Muddling in San Juan del Sur
What a great little town San Juan del Sur is. On the edge of a perfect protected and curved sandy beach nestled between surrounding hills. And later I did some muddling!
We started our day going to see Jesus Christ. Another huge statue of his good self perched onto of a mountain. Cristo del la Misericordia or Christ of Mercy is our third we have seen since arriving in Brazil in December. The others have been in Rio de Janeiro, Lima, Salta and a massive statue of Virgin Mary in Santiago.
This one was built in 2009 and is 15m high plus its 9m pedestal. The walk was pleasant, chatting away under the boiling heat of the sun. This is the height of the season. I think I should have put more suntan lotion on. My neck is resembling a steamed lobster. The 96 steps to the statue was sweat inducing, but Tim and Eve's counting in Spanish took my mind off my aching muscles.
What a view! The curve of the beach is like a picture postcard of perfection. After climbing further up to see Jesus, which, I must say, does have rather a weird posture, we ventured to the beach.
I haven't mentioned Zoe yet. Eve and Nathalie have the most adorable and excitable dog. We had decided she is a cross between a dalmation, jack russell, pit bull and whippet. She does have a habit of trying to nibble my sausage like toes each morning. I think it's her way of greeting me, or does she want her breakfast?
On our walk, Zoe was very sensibly finding any shade she could and occassionally would lie under a bush, even if it was in someone's garden. As soon as we reached the beach, the joy was in her eyes. She sprinted to the water, enjoying the cooling down from the sea. We joined her, wadding along at the edge of the waves.
After a delicious brunch at Simon Says cafe with much laughter (mainly toilet humour, literally about toilets), and a few domestic chores we reached the fish market. No, it's not like a touristy fish market such as in Tokyo, just a few kiosks. Jumbo shrimps (huge Prawns to you and I) and Mahi-Mahi fish purchased, we then caught a taxi back home.
In the evening Eve and Nathalie's friends John and Suzana arrived for dinner. I was on muddle duty. I have never heard of that word before. Every day is a school day. I was making Mojitos with Suzana, while Eve was cooking a delicious meal. When checking out a recipe, I read that I had to muddle the lime and mint leaves. Luckily Eve had a muddler!
What a delightful evening. The conversation flowed and we heard brilliant "disaster"stories from John and Suzana's travels that we'd be proud of! Such as when they went through a remote Mexican border where the border control didn't stamp their passports. They drove for three days and was stopped at a police checkpoint. Long story short, they ended up having to drive all the way back to get their passport stamped. How we laughed!