Leon, Nicaragua

After a gruelling 15 hour overnight shuttle bus which included 3 different border crossings we arrived in to Leon in Nicaragua late afternoon. Dean had stayed in Guatemala and Tat had gone back home but the rest of us met for food and went to the cinema around the corner from our hostel 'Bigfoot'.

Maybe it was the fact that we had to check out of the hostel the next day because they were fumigating or that not everyone entirely loved the new Mad Max movie, but we didn't get that great a vibe from Leon and had heard great things about a hostel called Surfing Turtle which was 40 minutes away.

So the next day we got a 30 min bus, 5 min boat across an estuary and walked another 5 min through a forest alongside a donkey and cart carrying our bags and arrived at the secluded paradise that is Surfing Turtle Lodge! This great hostel is right on the beach and operates as a turtle sanctuary for most of the year, protecting their eggs and releasing the turtles back to the sea when hatched. However it's not the right season at the moment so no turtles but it is the ultimate chill out spot with nothing to do apart from swim, read, 5pm volleyball, incredible sunsets and very comfy hammocks! The staff also organise entertainment every night with everything from quizzes or team challenge games to beer pong.

We've been here almost a week and are finding it very hard to leave but the plan is to follow the English contingent to Granada further south in nicuragua tomorrow.