End of trip 1

Hey all;
Last I wrote we were about to leave the Buena Onda resort. Well, after leaving the beachside internet cafe (a laptop with wireless in the main room of a guy's house), Steve, Kris, Sky, and I had a really fun, 3 hour surf session at Playa Santana. This was followed by a late lunch. By that time it was around 4pm, too late to head off to the unknown. So, we talked to the guy at Buena Onda, and he let us set up our camping gear on the property for the night at $5 each.
When we finally left Las Salinas we headed south to San Juan del Sur, the most touristy of the towns we had seen in Nica. We stayed in town just long enough to use the ATM and go to the first grocery store we'd seen since we left the states. We got some cold beers and potato chips and set off down south, looking for a nice beach where we could enjoy both. We took a random dirt road to the west that eventually took us to Playa Remanos, a beautiful beach set in a small cove with rock outcroppings on either side. We enjoyed the views while sipping our cold beer, then went out for a playful surf in the mellow waves. Kris and Sky stayed on for a while as Steve and I ventured further south, looking for a place to camp.
We found the perfect spot. Playa Yankee - a secluded beach with nothing on it but a tin hut on a rise at the northern end of the beach. Our campsite for the night was the backyard of the house, looking out over the beach. We returned to Remanos for a sunset surf, then drove in the dark to our campsite. We had dinner of bread and wine from the grocery store on wonderful wooden benches made by the proprieter of the hut at Playa Yankee. The stars were out, phosfluorescents were stirring in the waves, and fireflies zoomed overhead.
The next day we drove to a fishing village in the far south of Nica, where we had an afternoon surf with some local kids on yet another pituresque, secluded beach. The large penninsulas of Costa Rica were in sight, and were blocking the newly arriving south swell. So - after a short stop in San Juan del Sur to get Kris'stitches out (his lip had started to grow around them, so we couldn't do it ourselves - this was, again, a five minute - and free - ordeal), we headed north to return to our favorite lodge, Bahia Paraiso in El Astillero, to surf the new swell at our favorite beach, Chococente.
The next three days were a return to the known for us, after so much time exploring the unknown. We felt like we had a routine in El Astillero - a routine of constant bliss. Our bliss consisted of a beautiful town full of wonderful characters, great surfing on the most beautiful beach all to ourselves, amazing cooking of the freshest seafood, and great company...and a lot of cribbage. We surfed the best waves of the trip. We swam with sea turtles. We ate fresh lobster. It was a great way to finish the trip with Steve.
It was hard to see Steve go. The four of us had developed a great dynamic and comraderie. We travelled so well together and enjoyed each other's company so much. It felt as though the trip was ending for us all. So, Kris, Skyler, and I chose to just let that portion of the trip end, and begin anew. The next day we set out for Costa Rica.
Costa Rica is so much different than Nicaragua. The infrastructure is far superior, there is much more wealth, the buildings and homes are more modern, and the charm is much less. We all missed Nicaragua very much upon entering Costa Rica. Tamarindo, where we are staying now, is hardly different from Malibu, California. Four surf shops on every block, a Pizza Hut and Subway across the street, and more English than Spanish. But, we are experiencing all aspects of Central America and, like it or not, this is one of them. So we will just go with the flow.
I'm sorry for such a long and boring post. I'm going to try and post some pictures to spice things up a bit.
take care