Maderas, Nicaragua

So once again I think I have Paradise…. In the most unexpected spot really. We arrived in San Juan del Sur expecting it to be beautiful and amazing with good surf at an arm’s reach. However, it was just another port/tourist town with a half finished Jesus statue on the hill, no surf to be had, and cold water… So we did what any disgruntled tourists would do, we got drunk and decided to explore the half finished resort at the end of the beach rather than participate in the lame tourist scene of seedy bars. It was a dark and windy night but from the base of the half finished hotel we found a road, leading up the hill towards, dun dun dahhh…. Jesus!

As we climbed the hill onwards, to Jesus, the half moon rose over San Juan and we could finally see what everyone raved about, a beautiful half moon bay surrounded by hills and lights. If only it were not so damned touristy, and onwards we climbed, at times the wind was so fierce I felt that I would be blown away but we pushed forth to our savior on the hill.

After some time we reached our savior, who was protected by barbed wire and fences. So we hopped the fence and began to explore, quietly though, to not alarm the night watchmen inside of the Jesus building.

But there we were standing at the base of a half-finished Jesus and what did we find… Jesus’s face!!! And guess what? Jesus was plastic, we were laughing about this when all the sudden the wind changed and we heard barking. The strong headwinds had disguised our scent and voices from the dogs, but when the wind changed they were on to us, and they meant business!

So we booked it down the hill, and over that fence as quickly as our little legs could carry us; note to self, flip-flops and skirts are not the best ninja outfits. But no worries, after Pete accidentally slammed me into the barbed-wire fence in a desperate attempt to jump it, we were home free and spent the next few minutes running through bushes and away from the flashlights following us.

It’s good to know that Central Americans take protecting their savior, only serious enough to chase us off the property but not beyond it.

Anyway, that was all the adventure San Juan del Sur was going to offer us because the next morning we headed to the nearby beach of Maderas; where I am now writing this from our own little Paradise on the hill with wireless internet. Oh modern technology!

We basically accidentally stumbled on the nicest hostel in Nicaragua, with a gorgeous ocean view, amazingly comfortable mattresses, a great friendly staff, a balcony just perfect for yoga, and the best food I have had in Central America thus far. Not too forget the usual hammocks and such. There are also a family of monkeys living in the tree near the bathroom. Nice, nice, very nice so many things in the same device!