Wednesday November 18, 2015, 87 miles (140 km) – Total so far: 13,086 miles (21,060 km)

This is my second post of the day. To see my first post titled Volcano Boarding/Surfing click on that at the bottom of the page.
We have had a great time at Alsuavenica Hostel (http://www.alsuavenica.com). It is situated in a much quieter part of Leon but with access to many restaurants and other activities. The owner, Edwin, is so very friendly and welcomed us and our bikes. The hostel has only been opened a few days so everything is new! We would highly recommend this hostel to fellow touring cyclists. The staff of Robert and Omar really made our stay special. They accompanied us to the beach two days ago. What we really like about this hostel is the friendly atmosphere. Everyone knows and talks with everyone else. It reminded me of the old television show “Cheers”. Whenever Norm walked into the bar everyone yelled, “Norm”.

After spending three nights there it was time consuming to gather all our stuff and say goodbye. We finally left at 10:30 and headed south. Jocelyn had heard about Miramar Beach so that was our goal. We arrived there in the late afternoon and found the Puerto Sandino Surf Resort. The surf resort is owned and operated by two Americans, Christian and Colin. Even though there were no rooms available they invited us to camp. They have a nice surfing camp with several rooms, a pool, and a large upstairs open living and dining area. All this is right on the beach with five breaks within walking distance. Plus there are many surfboards available. We were warmly welcomed by all and joined in their family style dinner. The bugs were not present so we slept on the upstairs living room furniture. I was thinking if I were younger this would be a great place to live and operate a surf camp. Maybe in my next life. Once again we are reminded that this trip is all about the people we meet.

This morning everyone was up and getting ready to surf at 5:30. Wow! First light is a little after 5 and sunrise around 6. We walked the beach, had breakfast then were back on the road at 7:30. The first half of the day was spent biking south along the beaches on a non-paved road. All north south beach roads are not paved. After many ups and downs we connected with the climbing Managua (capital of Nicaragua) road and entered during a strong thunderstorm. It was getting dark when we finally came across a hotel. The hotel was more expensive than we wanted to pay but it had two beds, a separate living room, a kitchen, and would you believe “hot water”. We spent lots of time cleaning our clothes then enjoyed a great meal at a nearby restaurant. This hotel room even has a couch and chairs. Tomorrow we continue south or we may spend another day here.