On the final stretch

We are now in Costa Rica! We have about a week here and then a week in Panama left until we are home. Crazy how fast all of this went. One thing I will not miss though is all of the bugs bites! I cannot stop itching them -- its terrible! I have had a least 7 on me since I started the trip. They're constantly being replaced by more bug bites! My dad hasn't even had one I feel like. (That or he doesn't complain the way I am about it..)

Lisa Warren this picture is for you! I have not done a planking picture in so long but liked your suggestion of it. Good luck tomorrow! I'll be thinking of you! :)

Pictures from Granada, Nicaragua-

This was a pointed edge so it was pretty uncomfortable :)

Took a boat ride to tour Lake Granada

Once we left Granada we went to San Juan del Sur to meet our next couch surfer, Bonnie. She's originally from the US but moved down to Nicaragua 4 years ago. She lives in San Juan del Sur which is a very fun, young surf town filled with tourists and fun bars.

While we were there we went to one of the surfing beaches for the day. The waves were perfect and I had planned to surf but ended up falling asleep on the beach for a few hours and missed my window of opportunity to surf. I am hoping to make up for it at some point but if not I am okay because of how much fun we have already done on this trip.

The town San Juan del Sur is where Survivor was filmed. For all my Survivor fans out there does this look familiar??

The rewards for one of the challenges on Survivor was lunch up at this point. 

It overlooks San Juan del Sur and is an absolutely stunning view!

San Juan del Sur

panoramic view from the top of the statue.

perfect place to read!

Happiness is as easy as drawing a heart in the sand <3

Another beautiful sunset

One of the restaurants El Timon's puts on local music and local dances of Nicaragua. It was fun to watch and the music was good. We got up and danced a few hours after. Bonnie thoroughly enjoys dancing and makes sure to get her fix of it multiple times a week.

This woman loves dancing with tourist and dancing with my Dad made her night. 

Breakfast with a nice view of the ocean.

Best fish tacos!

The most amazing pineapple curry! So good!

We laid out at this pool for the day

And enjoyed a nice lunch

While we were staying with Bonnie the restaurant she works with were putting on a protest/march to stand up to the sexual exploitation of young children. It felt good to be apart of it because the problem is fueled by tourist that come through the area.

After San Juan del Sur we took a taxi to the boarder and then once across took a 3 hour bus ride to Playas del Coco which is where we thought the next couch surfer lived but ended up realizing we had made a mistake. When we called to tell her we had arrived she informed us she actually lived in Heredia which was four hours away from where we were. (Oops)  

However it all worked out because we got a good deal on a place 2 nights and enjoyed the town. We then took a bus that left at 4 am to San Jose and got to Heredia by 8:30am where our next couch surfer Margoth was waiting for us at the airport. She has been extremely kind and helpful to us. The weather was rainy when we arrived so it  changed our plans of going to a volcano when we got here. So instead she took us around Heredia showing us the churches and homes. It was very nice and insightful. 

One thing I am loving about this couch surfing experience is how immersed in the culture we are. We are living in their homes and seeing what daily life is like for them. Its such an experience and the people we have met are so kind and hospital. The family we are with now is coming to San Francisco in January and we are hoping to host them during their stay. 

Tomorrow we are taking a bus at 6am to Manuel Antonio! I have heard nothing but good things about it so I am very excited for this portion of the trip! We will also be staying in a dorm style hostel which will be fun because the hostels have been filled with nothing but unique travelers and good times.