Juan del Sur. You have to take a shuttle to the next beaches. Here the water is even colder than in Popoyo. It makes sense when you think about it. As I told before the thermal winds of the lake Cocibolca are blowing strong in this time of the season. The land strip between the lake and the sea is the smallest here. So the wind has the least resistance. In return the current in the ocean is the strongest and is bringing up deep ocean water to the beaches. On Playa Hermosa there is really white sand and when I went there the water was pretty clear. Really beautiful. But still I was freezing my nuts off. Still a relaxed and beautiful place to hang out at. The wave starts to break on high tide on lower swells.

I stayed the whole day here and watched a stunning sunset later. Jupiter and Saturn rise parallel to the moon that night and are really bright. You can even see it on the picture I took! Near the equator the evening glow stays exceptionally long. You get the sunset at around 17:50 o’clock. But the orange glow usually stays for another half an hour. This is the best time to reflect on the day. A last glimpse at this beautiful setting and I need to take the last bus through the dusty dark roads back to San Juan del Sur.

After a while I rented a motorbike in San Juan del Sur after this beautiful day. My plan is to go to Omantepe. It is an island of two volcanos located in the middle of the lake Cocibolca. The motorbike is rented fast and the freedom it brings with it is immediately felt. I cruise through the roads and make my way to the ferry. This time of the season, regarding the wind it is not as much fun as I anticipated. I try to drive as careful as I can however driving fast is always tempting for the short adrenaline rush. Not on the main road the wind is to strong. I catch a ferry the bike gets loaded on the ferry for a mere 2€ and off we go. This ferry has extremely uncomfortable metal benches integrated as feature. The wind is blowing in my face for an hour straight. My ass really hurt from sitting on the metal benches. The wind abruptly stops and so does the ferry. We arrived and the massive volcano is now luckily blocking the wind. Good news for the motorbike.

Once on the Island I have to drive another 50 minutes to Balgüe. This is the best ride you can do on a scooter or a motorbike. Here the dusty Nicaraguan bush of the dry season changes to a lush jungle no matter what season it is. Here everything comes together. Howler monkeys, huge spiders, funky birds, ecological projects such as permaculture, a few hippies, coffee and cacao fresh from the farm, two stunning volcanos to hike and a waterfall to admire. It’s pretty laid back with it’s 29.000 inhabitants and just enough tourists to get a good café as well.

I try to find an accommodation and after a little scroll around the village I find a Finca tugged away on the volcano. I drive up a dusty rocky road to the accommodation. When I learned something from the locals it is that scooters and motorbikes can go everywhere. Just when I arrived I meet two Israelis. They have motorbikes as well and they plan to go to Playa Mango to watch the sunset. Never turn down a sunset! So here I go down the rocky dusty road on the motorbike again. We speed through the winding roads as it is already pretty late. We have sunset to catch and there mostly is no traffic anyway. We arrive just in time to watch the sun set over the horizon. This is what I call a successful day.

The next day I want to check out the waterfall. I take my bike again and head down the rocky way. At this time it seems that I know every rock and turn already. I also noticed that I need fuel and there seems to be no gas station around. After chatting with a few locals they gave me the solution. There are guys selling fuel in plastic bottles for a little extra pay. Whatever was in the bottle it kept the motorbike rolling. The waterfall is another thirty minutes ride. I enjoyed every meter of that ride.

I enter the hike and as chance wants it, four other people just start the hike as well so we do it together. Afterwards there was no one for an hour. What are the chances? We get along quite well and have a decent chat about a lot of things in life until we hear a massive scream from the jungle. I bet you have heard the sound before as well. If you are wondering how, let me explain. Stephen Spielberg recorded the sound of howler monkeys for the howl of the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park. This is a really loud intimidating noise and you think it must belong to a big animal. Luckily it is no velociraptor. It’s a pretty small monkey instead. After ascending through the green path we finally reach the waterfall. It is a stunning piece of art this planet has to offer. It is water falling hundreds of meters on a green wall. This was a welcome natural shower after sweating and hiking up this place in humid hot weather. If you look up from below it even feels like the water is falling in slow motion.

What a stunning experience I hike down with my temporary friends. We philosophize more about, life, work, weather patterns and other interesting stuff as favorite books. This is what it is all about. Enjoying adventures with strangers and turning them into temporary friends. I enjoy my time on the island very much. I want to stay longer but I have to get back to San Juan del Sur. I am meeting up with my sister in a few days and my time in Nicaragua comes to an end. In San Juan I honestly took it a little slower than usual. Going surfing at the beaches. Visiting the local Jesus statue. Nothing special really. But from up there you can even see the northern peninsula of Costa Rica. The hike is only half an hour though.

I enjoy my solitude, reflect on what an awesome journey it already has been. It mostly went smoothly. See you all next time in Costa Rica.