Lost Keys, the First (Of Many) Border Crossings and Flooded Cheap Hotel Rooms

It seems like it's been months since the last post, even though it's only been two days. I was going to write last night, but the internet only worked for the first five minutes we were here, then it started pouring, and it was a really long day...so here I am now!

We are in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. We got here just about sunset last night after a three hour border crossing and about $300 in fees, bribes (because we got there at 3 pm and it closes at 5), and gas. We were planning on leaving Avellanas around 10:30 yesterday morning, but right as we were about to leave, Blake and Jamie lost their key to their car, that just happened to be blocking us in. After a frantic hour and a half search, they gave up and called a mechanic, but the guy couldn't get there until about 3 pm. Mike and I had basically accepted the fact that our first border crossing was going to be delayed a day, when he and Blake decided to see if they could push Blake's car forward enough to get our car out. And it worked--just two hours later than planned.

We got to the border around 3 pm, got to play the "Pick Me! Game" as I call it--when twenty guys come running up to your car to help you get through the border in about half the time it would take without them--on the Costa Rica side, then again on the Nicaragua side. We were planning on driving all the way to Popoyo (about 3 hours from the border), as opposed to the quick hour-long drive to San Juan del Sur from the border, but we chose the latter because the sun was setting and neither of us want to drive at night.

San Juan del Sur is a mellow little fishing town, with beaches that have good waves to the north. There is no camping in San Juan, so Mike and I played another road trip game Ryan and I named, "Do you accept dogs at your hotel?" Just as on my trip down with Ry, the third place said they'd take us. We're at Hotel Delfin, right across the street from the beach, in a room that was $25 sin aire (no air conditioning). Nice location, but unfortunately, when I took the dogs for an early-morning walk on the beach this morning, I noticed it was way dirtier than any beach I've seen in Costa Rica. Trash on the beach is one of those things that makes me so sad.

The internet has gone off four times in the twenty minutes I've been writing. Ugh. But we are off to check out the nearby beach of Maderas for waves, then hope to make it to Popoyo, a few hours north, around 3-4 for the night.

Here are three pictures from yesterday:

• The first picture is Mike surfing one of his last waves in Avellanas, Costa Rica.
• Here's the car! This is Guapa's first appearance on the blog, looking fully-loaded and ready to roll (or be parked in for a few extra hours) from Avellanas to Nicaragua.
• And it's the first "Bienvenidos a..." sign of the road trip. We're really on our way north! Woohoo!