nicaraguan waves

The restaurants lining the bay run together. Having seen Pancakes with Fruit on the menu, we walked into a restaurant for breakfast, only to find out that we should have been next door. Luckily, we didn’t have to jump the little fence between verandas to get our fresh fruit; they let us leave without too many dirty looks.

Our beach adventure began with Subway sandwiches for lunch (and a free cookie for flirting), boogie board rentals, and the bumpiest truck ride ever around the point to the surfing beach. Because San Juan del Sur is becoming a great surf spot, the property immediately surrounding it is being sold off to the rich and foreign at an alarming rate. Gorgeous mansions at the top of hills contrast starkly with the huts at the bottom.

The beach consisted of one little building and lots of huge waves. The sand was so hot that we burnt our feet, and all of the resting was done in the shade of the little bar/restaurant/surf shop. I had stopped at a surf shop in town to see how much lessons were, but the man informed me that if my legs weren’t feeling 100% (still sore from volcano climbing), I shouldn’t attempt to learn to surf in waves of such height. So I messed around with a bodyboard instead, which was great fun.

The waves, as I mentioned, were huge, and the resulting undertow was wicked. Even in the shallows, you had to be careful not to loose your balance. In fact, while we were there, a Swiss guy was sucked out to sea and spit up again on the rocks. A bunch of surfers went out and rescued him, and luckily, he wasn’t dead. But according to the veterinarian, the closest person with medical knowledge, his lungs were 60% full of water. He was driven to the nearest big hospital, two hours away in Managua.

In the meantime, I borrowed a surfboard from someone and attempted to teach myself the art of surfing. I blame the fact that the surfboard was too heavy for a beginner and missing some fins, and therefore my natural athletic talent could not aid me in more than riding small waves to shore on my knees.

Back in town, we slathered on lotion and aloe and headed up the hill to the fanciest hotel for dinner. It was probably the second-most luxurious meal I have ever eaten. I had an absolutely wonderful tuna steak. The owner, Kathy, chatted with us between dinner and dessert (decadent flourless chocolate cake), and we found out that she had been a teacher at Newton South in Boston for 34 years and knew a guy on our ultimate frisbee team.

Someday, I want to do something random like retire, move to a foreign country, and open an amazing five star hotel on the beach.