Sun, sea and Sandinistas

Ok, that might not be wholly true, but two out of three ain't bad. And I am now in Nicaragua. Or as the slogan at the hostel put it, 'Surf, sunset, smile', and I had no complaints on that front either. Although I didn't participate myself, the surf at Las Peñitas was strong and I enjoyed watching plenty of others ride the waves. Instead I took the rather more leisurely approach and merely went paddling in the Pacific. The aforementioned sunset was pretty spectacular, not least because the weather can be summed up in one word: scorchio! Fortunately to prevent this pallid Englishman from melting too much there was a healthy breeze and other than when it blew sand in my face, I counted myself lucky that it was there. And in case it wasn't obvious, smiling was pretty easy.

After a few weeks of activities, some strenuous, others less so, I had been looking forward to some beach time and doing very little. Which is essentially what I did do. I wandered the strip and largely swapped one patch of sand for another and one bar or eating establishment for an alternative. The sand wasn't as white as Mexico, nor the sea as brilliant blue, but the weather was far more beach-appropriate and I was very happy to just let the soothing sounds of the ocean wash over me.

I read, I listened to podcasts, I watched the Champions League. I ate decent ice cream and washed it down with ice cold beer. I had pineapple with everything; as Dave Gorman taught me, always take the pineapple. And that's pretty much it. Time to relax and recharge, time to happily while away, time solely for myself. Everyone should give it a go.