Happy New Year!!

$2 breakfast of champs

The next few days were a nice change for us, we had talked to other motorcycle travellers who “took a holiday from their holiday” by finding a nice spot to just hang out for a few days. San Juan del Sur fit the bill for us so we paid for our hotel until New Years Day and just kicked back. Funny how fast one adapts to a new environment, it wasn’t long before we formed our own little routine starting with enjoying the complimentary coffee on the front veranda of the hotel usually from 6:30am to about 8:00am depending on the day. Sometimes we talked with other quests and shared travel stories and life experiences; sometimes it was just us watching the locals go about their routines. There goes the US Veteran from down the street off to El Gato Negro to get his morning coffee, here comes the baker with his Napoleon Rottweiler “Bruce” going up the street to open his shop, oh! must be 7am because the first chicken bus loaded with people and produce is thundering by. Then there are the scores of other pedestrians, some familiar some not, and we wonder where and what they are all up to, it is fun to make up stories for them. One morning we sat and talked with some other guests until almost 11am, what a great exchange that was. I knew I was starting to really feel at home when I walked into a local bar and knew someone at every table. Our masseuse with his wife and baby, the Ozzy couple from our hotel, Laura the Concierge from a resort we checked out, the fella that owns the gym we visited, Cory and Amanda the bar owner and his wife. It was like the scene from Cheers when Norm walks in and everyone yells his name, and I have only been in town for 4 days.

Porch sitting


Typical scene around town

This little town must throw a heck of a party because once it gets dark the cars loaded with people start streaming in and the noise level gradually builds then levels off between 10 and 2 o’clock. Eventually the bars close and the people disperse back to wherever they came. As we approach New Years Eve the energy is more intense as are the celebrations. The fireworks are more frequent, the music is louder, the bars overflow into the streets and the party does not stop until the wee hours of the morning. It is not uncommon to see people walking/stagger home with drinks in hand as we enjoy our morning coffee.

New Years Eve offered up a choice for us to either attend a “exclusive” beach party or go to a local Nica family and see how the locals celebrate with their families, so yes we chose the family evening. They are the family of the general foreman who is building Fred and Carla’s boutigue resort. Fred and Carla are the Ozzy couple we met the first time we were at San Juan, we have spent a bit of time with them over the last couple of days. The evening starts with some typical food of BBQ chicken, cooked on a half barrel charcoal grill, and a coleslaw type salad with oil&vinegar dressing. The meal is followed by drinks and stories, and for us trying to keep up to the barrage of rapid Spanish. Fireworks and firecrackers are intermittently set off and I even got to throw some myself. They gave me a self propelled firecracker that is supposed to fly off and then explode, they neglected to tell me that the ‘fly off’ part is accomplished by throwing it not by it shooting off on it’s own. So you can see where this is going. As I am holding this thing and the fuse is getting shorter and shorter the family is all yelling something or other and then kaboom, the cracker exploded in my hand. Luckily the only thing damaged was my pants, no I did not soil them, but the sparks from the cracker burned a couple of small holes through the material and into my leg. This of course caused a huge amount of laughter from the family after they made sure I was ok. The family was very close knit, with everyone from Grandma to infants all collected on the veranda waiting for midnight, at which time the big fireworks start. The town puts on a bit of a show but the real excitement is provided by the citizens as every family has some sort of fireworks.




There are also numerous scarecrows stuffed with straw and firecrackers, the scarecrows symbolize the outgoing year and are lit on fire at midnight. Once again, fire-smoke-noice and lots of singing and dancing. It is amazing to be a part of this celebration. The family then spends the rest of the night visiting and drinking moderately under Grandma’s supervision while waiting for sunrise, at which time the party is over for another night. We shut’r down around 4:00am so did not make the sunrise.

Our friend Matt decided to attend the beach party, it was a great experience as well. The promoter brought in a special DJ who spun the music all night until 6am, the event was also sponsored by the liquor and cigarette company. So that meant top shelf alcohol and cigarettes included in the $100 admission fee. The beach used for this party was a few km’s out of town so shuttles were used to transport the guests, of course Matt missed the shuttle on the way to the party so he and a couple of chics hitched a ride in the back of a truck. Funny how things seem to work that way for Matt, he ended up partying with the girls on and off all night as he enjoyed the 18yr old Flor de Cana rum. He came to visit us at about 8am, he was still half in the bag, so he went back to sleep for a while.

There is theory that says "How you spend New Years Eve is how you will spend the year." We should be in for more fun and adventure is that theory is correct.