Santa Cruz, Sat-Tue

Sat 0706 down for breakfast, slightly late but should be ok. As usual kept waking up in night, the bottom fitted sheet will not stay on the bed, rather sort of sweaty vibe but not awful and  am sleeping just in bursts. Been awake since maybe 6ish.

Feel a bit sticky but no time to shower and no point really given I will be in the lake in under two hours. I am sort of nervous about the lesson but also sort of looking forward to it  decision about moving somewhere else is perhaps a bigger worry but I am doubtless making it out to be a bigger deal than it needs to be, just try something and change if it doesn't work. The Tuesday party at ez has some possibility and seems worth trying for and perhaps even instead of Wednesday. And I am not constraining my choice overly much just because of the theoretical wed possibility since I really so want to be near to sc beach for the lessons, and there is nothing really down that way much (at least on booking and hostelworld, there may be small unadvertised places but I do want something a bit on the beaten track here I think) so even if wed party simply didn't exists I would still be looking in sane region because of lessons.  I could obviously just stick on here and perhaps given as I said (repeating self badly) last night a long trip I might stick on here while taking the lessons, but it is socially dead in ways that are sort of peaceful and relaxing but also utterly incompatible with getting even the kind of loose vague travellery chats and contacts which are one of the things I am hoping to get out of this trip, and this isn't just poor social skills or bad luck (except the luck of who if anyone stays), it is really just so quiet and there are (not critical but may help) no organised activities etc. The room is nice for the money in its rusticish way and the staff are decent. No fridge but that isn't a massive killer with the mini market right outside the entrance anyway. But I will have been here a week after tonight and it is probably smart to change.

But lets worry about all this after the lesson when things may be a little clearer.

While the lesson is kind of stressful and hard work at least any concept of being sticky goes completely out of the window.

2014 p7 continues shit. I intermittently mime smashing jt into a thousand fucked up little fragments against a wall or table. What a fucking turd.

Lesson not too bad but a bit rough. Upwind body drag which is actually sometimes pseudo drowning feeling but also sort of cool even if I never get any further, the idea I would ever be (semi) controlling a kite while letting it drag me through the water at what feels like insane speed is somewhat freaky, the sensation is a mixture of exhilaration and drowning unpleasantness.

The instructor gave me a couple of i think mildly angry bollockings for stuff I had not afaict been told before in ways that pissed me off.  Apparently some of this is basic stuff and I am expected to know it by now. I did not escalate at the time. At the end of the lesson he is all sweetness and light and broadly speaking he is not bad during the lesson but this is fucking with my head. I fuck up an exercise, have I committed some major fucking sin or did I just balls an exercise up? Or should or have somehow cut out earlier when my inevitably shitty attempt went wrong? Or am I giving up too early? It is hard to maintain a positive attitude when I am never sure if I am in trouble or not.

That said while progress is slow and this meta dynamic is seriously fucking with my head, there clearly is progress even if it is slow.

Random earlier text which got cut off by writing the above: eyes feeling dry during the next does seem to be a persistent thing. Which is odd as I don't generally seem to notice this feeling during the day.

At the risk of atating the obvious, right now it is far cooler and fresher outside than it is in the room.

So after that I came back to hostel and dixkes around for ages looking at new hostel and have booked at el zop for three nights. This sees me booked in for the Tuesday night pizza party thing. I picked a dorm nearer the road with proper electric  their privates are super pricey. I waed them and asked for a lower bunk and they said yea.

Feeling pretty bnm and not over optimistic about chat etc  but can only try.

I didn't really do anything else with the daily. I was going to relax around the hostel and did have a beer and some snacks but also stupidly got myself embroiled in some insane llm discussions.

I did have my bacon crisp snack puffed rectangle things on the terrace by room and dropped two and then noticed hordes of anta manhandling them with impressive speed over to the vertical side of the concrete terrace and *down the side* (not dropping them) then into the nest at the bottom (they didn't fit in but I came back later and ants had obviously been chopping tiny bits off and carrying them o side). Oddly very cool actually.

I need to "repack" my bag but not a huge deal. I will ask if k can leave it at reception (checkout is 10, lesson tomorrow 930) and I prob can but I'd I can't I will take it to lesson, albeit I'd feels safer splitting my xheese.

I am now out on the hostel terrace feeling a bit quietly shitty and trying to relax. I has a beer and have a bottle of coke. Probably won't drink more.

I have been here a week. I feel vaguely sad to be leaving but I can come back and I really do need to try some social experiments and arrive for a bit of contact with someone.

2110 back in room, have repacked really badly. Feel a bit edgy about logistics tomorrow and being in a dorm again etc and the lesson (frankly I am dreading it, because I am not sure I can take feeling on edge constantly about getting bollocked)  but it is what it is.

I do also have a minor guilty feeling about leaving this hostel, but obviously I don't owe them anything and me leaving after frankly quite a long stay is not any kind of indictment of their service etc. And for all I know I will come back in a few days depending on what happens. But the social angle here has been thin on the ground even if we imagine myself as a charismatic 25 year old, and in reality it has been even thinner. It is just too quiet. I need to re-roll the dice.

Frankly it feels like I have packed wrong and am touristing wrong and doing everything wrong.

2121 I thought I had ciut my foot towards end of lesson walking (nowhere near kite, instructor had it) out of water but saw no obvious blood and I just discovered I have quite a nasty looking gash by my second littlest toe on left foot. I am sure it is fine, it sort of looks like a deep cut in the skin which didn't really go quite all the way through, but not ideal.

Sun 1507 lloyd's typing this on the beach, I don't know if it'll work, so let me just see how this goes. There's obviously a bit of wind, what it may... what has cancelled on the mic or... work.
Okay, it's probably not too bad. I was getting things a bit arsed backwards but things aren't going too badly. I'm sitting here, I've had a mojito out of a can and I'm finishing at Tonya. There's a local, slightly drunk guy who I don't fully understand who's sitting here having a beer. Not a beer, he's just sitting here when I came and sat down. He came over a couple of times and he commiserated with me on my mojito, splashing and fizzing and losing a bit and then he came over and talked to me a bit and begged ten and took fifteen off me. I gave him some change. He's fine, he seems quite a nice guy. I think he's actually gone now.

So, last night was a bit rough. Instead of just chilling I sort of started poking around with some other lens and I got a bit worked up and I'm a twat and I took it too seriously. Anyway, not just that, I was getting a bit worked up about the whole getting bollock thing with the surfing and I really was not feeling good with one thing   and another. And then there was changing things, rooms, hostels, and also although it wasn't a huge deal, we had a power cut from about two till eight in the morning. As it happens I've mostly gone to sleep by that point, maybe it wasn't two, maybe it was more like four, but anyway.

I don't know when it was maybe two maybe four I had a sort of fuck this all epiphany and I sort of mostly actually shook things off in a surprising way I mean I feel a bit billy no mates as well but I don't think I probably said maybe I didn't yeah there were some people that German groups not been around but you know the antipodeann woman was still around with her mate but I hardly even saw them and of course you don't want to horn in when it's already a little group and it's like that hostel really was so quiet I don't blame myself for not chatting more you know I did have a little bit of chat with the tippered in woman and no assume has gone somewhere else because I haven't even seen in three ages and the staff were quite nice it's fine but it really was very quiet right so there were a few people around but honestly it's not really my flaw that I didn't chat much with anyone

I was feeling a bit edgy about the fucking lesson this morning but I had breakfast and I got up and there was no power and it was okay but oh I've got to leave and it's all a bit weird. I did have a work with the instructor I hadn't been sure I thought I might just wait and see how the lesson went and try to adopt a different attitude but because it's so hard to talk when you're out there and the waves are knocking you over all the time and everything I had a chat with him on the beach you know I was nice about it not that I was really complaining but you know I made sure to do it on the beach not in front of anyone else and I said look truthfully I struggled sleeping last night I'm getting really worked up I I can't handle this feeling that I'm gonna get a baller King any minute that I'm really fucking things up and he was quite nice to be honest I mean this doesn't quite jibe with that little bit look we can't be going over this all the time you need to know this stuff you should know this already but you know maybe that was just a little bit of frustration on his part he was really nice about it and I felt a lot better and the lesson generally wasn't too bad he did say some stuff during the lesson like oh yeah everyone's got a different style of learning and you know as a as an instructor it's like that's that's useful for me and your style is completely different that's a bit of a backhanded kind of compliment I mean he did say I don't know whether that's true well I suppose it's not totally unlikely that I'm not the worst student he's ever had by any means and personally I'm reasonably satisfied with the progress given my age and all the other shit I'm dealing with but it's a bit with yeah I've got a unique style for learning but hey what are you gonna do so it's certainly lighting things and the lesson on the whole was pretty good.

And I feel a bit better about the prospect of lessons going forward, the new hospital is about 10-11 minutes further walk away but not the end of the world so I'm signed up for tomorrow. So I'd left my bag at the hostel and I'd left my phone charging on a little shelf because there'd been no power most of the night so it hadn't charged the P7 that is. Broken piece of shit that it is so I was less worried about it getting knocked up and smashing than I might otherwise have been given the screens playing up and while it's not a fucking brick it's you know it's not not where it ought to be. So I went back after the lesson and picked up bag and check that I could go and eat at their restaurant as a non-guest if I wanted. They were very nice you know they really I really did like the place it was very quiet but the staff were really nice in a quiet kind of way and it was good. I went and checked in at zopiloti. I spoke to the nearer entrance some woman said oh it's probably best to go the U-turn path and I said oh with the pack is it better on the road she's no, probably not. And her little daughter goes oh it's a really nice path so I walked down the path and it was actually quite nice it's a bit hot (some bamboo type arch stuff making amazing noise despite light wind) and I got to the reception and I checked in. I've got suspicion I got slightly overcharged because it was supposed to be $25.xx and I gave $20 over and paid the rest in cordobas and it was like 250. Well that's five quid right $5 isn't five quid but it's a pound or two and maybe there wa rounding and I'm not making a fuss about it. Let me stop talking so the voice typing can transcribe this and we'll see if we're doing alright.

For what it's worth on the walkover to the lesson this morning there was a dead spider by side of road but not squashed or maybe a molt, I'm not really sure because it had like the fangs so would a molt have the fangs but anyway there was a spider or a molt at the side of the road it was the biggest spider I have seen in the casual wild you know like I've seen a tarantula on that night walking in Costa Rica but this was not quite classic tarantula size but it was big and it had that kind of fangs kind of quality on the front I mean I don't know what it got on over it was a molt say but just a few photos of it not very good but for the record yeah I think that's probably the largest dead thing spider related that I have seen in a normal everyday kind of situation it was genuine tropical rubber scary spider back in the UK kind of stuff albeit not absolutely enormous

Oh and also flipping back, like the lesson, obviously I wasted a little time with my heart-to-heart moment but we did some sort of kite control exercises and we did a bit of body drag, up and down wind and that wasn't bad, it wasn't brilliant but it was slightly better than it was and I think the wind was a bit different today and it felt a little bit more controlled and the waves were pretty fricking intense and like so I'm doing it okay and then the waves come over and like I can't fucking see a thing and obviously I've got one hand coming I was in control of the kite and the other one stuck out at 30-40 degrees to the kite, upwind to point my body in the direction and control which way I'm going, so you know, I'm not wiping my eyes, I'm not wearing the goggles, the instructor doesn't seem to wear goggles, and I don't think goggles are the issue, it's not even saltwater, remember? So we did some of that, and then right at the end we did do a bit of body drag with the board, man, I mean the board, the handle was coming off so it was all a bit weird and I was struggling to keep the pressure on it and kept getting turned over and the waves were turning over even though we'd moved, but it's like, I must admit, at this stage the board scares the shit out of me because it's like, oh as soon as the thing floating in the water that's going to smash into my face and take my teeth out, but anyway. It wasn't too bad, I mean slow progress, but yes progress I guess, so that was good, and at some points the body drag without the board was like, oh I'm going a bit slower, maybe I've got better control over the kite or it's just the wind and the tide, but it did feel a bit more controlled, to be fair it generally feels fairly controlled when I'm going straight, it's more when I have to change direction and go the other way that it starts to feel a bit more chaotic.

So, I checked in at the hostel and it's kind of nice, it does have a little bit of a belitter or lost and found kind of vibe. It's obviously quite a big estate. I haven't explored it today because I spent a lot of time after I checked in and I did some laundry. One of the nice things, as I suspected, is it's exactly the kind of place that does give you a literal proper sink to do hand washing and there's lines because that's in keeping with their eco hipply vibe and it just happens to suit me. So, after I checked in, I faffed around in the dorm a bit and I went and did a load of laundry and I had a shower and then I had a shave and I also went into reception round the bar kind of area and there's some way you can get water. And there's some dogs, I think there's some sort of dog sanctuary on site but the dogs wander round. One dog was absolutely fucking lovely, a bitch as it happens because I looked but she was letting me stroke her and jumping up at me and really lovely. And this is one of the dogs and I'm literally, I've not even thought about dogs at this point, there's just some dogs around and I'm standing in the cafe area and there's a few other people around and this dog just comes up and starts fucking barking its head off at me in quite an aggressive way and I'm shouting fire at the fucking thing and I'm sure everyone's looking at me but I don't give a shit because the dog's kicked off first. And then someone comes over a volunteer and we chat a bit and she's quite nice, although the whole thing's kind of hippie as she will come back to that in a second. And a few minutes later the dog lets me stroke it, cool, but then a bit later on I'm wandering around somewhere, I don't think I'd shave at this point, maybe it was after I'd shaved something, suddenly that dog sees me again and it's like fucking barking its head off like I'm its worst fucking enemy. It's like I don't think I'm being over sensitive, the way the volunteer and the other people in the restaurant reacted was like oh yeah it does that sometimes, but it wasn't like oh that's just normal friendly dog behaviour, it's like no, that is a bit fucking weird. I mean I'm screaming fire at it, it's not actually going for me, I'm a tiny bit worried I'm going to go back one night, eight, nine o'clock and it's going to have a go but I'm not that worried, it's just a bit freaking weird. The other dog was fucking lovely, a really nice dog, jumped up at me and it was really nice actually, but then as I say this dog that was having a fit let me stroke it, I made peace with it as some woman said and then it still didn't like me a few minutes later it had another go and it's growling and I mean fuck knows, I have no idea.

So I'm still sitting by the beach and there's a few locals around and I think the odd tourists as well but quite a lot of locals but not in huge numbers like maybe 20 of them over 100, 200 meters a beach. The beach isn't very deep there's a little girl drawing a sort of heart on the sand with a stick and writing something in the middle of it. She looks local to me. There's one guy kitesurfing a few people in the water it's quite nice to be honest. By the way the thing is like when you go in the water I've not even thought about it's like when you very first go in and bear in mind this is maybe like nine o'clock 8 30 in the morning sometimes it's not super late the sun hasn't been on it all day it's it's a tiny tiny bit you notice it but it really isn't cold it's not cold um yeah I don't know why whether it's just the weather or something heating but yeah the water's not cold the waves can be pretty fucking annoying but you're not shivering in the water or the wind it doesn't matter that you're absolutely so it's far late at least for two hours

Fire is bad transcript of vaya by the way. I may try shouting callate if it does it again.

So as I say, the hostel site looks quite big, I haven't explored it because according to some posters around town that may or may not be out of date, there might be some sort of free, salter class, no partner needed, no experience needed, some place that I do know and isn't too far from the old hostel or the new hostel at 6 and I might go there if only on a sort of social experiment level, I don't know but I had a shower when I got back and I was going to have another shower but I'm not going to, I bought a new razor and I had a shave and drew blood. So I may do that, so I didn't want to go and get all sweaty excessively, so tomorrow after the lesson I'll probably explore the grounds, I've got some petroglyphs and there's a Japanese shower somewhere and the grounds look really large, like I say a really belita vibe, that's transcribed badly above, I need to fix that if I remember but B-O-L-I-T-A, or lost and found. Really quite nice, you know, I say I haven't had a good look around but I have two more days and there's the pizza night Tuesday and if I like it I'll stay longer. The trouble is, because it's not just rural and oh enjoy the nature and stuff, it's got this eco-hippie semi-activist permaculture vibe, there's all sorts of random little bits of shit.


Like, they don't sell at the bar, and I don't think they allow guests to bring in soda. Alcohol's fine. Soda, no. They don't like aluminium cans, they are forbidden because aluminium is a major polluter in its production, but even though they quite happily sell alcohol in glass bottles, they don't like soda in glass bottles, I guess, because eco-hippie stuff. So I can't take a bottle of coke that either buy there or from the shop and take it and sit in the common areas. I could sit there with a bottle of water or some overpriced fruit juice, maybe, or whatever. This is kind of one reason why I've come down to the beach to have some beers and I'm gonna get a coke in a minute. It's like in the dorm, because I got a dorm that's not too far from reception. There are some electric outlets, the whole thing I kind of think is solar-ish, but, you know, there are some electric outlets to charge your phone, but they're not near the bed, which is fair enough, but you're not allowed to leave something charging unattended. So I cannot leave my power bank charging unattended and then charge from that during the night  and or in my locker and then top it up again the next day. So that kind of constrains things, not necessarily a killer, but, you know, given I've got two phones, I want to read on ond and I want to take one out and stuff like that, and I don't know if my power bank will let me charge one phone from it while it's charging itself over night. Whereas if they just let me leave the power bank on charge at my own risk of theft during the day, that'd be fine, because I could just top the power bank up during the day. But no, I might upset them fire risk, ooh, bad eco, whatever. It's that kind of fucking shit. The showers are very very rustic, but actually quite nice. I've not tried the Japanese shower yet, but I will if I can. It's that sort of enclosed cubicles but no door, just a sort of wrapped round wall and technically anyone could walk in through the open gap, but I don't care that much. But the sign's like, oh, two minute showers max. It's like, it's really quite nice, but these little wanky bits, like the fact that I cannot sit on the hostel terrace with a bottle of Coke that I brought in myself, or that I bought locally because they won't sell me one, is just control freakery shit, you know, but that's that's part of the vibe they've got going. It's not fundamental to an eco-jungly hostel, it's not that far out of town, obviously, but that's how they choose to do it.

So, as I say, I don't know whether the Soulster thing's going to happen tonight, I kind of don't want to do it, but I might do it as an experiment. Whether that happens or not, the plan is basically to go and sit on the common area tonight and have a beer or two from the bar, I have no idea. I think they do sort of artisanal craft beers, but fuck knows whether it's going to be cheaper or not, I'll try and eat somewhere else. As I say, I'll do the Soulster thing if I can, just for a social fucking experiment. I honestly don't know if I'm going to fit in, that volunteer was nice enough, but if that French-Spanish guy that I met, I think he was French basically, the one who pulled up on the moped the other day, spoke to me, he's still there and he wasn't really super hippie, not at all really. I don't know that well, but it might be fine, but I don't want to prejudge it and at least there's a chance I'll sit around and have a beer and read on my phone or whatever, and if anyone wants to talk to me they do. But it's just so fucking hippie. The activity board is like wall-to-wall yoga with the odd like, oh, awaken your tantric sex spirit and they've got posters about all some sorts of touch thing where I assume people sit around and touch each other and it's supposed to be sensual or something and it's like, oh my god, I'm like 10% jealous and 90% cringe, but it's like, it really does have this super fucking eco-hippie vibe, which to be fair, they were very upfront about. But, you know, Bellita or Lost and Found have that nature, out in nature, living with it, yeah, there's insects, hiking, blah blah blah vibe, without this kind of activism or just really yoga-ish stuff which is different. But anyway, as I say, the plan is maybe tomorrow I will have some lessons to explore the site a bit more when I've not got my salsa lesson on the horizon to try and make me worry about getting my clothes dirty or getting extra sweaty or having to change again. But it's not a terribly bad place, you know, I've spoken to one of the people in the dorm, the dorm looks clean, there's a mosquito net, I'm honestly not terribly worried about insects or anything like that, who knows, but it is nice that I was able to do a really good hand wash. I hope the clothes will be nice, especially after a line dry, but we'll see.

And you know, yeah, they're very very upfront about it, so I can't really complain it's like the yoga stuff and all that I'm mentioning just because it's part of the atmosphere, but it's like honestly I didn't quite expect That I couldn't take a coke in or that they wouldn't say it's not that oh they want to sell it You know no no no no the issue is soda is bad So it's like I didn't expect that they don't seem to have an anti-plastic bottle thing I mean there's stuff about filling them up with plastic junk and not throwing them out empty, but it's fine No one's making a fuss about the fact that I'm reusing my plastic bottle for the 200th time But it's not technically a reusable bottle. That's fine They're not being asked about that which I might have expected, but I did not expect I think this is the one thing that really does surprise me that I cannot fucking take a soda in I mean if I did Maybe it would be fine, but you know the fact that they're actively saying this is the one thing that really is surprising me And while not a fucking killer is a little bit fucking annoying.

Oh and like, they don't have a guest kitchen at all, if you are a long term person staying, like over two months or something, they have a special remote area where those people live, and they have their own communal kitchen which only they can use, and even that doesn't have a fridge. So it's like, I don't know whether this is all eco-activism or whether it's a cynical ploy to make you buy stuff at their restaurant or go out, I don't know. I mean it's fine, it's fine, it does seem quite a nice place, I'm not saying the people are going to be terrible, you know, they may not all be fully into this vibe anyway, and people who are into this vibe can be interesting, even if we're not necessarily going to be bosom friends, it's like that volunteer woman at Satoshi in Mexico the other year. She, we didn't spend that much time talking, you know, I'm not that cool, but she was actually quite a slightly weird but interesting person, so you know, it's not like it's all the killer as I keep saying. Anyway, I think I'm going to finish this, I'm going to go back to Ocean Mart and get a bottle of coke and some more snacks because, you know, what the fuck, you know, let's go wild.

1607 got snacks and coke. I do think that, although it's technically not necessary, that being able to do the kite surfing is the swimming lessons paying off in a sense because, it's like today I'm doing the body drag upwind and it's like, yeah, I mean, there's a tiny bit of a fucking, I'm Jesus fucking drowning and coughing water up as the waves smash over me and change the direction and everything and it's like, it was a bit stressful, not terrible, but it's like, I think if I hadn't been swimming That would probably have been worse, and although you're wearing a lifejacket, and technically it doesn't matter, it's like, and you've got the fucking kite attached to you and the wind's blowing on shore, so like, really, with the lifejacket, you aren't going to be able to see it starting on sea, but you're getting blown back to shore, whether you like it or not, but, even so, despite the lifejacket and that, it's like, if I hadn't got the basic swimming experience and spent all that time doing that, I suspect I'd feel a lot more worried, like, ooh, I'm maybe heading out into deeper water and won't be able to stand up or something so yeah I think it is kind of paying off in that sense.

1638 having a quick casual browse through some old photos on the phone. It feels amazing that I was sitting in that hostel in Leon two weeks ago if I'm not confused. Of course my phone also worked properly at that point but you can't have everything.

1708 I probably already said but just in case I didn't like the instructor told me not unpleasantly as such the other day that I've got to stop clearing my eyes but also when you're doing the body drag up wind at least you can't because you know you've got one hand holding the bar and the other hand is stretched out just like to set your direction or something you know I guess the idea is that's why you are not being dragged directly where the kite wants to pull you but you can go up wind so you can't clear your eyes anyway because both hands are occupied that doesn't mean that you're not getting splashes of water in the face especially when the waves kick up and that makes it hard at least for me to know where the hell I'm going or but you know generally the kite seems to sort of mostly take care of itself long enough that you get your vision back properly before it crashes not always of course anyway just to sort of note from this stage of learning

1728 ftr I used all 6 of my plastic clothes pegs for probably first time in trip to hang clothes up after wash earlier

1748 at pan de mama, notionally the salsa class is on, I am dubious but feel I ought to try it on vaguely CBT ish grounds if nothing else. Want a piss and also to wash my hands but the sole toilet is occupied.


1758 will give it a fair shot but not hanging round all night could well imagine v low interest. Used wifi here to check WhatsApp, class tomorrow at 10 which is quite good, gives me plenty of the day but avoids having to be up super early, I may have breakfast at old hostel depending how new one feels, and not having to prep too early in dorm is also good.

Feeling reasonably optimistic about lesson tomorrow.

Not super optimistic about social aspect of hostel but also not actively fussed and will give that a shot. A beer or so (despite having had mojito and beer at beach) would be nice if not insanely expensive even if I just sit there and read on phone or whatever.

1808 handful of people here obv for class.

Was thinking other day the kite stuff was reminding me on James herriots war flying memoir bits with the instructor telling him to do stuff (pull the stick back!) and he felt he was doing it already but he couldn't say "I already am".




There is me and a group of about 3 youngish tourists who look like they are playing a game and there was a my age ish woman 9tdering before me who ibdont see right now.

This may be a cringe fest, it may not happen, but trying at least.


1811 earwigging as newly arrived couple chat with maybe dutch salsa dj. I get something about end of season and tbh suspect it won't happen. Would be a relief  but will try to stick it out and nirse my coffee for another 19 mins or so.

I could go join the chat but don't want to over commit to the dancing.

P7 batt a bit low so trying not to read on it. May need it as torch to navigate paths at ez.

1818 on a random note call me an out of date prude but raindance offering hire of a tattoo gun to drunk people with slogan "drunk? Create your own nightmare" which I saw when there other night feels vaguely irresponsible and a bit off. But my attitude to tattoos is just so atroundingly out of step with most other people these days I am sure this is just me.

Mon 1838 was charging p7 last night so couldn't write on it. Let us catch up.

Skipping ahead, today's lesson not bad at all. I slightly overrated at hostel and also got lost on way out but just had time for usual gallo pinto breakfast at old hostel and then got to lesson. We did body drag upwind with board (wins v strong and I think we were going to upwind but instructor decided it was too strong) and then he showed me how to put feet into the board (I was frankly relieved to see you do not have to somehow scramble onto it, you tilt it 90 degrees and put your feet in the straps and then do a power dive with the kite which pulls you upright) and start to ride. Because I kept getting massively cpbudsed and mainly ending up with the boars with the heel positions a the top when I finished doing the bosy drag with the boars first (j believe this is needed to get further from shore or possibly onto deeper water before trying to start riding, after least a my level of control and safety) I never actually got to try the power dive bit and start riding. I think instructor really wanted me to axhoeve this this lesson and he was I think giving me a tiny bit of extra time but the kite lowt pressure or something and would not fly so it didn't really happen( I have no idea if this was my fault and didn't like to risk asking, but I suspect it wasn't in any significant way).

Fingers crossed for tonorrow.

The cut on my left foot is being slightly painful today and has just started itching (unless that is something else) but I think it is healong it is just par for the course for those kind of nasty but not major skin cut on the foot.

So I did the salsa  which actually turned out to bemeeegnue as it is easier, dance class. About 8 of us with the instructor, one woman ezceaa so to speak so one danced with instructor and I ended up dancing with a fairly nice smiley probably local woman called maybe Ayra. I suggested she lead and she said but she alsokept doing all sorts of stuff not what we had been shown, which was fine for a bit of fun but would have been kind of annoying had I really been trying to learn any of the specific moges we were taught. Still fwiw this may be the first time I have danced with someone since those early evening un official dance lessons at the atitlan party hostel in 2018.

I left after the class. My phone batt was at 9% and I was a bit edgy going down the path to zop but it is last. We were dancing outside on the "step" outside pan de mama and I only noticed at the end that although i had felt quite sweaty all the time, i had somehow rubbed myself a bit raw down in intimate areas. I put some germolene on when went to bed maybe 9 on offchance and later about 1 when I woke up and it still hurt I remembered I had hydrocortisone cream and put some of that on and whatever the cause it was fine this morning.

Between getting back and bed I had a shower I'd I hadn't had one before the class (I can't remember) and then came to bar and got a litre bottle of tona for 140 and sat on own (but not blatantly feeling that a handsomer 25yo person immy place would have had any more social success just from sitting there, there was a young woman sitting on her own too for example) bit not feeling too awkward

Slept pretty well. No fans because eco and solar, but the dorm sides being semi open meant there really was a genuinely pleasant slightly cool breeze now and again.

So after class I went to ocean and their cash machine has an out of order sign. O think I can scrape enough IP for tonorrow at a pjnch and will try to check ocean machine on way out and if it isn't working go one from school to the machine at far end of beach road if I have to. I got some chicharron and a tona mixehlada and a litre of coke zero at ocean and had them on the beach.

Decided I would eztens here for wed night, nowhere else seems massively obviously tempting, I may go to raindance if I am staying on for more lessons but I cannot possibly stay there wed as it will be full and this way I have given zop a fair go and some time to maybe chat and it is quote nice even if the eg no soda rule pisses me off, so far it isn't an insect riddehellhole and I do kind of like the rural pseudo isolated feel.

So I did extend no problem and then wandered round the site a bit, went up the quite cool but mildly scary lookout tower (on way down I went into the lower level platform but the floor was deeply alarming and I immediately left it) and walked down to the petroglyphs by el porcenir. Few locals around which reduced mild edginess re non-existent dogs. Few drops of rain but nothing really started.

Then my second shower and Chang'iled into fresh clothes and walked out to marias for pollo frito and then back in dusk, wasn't using torch but as I got nearer hostel a dog appeared and barked a bit and didn't make a fuss but I felt better with torch on. Then brief fiddle with phones and usb stick backup  in dorm and out here. I am sat in further from bar type area and some groups are having chat round me and where are you from questions suggesting they are not all long term friends but it doesnt feel remotely qppropriqte for me to try to join then and while mildly annoying and BNM ish it is also semi cool to sit here at least with chat around.

Some of the groups talking are vaguely kind of euro smug but maybe I am unfair. Fwiw there are some other tables with loners on. Not that bothered.

Anyway  I think I have wlmore or less caught up. Oh the younger waitres ls woman at Maria's told me the small wiry white ans ginger dog is called Maya.

1911 it feels like I have burned the back of my neck despite being 99% sure (I did it last minute so do remember) I out sunblock on. My skin round lips also feels a bit sore. Neither anything major.

Feel a bit BNM now and a bit guilty for taking up a table but a) fuck em, I paid to be here b) even before I sat down the table only had this one xhair and there is on fact a giant bank of tables put together into a group of about 6 or 8 in the part I was sitting in yesterday, so not doing any harm anyway. It feels vaguely sucky but I can only "be about" and hope as always.

1916 fwiw "family sinner" just announced, I had seen this and didn't want to sign up (six dollars, likely vegan, likely inedoble to me, likely BNM but in hindsight just maybe it might have given me a chance to talk to people, but I didn't even think about that and tbh the other reasons still apply) but this may account for some of the groups in the bar area. And the rearranged fa les. Albeit actually some of the groups aren't here for that.

Dorm is nice and the solid mosquito nets stops at insect worries but it is mildly annoying as I can't sit on my bunk despite having a lower.

I did ask at reception and no need to sign up for pizza night tomorrow, it just starts at the pizzeria place (not been there yet) at 630. Some people talking about signing up to perform which might be cringe but fuck it.

I am feeling dedicedly BNM yet not actively frustrated or annoyed, nor does anyone else actual chat seem particularly something I want to join in with. It may be actually that nearly everyone elee here is doing the buffet, even if some didn't rush up as soon as it was announced.

Lesson is not too 11 tomorrow and while it might be better not to drink too much tonight (nothing went out the widnow when I decided to have  that Michelasa at the beach, plus the fact I can sit here and drink beer or warm filtered water given the stjpid fucking soda rules pushes me towards beer). My consumption is most days lately but no individual day is remotely insane.

I am almost certainly not even trying to attend wet Wednesday. It would be mildly hellish getting back down the paths without a phone and I wouldn't want to take a phone to such a "wet" event and since ei don't now anyone to go with and my "thing" at the moment is the lessons and therefore I am not just casually free all day and don't want to be hngover or take a day off, it really feels best to give it a miss. Tomorrow's pizza night here may have some party vibes and even without that, wet Wednesday would feel forced and awkward and shit given all the above. I may eventually find myself in a hostel where it is natural to have a chat and go out for drinks again, or a hostel with some sort of party (I don't intend to but I could in theory try treehouse on return leg) where it might "just work", but right now - and I really don't think this is sour grapes - it doesnt feel like it remotely fits. If I had been able to get into a dorm at raindance itself that might have fopped the balance or at least somewhat pre-commited me, but as it stands no.

On a general note and trying not to be too optimistic or pessimistic, it is like "joining in with activities"  here to get to know people isn't really on the xarsa both with
My lessons taking me out when most of the tours aeen to happen and the fact I am not a yoga person. I knew all this before I came  I don't regret coming, the place is broadly cool and interesting in itself and I had no other amazing options to try out in terms of accom, social stuff was dead at last hostel, plus it is too early to absolutely write this place off social) y just yet. I can only keep plugging away etc etc. And at 10 dollars a night the dorm is not over expensive which helps keep costs down slightly and I was serious when I said the open-ish walls and the cool breeze from the surroundings did genuinely help at night, and while transparent the mosquito net does add a touch of cubicle style privacy.

1950 huge black spider like the one dead at the side of the road just walked round the floor. I lifted my feet. ;-) but didn't particularly freak out.  Chatgpt was unsure if this was a tarabtula or wandering spider based on pur chat about the dead one the other day.

I am feeling a bit of a sad loser sitting here listening to people talk about xirxua skills courses and stuff. On the other hand, I actually don't feel that bitter. Ot3h I finished this litre and am not pissed but not 100% sure about another. But fuck it, maybe I will.

2001 got beer after queing behind a load of people checking in (at this time?). Some fucker stole my chair which feels scroteyvwhen I had left my bag on table but wth and someone left one of the groups so I asked if I could take her chair. I think I asked in English but not sure.

Tue 1712 so I'm voice typing this up at the Mirador waiting for sunset. Let's just bash some stuff out and see how it goes. So last night I I had my second litre of beer, and someone came over, I'm not feeling a bit pitiful, and she said, oh yeah, we're having that ceremony, the 6-12 full moon thing, I think it actually turns out to be, and I said, oh thanks, yeah, I don't ask if I've kept my beer, she said, no, no, it's an alcohol free space, I don't know if you cut it anyway, it'd be a 5 minute walk away, and I said, oh well, I might cook later then, and anyway, so I sat there, and I didn't rush the beer, and the bar was empty and out, and I was stupid and I chatted to an LM, but I mean, I personally reckon it was pretty quiet, and I don't reckon it would have been appropriate for me to speak to anyone, even if I was 25. Anyway, I sat there listening to some woman in slightly worse spirits than mine, but to be fair, not that much worse, give a virtual monologue to some local woman from Merida, who was sitting at the table next to me, and she's going on and on and on, and it's such fucking stereotypical liberal hippie shit, and she's talking about federal agents or something, and she's talking about some old women's protest in Kenya, which had something to do with some kind of shame attached to people seeing them naked, so they did a protest naked, and she's like, oh, and it's fantastic, maybe it was, I don't know the details of the particular prohibition, maybe that wasn't wanky, the whole thing just felt wanky.

So, despite the LLMs depressing me, I've got to fucking stop doing that, I left and I asked some rather bored, seeming bloke from the staff, presumably where it was, and I wasn't sure, and I wandered round, and I did find some other people who were coming from it and going to it, there was another big spider, the volunteer woman who was there said they were tarantulas, and she's like, oh don't be scared, and they were like, no, no, no, we're not scared, we're just fascinated, she said it was a tarantula, or that seems to be the general consensus, so we'll go with that. I must admit, I didn't startle as much, either with that one, or I followed this volunteer woman up on a bit of chat and we went up to the Temescal, or whatever the hell it was, and it was really about 11 after 10 at this point and I had 2 litres of beer, and it was quite nice actually, I didn't really talk to anyone or feel massively connected, but I sat on the sort of fringes and a couple of times people passed me a coconut shell with a bit of papaya or something like that in it, and there's people playing the I've got LED fire globes and someone's playing the guitar and they're passing it round a bit and all this is fire, I mean it's just laced with a little bit of socialism, oh no we asked for a donation, or social principle, you should pay what you can, you know, if you're well off you should pay more. I don't know exactly why they're doing this given it's part of the hostel experience and like the actual literal expense is a bit of firewood or something, and a bit of a papaya, but I mean I didn't begrudge them so I stick 50 in the box, I don't know whether that was enough, but anywhere any other night there's people saying stuff, I can't remember what they're saying stuff about, all energy and vibrations and all the full moon or the moon or whatever and it's not. Not quite my bag, but you know fair play to them, the actual atmosphere was quite nice all the same, I mean if I just sat there not even trying to talk to anyone, I kind of wish I'd gone earlier, but then I didn't really want to leave that beer and I didn't know it was happening, well I did know it was happening but I didn't know what it would be like, anyway it is what it is, I hope this bloody comes out. I didn't really want to leave that beer and I didn't know it was happening, well I did know it was happening but I didn't know what it would be like, anyway it is what it is, I hope this bloody comes out.

So I left that about 11.30pm and I went and cleaned my teeth and went to bed. I felt basically okay, I mean that was certainly better than I'd expected. I woke up maybe 1am, 3am, not sure, maybe I was slightly drunk, but anyway, and I was sort of waking up from this strange, not quite nightmare where I didn't know where I was and I was all disoriented and I was vaguely mangled, kitesurfing, getting carried off into the sky and it was all just a bit weird. And then it's like I sort of realised, oh yeah, yeah, I'm in the dorm, I'm in the hostel and everything's fine, but as it wasn't a nightmare it was just a bit weird, fights quite sweaty in the night to be honest, I had a shower first thing in the morning because it was the late start, then I wandered over to hostel Santa Cruz and had my usual breakfast there and then I went into Ocean Mart and the cash machine was working and I got $500 out so that's something and then I went up to the lesson at 11.30.

The lesson wasn't bad in terms of general stuff. I didn't manage to ride again, which is a bit disappointing, but it is what it is. The wind seemed quite choppy to me. I mean, there were one or two points where the wind dropped for a fraction of a second. Anyway, so I did a lot of, oh hell, what's it called, a lot of body drag upwind with the board to, you know, get to a position where I could try to sort of get on the board. And that was getting better, the instructor said it was getting better, and I must say I could feel that. Actually getting on the board, absolute nightmare. I mean, he gave me some tips at the end of the lesson. I'm going to ask some questions tomorrow. I'm moderately optimistic I might get it. I must say there was an awful lot of like trying to get it on my feet and then I never got really to the point. Once or twice maybe of doing the power dive to get it going, but I think I had the board at the wrong angle. And there was an awful lot of losing the board and then I'm worried it's going to smash into my skull as it's behind me or take my teeth out. And then it's like sometimes I'm having to do the body drag without the board to get back to the board to recover it. And this is not perfect. And at times, especially if I've just sort of tried to taste, trying to start riding with the board, I'm getting seriously disoriented once I got quite near the beach and I was like feeling the sand dragging under me. And other times I'm out a bit further and it's like, I'm just getting tossed and turned in the waves and I'm trying to keep control of the kite and the kite is dragging me back and forth. And I'm not quite drowning and it's not quite panicking, but I'm getting a bit waterlogged and a bit and yeah, I mean, it was kind of all right. It's a shame I didn't manage to ride, but I think I'm getting closer. I think there is progress. Obviously it's a shame I'm not going faster, but can't be helped, you know, no prior experience, fairly old, never done anything like this. So yeah, not too bad. I'm still not quite sure how far I'm going to take it, but my original sort of rough budget estimate did see me allowing up to 20 hours. So I still have kind of two and a half days to go. And apparently I think I'm basically paying like $94 for two hours now, which isn't too bad.

So I'm just smashing this out on the voice-typing, I'm not going anywhere to correct it. I mean, you know, just to follow on from that, it's like, see, you know, I'm out there and I've failed to sort of get on the board and I'm trying to recover the board and I'm going one direction, I'm trying to do a body drag without the board to get near it and I do that sometimes and it works quite well and then I start to lose the kite or I've just fallen off and like waves are smashing over me and I can't see where the hell I'm going but the kite is magically still more or less in the air and then I do manage to recover it but then after that I'm still a bit screwed and I lose it the next time. I say I don't think I'm doing too badly, I think I am getting better, it's just slower than I would like, you know, I don't really look normal anyway of course, do I? But yeah, it is sort of fun, a little bit stressful when it gets that intense but yeah, it is kind of fun and so anyway, that's that.

So afterwards I went and I got a packet of bacon snack things like the ones the ants entertained me with the other day and a bottle of sugarcoats, they had no coke zero at Ocean Mart and I sat on the beach wall for a bit and that was fine and I like because there's a pizza thing tonight I didn't really eat it elsewhere and it's like solid so I stayed there and I came back to the hostel and I did some washing and then I think I wandered up towards the petroglyphs at the north end nothing amazing but sort of cool in their way and I went in what I think might be the Japanese shower which is just a sort of it is the same thing it's just a basic shower it's quite a powerful flow compared to the others even it's just coming from a stopcock type pipe it's just like the other showers but it's open to the air and that the area is a bit larger rather than you being in a fairly small concretey shower cubicle thing it was quite nice and I think amazing maybe it's not the thing I thought it was and then so I've come back up here I've got the P7 with me I can't really see the sunset going somewhere super brilliant of you but I might as well stay here and watch it I'm not worried about getting down I'm not super optimistic about chatting to anyone tonight maybe it's just me being negative but it's like I think I've passed where the pizza place is it's like there's lots of separate tables I mean I'm fairly sure I can't just walk up to a random table of people unless there's literally nowhere else to sit and it would still be awkward as fuck and well don't get me wrong I'm not feeling like awful or terrible anything it's just been so long since I've had what you might call a normal hostile common area conversation with anyone that I think I've lost any kind of faith that it happens or that it can ever happen with me anyway I mean I'll go I'll have a probably overpriced pizza there might be meat options I'm not sure but you know vegan will do I can have a few beers and there should be some sort of show fire show or something and maybe I will chat to someone maybe it'll be easy or maybe I'll make an effort but I'm not entirely clear I'm gonna see an opening to make an effort but it is what it is you know I've got a lesson tomorrow I don't know what time it is yet but I've noticed I'm in massive piss-off if I have like two litres of beer that's probably fine that's what I did yesterday yeah so I'm up here at the Mirador type place for the not not the Tower one but you know this place for the sunset that the volunteer did point out to me yesterday it doesn't really seem to be setting anywhere great but so it's already half seven sorry half five so sunset is about six the pizza thing I think nominally starts at six but I don't think you have to be there at six and honestly I don't know what's gonna happen I'm probably just gonna sit around like I would in the bar watching stuff but anyway we'll see how it goes I'm not feeling terrible it's just that I don't have an amazingly upbeat attitude but I don't think that's entirely unjustified I've said hi to a few people walking around the paths and stuff I really don't feel like I fit in then I often don't anyway I'm just talking shit now don't take any of this too seriously

I did call Dad from the beach when I was sitting there after I'd had my coke and my snack and that was actually quite a nice chat and one was busy. So that was something. Everything is basically okay. It's just, and I may even extend here, it kind of depends. I'm already booked in for tomorrow night. It kind of depends how long I expect to be around with the kite surfing. I'm not saying I won't stay longer if it feels I'm making progress or I want to try and cement things before I go. But we'll just have to see. So I may end up extending here or I may end up going somewhere else after Wednesday. We'll just take it a day at a time. It's not a big deal. So yeah, there we go. Try and be positive. If nothing happens, it's not necessarily my fault or social skill. It is, maybe it's not, but it's just such a slimy odd environment. Well, not that I really know what it's going to be like tonight. But anyway, there we are. I think I'm going to splash this out. I'm probably going to send this in a second because it's just been building up and up and up. I want to get it out before something happens.

Oh, if I didn't say it feels like my sort of ribs or the muscles or whatever in that area, I kind of saw from being bounced up and down on the board during the body drag. I don't think it's a big deal, just a note. There's a couple of people on top of the Mirador Tower. I just sort of waved to them. I don't think they saw me, but it's nice to see someone else up there. Okay, I'll stop waffling now.

Santa Cruz, Friday

Thu 2137 going for before bed piss and thought there was a spider in the bathroom and it seems to be some sort of grasshopperish thing, quite a big one.

Fri 0635 just got up. Was lying awake in bed a fewmins ago and a small lizard thing (three or four inches? Incidentally scorpion prob about that too) scuttled up the wall.

Didng sleep great not terrible. Eyes bleary and felt a bit dry during night. Was awake at maybe midnight or something 4amish with a vague general pseudo depression homesickness, not that intense.

Bit edgy about leason. My arse hurts but this is the 95% certainly from the bike ride. I had a weird dry lump at back left of throat feeling yesterday evening but this seems to have eased.

I may take today easy post lesson, do nothing or perhapswalk to some finca with petroglyphs in balgue. Well see. Anyway, let's get ready etc.

0655 on main terrace, just ordered breakfast. Just the tiniest bit tighter on time than I'd like but really fine.

Feeling a little more alert etc. The morning air is genuinely pleasant to cool but not cold and while it is very cloudy and there is a certain subdued greyness to the light, it is striking compared to what I am used to (probably just because I am not normally up quite so early) and kind of nice.

Definitely a bit edgy about lesson, probably ly more about the vague stressful feeling of not being able to do stuff which is innate to the leaning experience than the specific instructor, but still.

Despite the whenever it was wobbles (general, doubtless tinged by class worries but not specific to them) in the night, nothing has changed. It makes sense to give this a solid try here, I am semi enjoying it even despite this kind of stuff and there being an element of type 2 fun to it, I had and have no other pressing big things I wanted to do or places I wanted to go, the island is in its way sort of pleasant and while extensive not intolerably so. I can and will make an effort to switch up the accommodation in a day or two but I had already decided before the 3h/2h confusion thing that I would stick on here to avoid unnecessary extra stress/attitutude wobbles at least for the first few lessons and I think that remains smart. I have, hard as it seems to believe this, only had 2 days and 5h of lessons.

If I didn't already say the rough window they gave to going solo (my term, but I think that was the gist), maybe call it basic competence, was 10h for someone with talent and /or prior exposure to related skills (sailing for wind knowledge, other balancey board type water sports like surfing or windsurfing for balance and maybe wind, that gist) to 20h for someone with no experience and little talent (my phrasing).  Even if I am not negative I would expect to need at least 15h and 20h would hardly be shocking and I am depending on how progress etc feels and whether I am enjoying (at least in this stressful lean-ring but yes it feels sort of good at times way) it willing to go that high on training and accom and time budget.

I can use the downtime between lessons to do things like kayaking or cycling or hiking to the falls but yes I do also want and need to have some time off, even if it feels a bit wasteful and even if sitting on a semi uncomfortable chair on hostel terrace watching yt on a tiny phone (even putting aside any BNM feelings, which I do seem to have mostly under control) is not exactly my idea of the perfect days slacking compared to the enjoyably comfortable way I might slack at home.

But if the lessons go as planned, I an likely to be here a good few korebdays and I do not need to race to squash in the kayaking etc every single day. And none of this stuff is epic level regret if I do not get any of it done, and that is unlikely.

Not pushing the social experimentation would be more of a regret but that is as discussed for a day or two or three from now, not immediately (unless something happens with accom when I try to extend next or the lesson today is unexpectedly an absolute killer of desire or interest).

I suppose at least my arse hurting a bit shouldn't be too big a deal for the lesson as it is mostly standing with brief interludes of getting knocked or dragged over. And it isn't agony, I just feel it eg sitting on this hard wooden chair.

Touch wood my legs don't feel too bad, although i am damn well not cycling today.

Eating breakfast relatively close to lesson feels not ideal but I didn't notice it being a huge deal yesterday.
 
0746 back at room. Ileft my key outside in the door all night btw. Not really a big deal in practice but not ideal either.

1130 back at hostel getting hot water. Lesson not too bad, a bit annoying at times but I am getting used to the instructor (he told me not to keep saying sorry btw) and while the downwind body drag feels crappy apparently I did it ok and we just started upwind and that while I fucked up the kite control a bit actually feels like it is far more controllable.

Price has effectively sropped at least for today to 100 for 2h due to the bulk discount ladder.

I went into Ocean on way back to get cash but a mini social event occurred as some woman in front was struggling to get any and I spoke to her and various other people tried. I recommended (perhaps stupidly, but it is hardly a secret) the machine 30 mins walk up the beach. I need to count my cash after this coffee but gut feeling is I am able to hold out til tomorrow and are what happens.

French owner chap at school said there are some petroglyphs at el porvenir off merida road which may be walkable but may need bike. We will see how it goes.

Have extended at this hostel for another night, I need to keep an eye on this but I think it is fine for now given the lessons are going okish but not "easy" and don't want to rock the mental boat. I just may try going over to the raindance bar tonight. Lesson is likely to be a bit later tonorrow, french owner (Jamie?) Asked me and I said whenever would work but 9-10 would be ideal and he said there was likely to be good wind tonorrow all the way to midday ish.

Fwiw iirc first day we had a 6 or 7 kite, yesterday was maybe a 10 and I think today was a 12 or 13. Wind was a bit low today, instructor said it is good for practice as it makes things sort of harder.

Not seen Noam or the Antipodean girl for a day or two, I am not staying because of them anyway, but feels a bit odd, Noam especially I thought was a fixture.

1146 jus t lost three emails, was moving them, screen glitched as I tapped and they moved "somewhere". No undo or log of course  can't find them. Yesterday the sudden attack of the random tap monkey came within one click of sending a file I was trying to delete to a signal contact. Brilliant stuff.

Instructor did say some prospect of something (perhaps some sort of drag) with a board tomorrow, I said (perhaps negatively) that seemed scary, he said no. I am not sure I believe him. He does seem moderately genuinely satisfied with progress but very hard to tell of course.

I kind of want to just sit here but I have finished this capuchino thing (which was nicer today, perhaps due to tiny cip and really overdoing the intensity) and I need to count cash and decide if j want or need to trog up to the other cash machine. Od if I am trying either petroglyph.

Fwiw set chase card up so I can wd 500 on that too if I want, and they don't impose a limit. The machine did say ibsudficient funds in my Barclaycard but I suspect it was referring to itself not my account, which should be more than capable of this but just possibly I am at risk of exceeding my credit limit. Hmm. Anyway, the machine didn't work for anyone else either. But maybe I should go try it with chase for dollars.

Fuck it, let me see if I can log into barclays now, bit worried I will have a fee.

1158 ok, Barclaycard website shows I have plenty of credit limit left and no transaction today  and I should not be hitting any daily limita given I last used card here on 23rd. Probably just the machine.

Fwiw it felt odd yesterday that I has had only two days of lessons and today that it has only been three. In a strange and probably not bad way it feels like I have been doing the lessons much longer.

1204 ok without going into too much details I do have a fair amount of cash including USD at hand but I would really rather avoid digging too deeply into it, if only on practical grounds (some if it is folded up and wrapped in clingfilm etc and it would be nice to avoid disturbing that until a real emergency or end of trip deliberate run down if I decide to do that).

If sucks a bit but tbh I am not gagging to see the petroglyphs nor is going to the cash machine up the west end of the beach automatically going to kill that as an option. I do half fear a run on that machine if the ocean mart one is down.

I think I will check out the petroglyphs situation, go walk to ocean on the offchance it is fixed and then trog over to the not a million miles away after all other one, then if I still feel like it I can go over to the petroglyphs after, it is a moderate but not insane amount of walking in the sun but rightly or wrongly I didn't shower after lesson. I could do but the lake water doesn't seem that disgusting really and I am outdoors and going to be sweating on the walk and I will have a shower around sundown.

The lake is fresh water btw, I have photos from comedor la malinche (?) On first day showing cows and horses being driven into it and drinking it. Maybe this is dead obvious but fwiw.

If I didn't have the relatively high burn rate of the lessons and the need to pay tomorrow to avoid any awkwardness I would not be in a rush for a cash machine, my reserves are more than ample for a few days of accom and beer and food and cheapish activities, Sven without digging into awkward parts of it.

1502 okay so the machine at Ocean still wasn't working I trod 30-40 minutes up to that cash machine at the north end and I did get $400 out there I couldn't get $500 because the Barclaycard continues to decline as insufficient funds even though I see no reason for that I have just been on the Barclaycard website where they induced me to write a chat and then told me oh sorry the chat doesn't work we're rebuilding it call us because it's trivial to call the UK from abroad I'm happy to spend about 700 pounds in roaming charges to query this so anyway the Barclaycard I have to assume is basically dead now it may start working at some point but I can't rely on it I had the other cards with me I wasn't so stupid as to walk 40 minutes without taking other cards so I managed to get $400 out on the chase card of course that doesn't dilute the fee so much because the fee was still $6 but you know Barclaycard decided to fuck me over so anyway I did at least get some money I walked back I walked up along the road and some dogs had a little bit of a go and I walked back along the beach and some dogs had a little bit of a go neither case was critical I shouted vaya there were locals around possibly they were even their dogs but it was still not great I toyed with going to the petroglyphs after but it's like it was hot I'd walked about 80 minutes 90 minutes and I'd had a few dog encounters and I wasn't really up for anything else so I got a michelada and a bottle of coke and had those on the main terrace and now I've come back to my room to do a bit of chore type stuff

I did try withdrawing $500 on the chase card, but it was declined. I don't know what the limits actually are. It may be there's a £300 limit on there, which is another reason it's so annoying that the Barclay card is rejecting. But there you go. As far as I know, where the Barclay card has no limit in that sense, or it's much higher, and it's just the machines imposing the $500 limit. But anyway, it is what it is.

What I actually started writing for was just to make the note that, at least at one point during the lesson today, I'm not sure at other points, it's like I'm managing to hold, like when we're doing the upwind body drag, it's like I'm kind of managing to hold the kite in the right place. And on the one hand, I'm very much not confident that I can really keep it there indefinitely, although it seems to stay for a while. And on the other hand, I'm like, well, am I actually controlling this? I suppose I must be, but I'm not quite sure how I'm doing it. But it presumably isn't completely stable, that position, so I must be controlling it. It's like, and yet I don't really feel I know exactly what I'm doing. It's kind of weird. Not exactly bad, but not exactly good. Anyway, just to sort of know while it's still what I'm feeling and not doing it in hindsight.

1609 Barclays sent me a text about half an hour ago saying my txn was declined because I was over my cash limit. With some faffing I have just paid my full balance off with them from  my chase debit card so I guess that card might work now.

1941 on hostile terrace, very surreptitiously voice typing this, I hope it works. There's no one else around, I think there was one guy earlier, but he's gone.

So I sat on the terrace outside my room until about half five, the Antifodean woman and her gay friend were there, but I didn't feel very natural to speak to them, it was fine, I just sat in a hammock, I don't think that was weird. Anyway, so then I went over to Raindance and I went in, it was fairly quiet, it was probably about half five. I'd already looked at the menu, I ordered a pizza which was quite nice but nothing amazing and a bit pricey at 350, but hey, it's sort of cool enough here at night that I did kind of enjoy it and it was nice. I had two beers at 80, just like 330 ish mil bottles of Tonya, nothing fancy, bit overpriced but not utterly insane. I think I left about 640, 645.

Erm, in theory there was a casino night there, but I did go and have a look between beers and stuff, I joined their WhatsApp group, which is admin posting only. And I took a photo of the weekly event board, and there is some stuff on there in theory, although a lot of it has minimum and maximum numbers, and it feels a bit will this happen. But, er, to be fair, they do a free casino night on Tuesday, and no one seemed interested in its night, but it was 100 to join in. And I suspect most people were slightly late back from a free bus over to the sunset at Playa Mango or something, maybe I got the days mixed up, but I think that sounds about right. It had started to get a bit busier when I left, but it was erm, very clicky, I mean I didn't intend to chat to anyone tonight, that would just have been a mad bonus, it was just about going and eating somewhere and checking the place out. It wasn't all that big to be honest, the pool not that big either, erm, sort of a nice enough environment, I didn't see the treehouse kind of bit, but er, I don't know if that's guess only, but I certainly didn't see it.

So while I was there I had a look on booking.com and hostelworld and long and short of it is the dorms look quite nice, at least on paper, but they are basically sold out this Wednesday for actual accommodation. I think you can basically pay $400 for a ticket to wet Wednesday and I think that might be common-ish, but I'm not sure. Unlike in theory it's 5 minutes walk from this hostel and I could be in another hostel 5 minutes walk away and I could go, you know, I'd probably want to take Thursday off from the lessons, which is a bit awkward and feels a bit unserious, but we'll see how I feel. I might be able to get an actual ticket last minute and if not maybe write it off or maybe do it next Wednesday if I happen to be around, but don't let it warp the whole trip. It wouldn't be nicer to be on site, but I do get this kind of impression from their own website that it's a little bit sell you beers cocktails, but also a bit of a piss-up kind of thing and a bit of a deliberate getting drunk thing, which is sort of nice and sort of not, and obviously at my age I might not fit in and if I'm there on my own, which I might or might not be depending on if I've met someone at whichever hostel I'm staying at, blah blah blah. But it might be worth, subject to the concerns around having to take a day off surfing, it might be worth trying to buy a ticket last minute, just walk in 5 minutes down the road, you know, wear swimming trunks, flip flops and a t-shirt, keep some money in a plastic pouch or Nicaraguan notes so they're plastic anyway. Don't take my phone and just see what happens and if I leave at 8pm so be it, I might feel shit but at least technically I've had a go and you know if I leave at midnight and I wish I'd got a dorm bed then that's also a success isn't it right?

Long and the short of it is, I'd assumed it would be pretty straightforward to just book into a dorm there, but it's obviously popular enough, I guess it does make sense, because if it's 400 to get in, that's not a huge amount, even for a backpacker, but that's probably about 70% of what a dorm bed costs, I'm guessing. So it makes sense, apart from the convenience of being able to roll into your dorm, pissed, or nip back and grab your phone, or leave it there, or get more money or whatever. It makes sense to want to stay there, but it's also a net, since you get 300 to the party, it's not a bad option, but that's not as easy as I'd hoped. So, although it's obviously a bigger deal than I thought, given the lack of availability, I think my attitude to it probably ought to be, try and keep a good one, maybe take the day off, maybe do it as a whim, not take it too seriously, the whole point being, I am 5 minutes down the road, very likely, because I'll almost certainly be doing lessons this Wednesday, or next Wednesday, next Wednesday, I could be staying there if I wanted to, and I still want to be on the island, but if it's this Wednesday, if I can't get a ticket, I can't get a ticket, but I probably could, even last minute, walk up. And if I, I'm going to be in a hostel 5 minutes away, because I'll be in a hostel that's convenient for the surf lessons, so, it's like, just take it as a low effort, possible good turnout, because I'm right on the spot. It's like, you know, with regard to that treehouse party I was agonising about in bloody Granada, it's like, oh, I'm just 2 minutes down the road, why don't I just go and see, you don't cost anything really, and just give it a go. And I can, I should and probably could, probably should, given that I cannot stay there anyway, so that's kind of out of the agenda, at least for this first week, just treat it as a low stakes, apparently. If I can get in, just go along, see how it goes, and I either leave early and it's a try not to beat myself up, because I do at least do it, or if it goes well, then it's like, oh, it's a shame, I couldn't get a dorm bed there and stay there and feel really relaxed, but I still had fun, and that's a massive win. If I can manage that attitude, that's probably the way to go, and hopefully I'm not going to book it in advance, we'll just wait and see what happens, and if I can't get in on Wednesday at the last minute, or the night before, not the end of the world, and there's possibly a chance to try the following Wednesday, and by Monday, Tuesday next week, I'll maybe have a bit more of an idea where I'm standing with the surfing, whether taking a day off would work, how it would feel, blah blah blah.

I suspect a future version of me is gonna feel like Ezra Jennings listening to Mr Candy's ramblings, but what the hell, I'm just trying to bash this out.

Completely putting all that aside, this is genuinely independent, although it does have some bearing but it is genuinely independent, I probably do need to force myself to switch hostel, whether it's to a dorm or a private, just for sort of social experimentation, in the next day or two. I will may, I'm booked in for Saturday night, will may be considered doing it Sunday. I have no idea if there will be any lessons on Sunday, whether they have a day off or if it's just seasonal and they go mad for it during the dry season and the tourist season. Of course at some point there's going to be a day with bad weather, but I imagine that will be known at the last minute and I won't be able to use that to guide my move. But you know, hypothetically, I go somewhere, I had been thinking Raindance, but given the vibe tonight wasn't amazing and it doesn't help me with the Wednesday, maybe not. But I could go somewhere else, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, maybe I'll get chatting to people, maybe they'll want to go to the thing at Raindance Wednesday anyway, or maybe they won't, or go on my own. But you know, at least I'll be spending some time in a more social environment than here. It is quite nice here, I don't even quite like it. If I had 20 weeks for the trip, I probably would just camp here while I was doing surf lessons, or maybe I wouldn't, I don't know. But yeah, it would be good to try somewhere else where there's a little bit more passing population, a bit more chance of a chat and try and find somewhere that suits me. And while the surf lessons aren't exactly in the bag, I'm starting to feel a bit better about them. If it goes kind of okay tomorrow, I might feel better about taking a chance going somewhere else. The surf lessons would be very distinct, because it's one on one anyway, right? So it's not like I'm going to have some knob from the hostel that I don't like, or who thinks I'm a twat there in the class, and it's that sort of stuff, right? And my attitude's probably going to be okay, and I might feel better if I'm, and at least I'm experimenting and making a bit more use of the time and stuff. It is nice here, but I can't stay forever plus. Nothing stops me walking five minutes down the road and coming into reception saying, Oh, can I stay here tomorrow night? Have you got a private room? And there's no reason at all to think they wouldn't give me the price I'm paying now. It's not exactly a massive deal, it's just booking.com price, not going through booking.com, except I'm getting the base booking.com price, even on days when booking is listing it a bit higher. I hope this transcribes, because I've been going on for ages, and if it doesn't, I'm going to be pissed.

I happened to see a review, I don't know how recent it was, saying that room one here was just awful and full of big fat juicy spiders and there were rats in the rafters and everything. I mean that's right next to my room. I do suspect it's pretty much the same as my room and that, yeah, I mean, I've sought, not rats, but I suspect it's from someone who either just got unlucky or really doesn't get this rustic vibe and, you know, to be fair, I get it myself. I remember leaving that hostel in a bit of panic because I was down by Lake Acidland in Guatemala in some town in 2018 and I couldn't have a shower because there were spiders buzzing around the walls, they weren't that big, but they were big but they weren't fat. But, you know, I remember doing it so I'm not entirely judging but, you know, I suspect the review is a little bit from the wrong perspective rather than room one here is an absolute nightmare or this hostel is an absolute nightmare. But to be fair, you know, that first night I was here, I had that spider in the shower and then hanging around the bathroom door and it's like, at one point that would have totally freaked me out. Yeah, absolutely. And then to have the subsequent events, even though they weren't spiders, would probably freak me out as well. Maybe it wouldn't, to be fair, if it wasn't spiders. But anyway, so I get it, but I just thought it was kind of interesting to see that review. that review.

Classes at 8.30 tomorrow, which isn't ideal. I think I already said I'm having this beer on the terrace out here that I got from the mini market. So I had that Mitchellada this afternoon and two beers, the 30mlish or whatever, but still at Raindanson, I've just had this 4.73ml, 4.9% beer here. It's hardly a fucking piss up, but I think I might get some water and maybe gorge on some snacks despite all the other things I've eaten back in the room. And then go to bed and try and get up early, you know, for breakfast at 6.50 or 7 or whatever I can get like I did today. And then we'll play it by ear. I think tomorrow I need to not just automatically extend for Sunday night. If I'm having a class on Sunday, I need to come back here and start looking at other alternatives. Maybe I'll have a bit of a poke at other alternatives tonight before I go to bed. I'm not super tired. But I'm obviously not booking anything because I don't even know what was happening with the classes for sure. So yeah, there we go. I've had a bit of water. I'll get some more. I'm not pissed. It's fine. Maybe it's not great for sleeping, but I did enjoy that Mitchellada. Maybe it was just first beer in a couple of days or I'd not have a Mitchellada in ages. Yes, a very strong flavour, but that's a Mitchellada for you. It was nice.

2016 back in room. I could snack but I really sot fancy it. Had some water. Not feeling really pissed. Will do teeth and maybe have an exploratory poke at other accom options and the go to bed. I am a bit tired, not mega so bit with the early start today and tomorrow not surprising or ridiculous to have an early night.

2046 okay, talking about all this on the blog is poor security, but really no one cares, right? There's not that many options, super close to here, both with a view to get into the kites, surf school and the possibility of going to rain down the Sun Wednesday night. Maria's does have dorm beds, and in fact private's very cheaply. The only common area according to views is the restaurant, and that clocks with what I've seen. Presumably I'd be allowed to sit there, were there I'd get chatting to anyone I don't know. No doesn't appear to have a curfew, I could maybe ask. Raindance does have availability Monday and Tuesday, sorry, Sunday and Monday, I'm getting confused now actually, but it's really tight, it's like you can't, as I kind of saw earlier. So let me just check the dates, oh sorry, let me stop talking.

Okay, so I could stop at Rainedown Sunday and Monday nights, but I would not be able to extend to Tuesday, as far as I can tell, I mean maybe, just because I'm looking on booking, I've not really tried hard, but I was looking on their own website earlier, so never mind anything else, I could stay there Sunday and Monday, but I'd have to leave Tuesday, no matter how well it was going, the fact that there's no party Tuesday night, I'd have to leave Tuesday anyway, which kind of puts me off. So there's that, which is kind of, I could do, but the two-night absolute max is a bit crappy, because if things are going well, and I maybe wouldn't have time to get to know people, even if that's gonna happen, Maria's is maybe a weird possibility, and it does have privates, I suppose maybe the dorm would be more chatty, but I do, anyway, Wayitas, where I went the other day for a quick little look on the off-chance looking at the restaurant, does look kind of nice when I went, but they've got so many dorm beds free, it's like, and it didn't look very busy there when I was there, I'd rather suspect it's virtually empty, but it is cheap enough, and there's basically the only other one really local for the reasons that I mentioned, is Elsopilote, now the whole vegan, hippie, eco vibe is really not me, but you know, although I doubt he's there anymore, that French, I think, chap was staying there, and he said it's nice, and it's like, all the reviews are, oh you have to walk 200 meters, and there's a lot of insects, because they don't use any, any insecticides or anything, I mean this kind of might work, it doesn't feel great in terms of getting back from rain dams, on the other hand, it is practically opposite, not quite, but it's so, you save on the walk, but then you may be stumbling down some path, but that's probably okay, I could give it a go to be honest, off the top of my head, Wayitas just feels like it would probably be quite cool, because it's a bit rustic, but you know, not, not got the explicit hippie vibe, I just don't believe there'd be anyone there, Maria's is maybe a bit of a wildcard, could be dull, I don't really fancy the rain dams for just two nights, you know, if I really want to stay there, I can maybe stay there after Wednesday, when I would be able to extend, so anyway, I mean I'm sleeping on this, I don't have to worry until tomorrow, but that's where we stand, I think off the top of, well as I say, it's kind of a toss-up between Wayitas, Elzopilote and Maria's, to be fair, I guess Elzopilote does have the party thing on Tuesday night, and it might be kind of cool, and it's not like even with an 830 class, I'm leaving to go surfing so early, that I'm gonna be staggering down these 200 meters of rural paths from my rustic dorm in the dark, some of these places are not super cheap, like say Maria's the private is cheap, but a lot of these places, the dorms are, anyway, it is cheaper than here, so I probably, I suppose, I'm leaning towards Elzopilote, but it would be an experience, the Tuesday party might be cool, it's not necessarily incompatible with the surf school, you know, it's a few minutes extra walk, not a huge deal, go for it, bit of an experience, people might be chatty and maybe they're not all as eco-hippie as you might expect, anyway, that's my thoughts for now, so I'm heading towards bed. Ans I don't have to eat in el zopilote routinely either so the limited  meat shit isn't a big deal. If there's no curfew (and thus wet Wednesday is not ruled out) I might possibly book sun-wed nights inclusive, or play the free cancellation game and book sin-Mon and tue-wed as separate bookings to hedge my bets.

But I don't need to decide until after the class tomorrow.

Santa Cruz, Wednesday/Thursday

Tue 2128 screen has been glitching a bit. But in the browser and it is generally still much better. Fuck knows. Writing this seems fine.  I also just turned the screen sensitivity down now there is no screen protector to compensate for and maybe that needs a reset or something to kock in. Just have to wait and hope. This does still feel like it is so much better than Iit was that I cannot see how the screen protector was not the primary cause.

2136 I rebooted, it does not feel right but it does feel much better. I am half wondering if this horizontal strip 2/3 down the screen has been iffy for absolutely ages - it is sort of not always noticeable (and I may have developed odd habits because of the iffiness over last few days and longer term things to work around the screen protector) and am only noticing it now and it is exacerbated by my having lost feeling for how to use the phone because of all the recent glitxhing. I dunno. Bottom line is I suspect the phone is knackered but it may not be new and while sucky it may not be a huge deal in practice. And typing this is basically fine, or as fine as an osk get,a, but the problem is not the screen responsiveness. The number and preddictd word rows were often dead (roughly where the 2/3 down bit is) before hut now they seem to work fine despite the slightly iffy scroll and drag behaviour and the way the touch app still shows that seadness.

Anyway it is what it is, it is more usable than it was and there is a slim chance it is fine or that the remaining adhesive or whatever rubbing off over time or getting an alxogol wipe on the go would fix it EV|n if it is not fine.

But not too upset, as I say it is mostly usable at least for typing and we don't seem to be getting phantom touches in general. Bed anyway.

Wed 0842 as now usual didn't sleep that great but not terribly. Eyes feel a bit bleary. Typing this on p7 osk and it feels fine, I suspect somehow the Deadish strip across the screen is real but mostly manifests itself in slightly shitty and 80% unnoticeable ways during some Swiprs and scrolls and I continue to suspec tit has been there for months and was (and is) not quite bad enough to really be sure it existed and wasn't just general shittiness of design or the screen protector wearing sensitivity generally. This does raise the annoying spectre the problem justnight have been there long enough that it could have been claimed under the 12 month refurb warranty but maybe not and in any case I missed it. Lesson there is perhaps just to play with a touch detector app intermittently or if things feel a bit off as a sanity check.

While sucky the keyboard is totaly usable (as much as an osk ever is) although it is possible the glitchiness would kill swipe typing, which I don't use but maybe would as maybe this glitch was what was killing it when I tried it but I haven't experimented just now and this is borderline ok.

The now known glitch is annoying and mainly manifests when swiping between home and app overview and app list but while slightly shitty I suspect I will rapidly train myself to swipe on the bits of the screen that do work and almost stop noticing this. I am not exactly happy but by the same token the phone is legit 95% usable for stuff like blog writing etc and photography and to repeat I am not happy and not claiming otherwise but although well see how things go over the next few days and weeks I suspect this is a fault at the level of mild annoyance which I can live with without feeling comellled to buy a replacement or risk repair bills or hone surgery on without it being a massive "why the fuck do I put IP with this" level of crap.

I am vaguely nervy about the lesson but not too bad. It does feel like a lot of money and it also feels like a slightly waate of time to have been hanging around here for it but really a) this is exactly why I like having long ish if not epic trips, so as not to be at the mercy of random no ones fault glitches b) worthwhile r potentially worthwhile things are worth waiting and paying for as appropriate in moderation C) I did in fact have a half decent if low key day yesterday and it has eg opened up the possibility of a low key but to someone with my 10 mins of cumulative experience potentially both fun and long term beneficial kayaking experience.

But let's get dressed and have breakfast, probably at the hostel.

0917 at breakfast quite a few people about (oh and Noam outside room on terrace, had quick chat), antipodean woman waved at me she seems to be brrakfastinf with some blokes and there are three to four possible Germans (three guys and a woman in a hammock), I did speak to two German guys briefly yesterday on returning to dorm and possibly part of this group. Ordered gallo pinto, hostel guy asked me if they could clean my room and I said yes and mangled the Spanish really badly  there are some socks and uw hanging over the shower rail but they are mostly dry and I honestly can't see them getting upset. (Actually looks like the hammock woman at least somewhat knows the antipodean woman and or her friend, rather than being part of the group with the three probably German guys.)

As if any of these details matter but I am also trying to keep some sort of eye on general social dynamics for educational/confidence building type purposes.

Ftr on a practical point I noticed Noam had a coffer and asked if he made it himself, he said you can ask for hot water, but I think that is about it. I asked and the cup is his own, so in practice I will not be making ny own coffee, I am not desperate but wouldn't be averse to buying some instant but I don't have a cup and don't really want to start lugging one round with me (and even the most compact lightweight clever yravel version bought in advance of a trip but be very unlikely to justify itself in general, even right now the idea is no more than an "it would be slightly nice to be able to make my own coffee")

Oh and btw during brief chat yesterday antipodean woman said she had done the volcano top camping at La Union and she also said there is a restaurant etc and it sounds cool and not too scary (she also drove up there, the road sounds very much like a shorter version of that one on the Boquete volcano) and I do fairly strongly intend to look onto this when I pass back through la union now someone else has turned me about jt. She didn't see a lit of soldiers up there though, just fwiw.

0928 just dashed back to room thinking I had left a shitty white plastic cattier bag with the 160 USD for kitsurfing lying around and the cleaner might toss it. I found it safely inside my black day-pack but I couldn't quite remember where it was and was a bit jittery. I explained to her (she had been quite reassuring about not throwing anything out) and I don't think it looked like I had been worried about her stealing it (I primarily wasn't, I suppose the risk existsed, but I was more thinking "there is USD 160 in an innocuous non transparent plastic bag maybe looking like rubbish in a pile of other bags").

I hardly need coffee now I've had my morning jolt like this.

AP woman is doing kitsurfing today based on overhearing but I think she is at least moderately experienced(ie she may be basically competent or she may be world class, but it is something she can do solo) and would just be doing it as an activity not as a lesson so I am unlikely to have to worry about her being around all day, and it is a one on one lesson anyway.

0938 breakfast as yesterday not bad. No coffee yet and I suspect they have forgotten but in many ways this is fine as it will likely be nicer to drink the coffee hot after the food. I will go chase it up in a minute or two. I nearly asked about it when the guy brought food and then a minute or two later the knife and fork but didn't want to appear over demanding or impatient.

I think the three German guys have a big 4wd thing, I noticed yesterday a sign in window saying "fake taxi, 3 bros no hos" made out of cardboard.

I have noticed today is 25th 5x5 which may if I feel superstitious be a promising coincidence for first lesson.

Probably already said but if as the syllabus leads me to expect there will be no actual water contact today, that means the scope for absolutely hating it is limited - yes I may despise the instructor or whatever but probably won't, I may find the concepts of wind and kite beyond me (but fingers crossed this is fine) etc, but what it was thinking might make me say "omfg never again" was some sensation (making this up as I obviously have no idea what it is really like either as a complete beginner or a skilled kitesurfrr)  of smashing into the water or feeling like I am drowning despite the life jacket because of lack of breath or whatever. I don't strongly anticipate these happening but they (or some analogus awfulness) clearly could, which is why I've been saying it will probably be at least three days but may not if something really bad shows up. But if the first day has no water contact, it feels like most of this potentially interest killing stuff won't come up until day two anyway.
 
1010 if I didn't say yesterday, by walking down to that cafe on the shore near La Serenita, I did effectively walk across the neck of the island (the narrow bit between the two volcano lobes), given I was at santa cruz beach that morning. And I did touch the water at the cafe beach fwiw.

Feel slightly lonely sitting here on own but also really don't want to talk to anyone ahead of lesson.

1032 back in room. Had chat with couple of hostel guys when paid for breakfast. Sunset at el pital is supposed to be good, also playa mango (but that is even further than I walked yesterday down towards merida), also el defin (azul?) In balgue. I asked about safety, guy said it is safe to walk at any time but I clarified I meant dogs not people and he said it would probably be fine, carrying a torch helps and that is also good so traffic aees you (and indeed as prob noted I did this on my walk over to local beach last night). I may or may not so this but I might. I did ask about taxis and he said there aren't many. Still while not perfect my spabish wasn't too bad here and it is all practice.

The right ball of foot big toe think yesterday which I forgot to mention seems to have been an improbably tiny amount of sand under the insole of the shoe.  I still hurts a little but very much less and that may be the aftermath.

1113 mostly ready to go out. For the record my left foot heel feels a bit odd (probably just all the walking) and my left knee feels very slightly sort of "twisted", without me having done any unusual exercise or activities. Bit nervous but not massively so. Just need to try to keep a positive attitude and do my best to actually learn stuff instead of feeling shit about not knowing how to do it. There is no fundamental reason I shouldn't be able to learn this stuff of course, which also isn't to say it will be easy.

1536 back. That was actually pretty good. I have booked another class probably early tomorrow as wind is dying early tonorrow, fingers crossed. I checked booking and it looks like the private room here is 25 USD tonorrow even with the genius diacount but I don't believe they are seriously busy and I went and asked at reception with a 20 in my hand (minor psychological ploy on offchance it is helpful) and asked and (as usual) the guy phoned someone and they said yes and no price was mentioned so I just assumed it was the usual 19 and that's what I paid.

I could and might move hostel and or move into a dorm here but while I am cost sensitive this is all relatively minor and tbh it feels better to avoid psychological or practical disruption (especially if the lesson tonorrow is very early) by doing so.

Gonna loosely sort stuff out and (definitely not kayaking today, I realised prob this morning that by time lesson was over it would be rushed) go get probably more sunblock and have a beer from ocean market on the beach and then some food.

1643 not had food yet unlss you count 400g of plantain crisps on beach. I have come back to hostel to sit on terrace with a 600ml coke zero, Noam is in hammock and two girls are chatting, I do wonder if one is the antipodean but not 100% sure. I said hey and feel a bit BNM but at least I am neither hiding away nor forcing myself in.

I am dithering but I may go to el pital for sunset in about half an hour. It is about half an hours walk and slightly edgy about getting back (but on that balgue road not too worried and it may be pricey or just not let me in but we will see what happens. Tbh I always wonder if I need to eat in a comedor before but I also suspect I could eat something at one of the conedors like restaurant relax fairly easily as late as 8pm or whatever, it isn't like I will be utterly out of options.

I don't necessarily intend to write the kite surfing lesson up in massive details, I might save the syllabus off the site for reference. Instructor was a tall dutch guy called rudi who was heavily tattooed and probably about late 20s but was actually really nice guy.

We did as expected do a bit of stuff on beach and I felt a bit awkward but not too bad but we then did go into the water (just not with a board) to do the kite flying practice. I was getting quite knocked around by the waves and at times later on eg was actually managing to fly the kite while getting knocked off my feet and sort of floating intermittently. I asked and this is normal, not just because I am too short.

On the whole I don't think I did too badly, not amazingly but not too bad at all.

There was a dead turtle on the beach which I almost trod on when coming back from my beach site just now. It was about two size 9  shoeblong.

The two girls and the antipodean girls gay friend are having a mildly stupid conversation about dating and what is attractive but it isn't actually too annoying but also it makes me feel better about not being in the conversation as it feels more group of mates.

While not super  helpful it is interesting to hear her saying stiff like this guy was so hot with his perm but without his perm he was ugly. The idea that that might make so much of a difference is kind of odd. Not that I take it too seriously but still. (X was hot but had a shit personality or was so boring is not new and makes sense. But somehow this relatively minor personal appearance tweak tipping things completely feels odd.)

1 737 at el pital on niceiah table on over water platform. Ordered a kombucha which is in menu u for 100, actually costs 150 (I queried this politely and was told it now comes in a bottle!?) And has tax on top making it 165. But wth. Quite a nice area and borderline affordable and cool to have come etc and maybe a way to mark the special ish day (first lesson).

Far from sure p7 is good but it is borderline usable and can't do anything and need to avoid committing foolish economies on basis of this.

Ditto actually he private room and my mullings re what to do if I couldn't eztent at 19 USD. Yes there are valid considerations of economy and social stuff about dorma and different hostels but for the sake of a few dollars a day over a few days it is silly to rock the mental and practical boat when I am spending all this money on the kite surf lessons.

The straw is a hollowed out green plant stem which is kind of cool but I'd rather it were cheaper. :-)

The chat group on balcony left just before I intended to head over here so no issues here. I don't feel I did anything wrong or shy there.

Although it was mostly action and getting pounded by waves etc, the lesson did have brief lulls when I noticed there were two fucking volcano (one, the one I can see from hostel balcony, a touch more iconmically volcano shaped than the other) on opposite sides of horizon and it did feel a pretty fucking cool place to be having a lesson. I  think I said but they gave me a very loose hooded (didn't have hood up) lyrcra long sleeve top to wear so o didn't need to wear my red tshirt  or waste sunblock on my arms (though I had). I was soaked but I wasn't really noticeable significantly cold despite maybe 2h in the water.

The place eis slightly fancy and the prices a slight piss take but not as bad as I expected and they do have a sign for "jungle dorms" and I think it is a hostel, albeit a perhaps pricey one, and while I probably have other things to try first (and therefore not neck doing it on this visit) it is vaguely possible the slightly higher pricing (I assume) might skew the xliebtele slightly older than in other dorms, but pure guesswork.

The usual disclaimer type stiff to sign before the lesson gave me slight pause as well as it saying kitsurfing was an extreme sport. Maybe it is. But it feels to me like an extreme sport is something like base jumping or parkour or xliff diving. Like I am sure you can get hurt kite surfing especially if you ate an expert/pro and pushing yourself, but it does feel like things of different types are being limped into the same classification. I obviously don't know.I don't feel this is to flatter the xliebtele, not in the waiver. It did have something about "I am an open water swimmer" which makes me think of 4 miles swims in reservoirs with a buoy tied to your ankle, bug I really wasn't and aren't worried in pracite here - as I discussed with that woman the other day (who did remember me when I saw her today) the realistic case here is you are wearing a life jacket thing (whatever the technical term is - and I was floating up the huge eaves and off my feet at times) and it's a few hundred metres offshore with the wind at your back.

Incidentally a random query about something else yesterday suggests there are technically bull shakrs in the lake but the last attack was in 1940 and they have been overfished massively and you would almost count yourself lucky to see one.  No one even mentioned this at the kite surf place. I suspect they like deep water anyway.

About half the tables here are empty. So I am not going to feel guilty occupying space and just having a kombucha. I am a smidge worried about the walk back and getting food but neither need be a major deal and I may have a coffee or something before I go, we will see.

1757 ftr the photo I just took looks insanely more orange on phone than real life. The actual sky is very pale blue with greyish clouds which practically hide the volcano almost completely.  The lit from below loose clouds were orsngey earlier but they are not now.

1821 actually mildly cold in all the wind. I think the volcano is the hill on the right not the one of the left. Doh. No harm done, hard to tell with the cloud but also kind of obvious in hindsight

1825 going to go. Finished drink a while ago, no one is hassling me, but the sky is going to just get darker and we already have volcano and cloud silhouettes with no detail and I don't think it is that different now to what have seen previous nights and I do have the walk home.

Fairly cool to have been here all the same and depending on length of stay may come back another day.

1857 at Maria's for food. Surprising number of people seem to be here in a hostel quality, she seems very interesting and a character and probably quite nice but it would make me nervous she remembered me though and said my sslad like yesterday when I asked

Walk back fine, used phone as torch and certainly helpful in simple steetches (and to make myself visible to traffic) but not absolutely essential  shocked and impressed  by a big toad (?)  Hopping in the dark side road up from el what's it to the main road. Must be the life version of those I have seen squ@hed by the main road.

Will probably go get beer at local mini market and have it (sllo or otherwise) on terrace outside room after this then an earlyish bed.

1930 back at hostel, solo on terrace with a beer a few people hanging round in main xommon area and I accidentally seemed to say hola to one of them when I was actually acknowledging the dog I was citting past and the guy replied, but I think they were like a group of friends and it would have been inappropriate for me to try to join them and I suppose in theory I could have sat at another table out there but I hasn't been intending to so out of inertia if nothing else I didn't.

Genuinely surprised how many people seem to be staying at Maria's as guests.

Actually you know if may go have my beer on that main terrace. I just came back to drop something off  right? I don't expect chat but as an experiment and not being intimidated etc.

1934 I queried surf lesson time as hadn't heard anything and they said 9am. Fingers crossed that does give time for a 3h lesson but anyway while slightly early not absolutely insane, I may even have time to have breakfast a thousand, I'd not I have some rather smashed up by now raisin bread cake stuff.

2108 back in room. I asked and breakfast starts at 7 so if I want to I can eat before the lesson.

I think I will do a quick wash of two tops, have a shower and maybe a shave and then go to bed.

2114 oh, I took a bad photo of it, but with the A06, I don't know if it'll come out, but on the walk over to the school this morning I did see a price list in the sort of blackboard of the other school and they want $190 for 3 hours. It's possible that their sort of bulk packages were cheaper than the school I'm at, but basically it feels like I got cheaper the two, no idea which is best but I felt pretty satisfied today tbh. It also had something like $25 for 2 hours rental of equipment or something, so while I don't want to get ahead of myself, it does kind of feel like there's potential, you know, if I can get the basics down, that in the future this isn't such an insanely expensive activity to do intermittently, you know, when you're not paying for instruction.

I have no idea what happens if you're on your own, I mean this is one of the things I was hoping to talk to that Antipodean woman about, I haven't had the chance, because she went kitesurfing this morning based on talking to her yesterday and overhearing her at breakfast, and it's like she's with friends, but it's not particularly obvious that they're kitesurfers, so like can you do it on your own? I know the instructor today was saying in certain ways it's not good to do that, but if there's like a surf school there and you're hiring your gear, can you do it on your own and they provide sort of basic support and help you launch and stuff like that, I don't know. Anyway, just an aside.

2152 okay, done all that. There's a fairly small either spider or molted skin on the back of the door. I've taken a couple of photos. It is not green as it appears in those photos. It's a sort of dull grey black. It's not in good shape. If it's alive one, it's got five legs. I've not touched it obviously. I'm just gonna leave it there. It's fine, but just a quick note. So I've done all the stuff. I said I was going to do, you know, the laundry and everything and I think I'm more or less packed for tomorrow morning and I do feel a bit tired. Not too bad. I mean, I don't know if I'm gonna feel really beaten up tomorrow, but I mean the knee doesn't hurt like it did. That was just that random thing this morning and the foot's basically okay. So maybe I'll get a new load of aches and pains tomorrow after today's activities, but we'll see. So I'm more or less ready for tomorrow. I'll try and be up to have breakfast and we'll take it from there.

Thu 0727 didn't send this last night. Just ordered breakfast, a smidge late but I think ok. Didng sleep great but not terrible. Tiny bit nervous about class but sort of looking forward to it as well.

I did feel a bit achey about 4am but right now I am not actively aware of anything major.

P7 screen continues fucked but it is super unclear just how fucked and whether it mostly works, indeed it seems to be behaving itself now, if nay depend very precisely on the keyboard setup and height so the dodgy strip falls somewhere where it works ok by falling either side. There is also some iffiness re scrolling and dragging which affects more of the screen. Yet it is definitely better than with the screen protector in. I currently lean towards this being a relatively recent fault although who knows. I don't use the on screen keyboard that intensively when not travelling and maybe the screen protector got worse but the existing fault was there but just about tolerable and or felt like shitty design rather than a glitch for ages. Flip flopping.

It is not all that windrh right now and rather overcast, though not actively cold.

Of course I am not usually up quite this early here.

0800 back from breakfast. Did chat with antipodean woman, she said hi as I was paying for breakfast. (I do rexognise her but not confidently enough to have said anything.) Anyway I asked her about the kite surfing solo and she is on her own in that sense (no friends with her hlwho do it), she says people will generally help each other launch, sometimes there is a sort of gadget (a fake person to clip the kite onto) to help you launch yourself, and if you rent the gear they will usually include this kind of helping out in the rental. She said it is 60 dollars for 2 hours though, but still, this is potentially affordable as an intermittent holiday axfivity. And she said the last time she did it before the current 2-3 day streak was a year ago, for her it had been like riding a bike, she was a bit unsure about putting harness on at first but it came back. This is all reasonably promising and suggests things are possible and they don't refuse to let you rent if yo u are not 100% confisent and certain.

But let's get ready to go.

1826 just watching sunset on terrace (no one else here) bit heading out to dinner in a minute  will write up day later but fwiw (not that I had any reason to doubt her) the other kite school didbindeed list 65 not 25 for 2h rental on looking this morning. I dunno what the price is at my school and it may be cheaper but still this does make the actual ibstruction feel better value, albeit mixing schools so not a fair comparison I am basically paying 110 or maybe slightly less pro rate with bulk discounts for 2h ibstruction so less than twice the pure rental fee.

1835 at marias. Hey, it's my ometepe place,  they know me here.

The 5 legged or whatever spider on back of room door has gone, so it must have been live not a moult I guess.

1915 back on main terrace, Germanish group around, just having a coke zero from mini market outside hostel before going to room.

Will do write up in room using voice typing.

2009 bit of excitement. A snake a metre or two long just spotted off side of main terrace. Owner chap says not dangerous, it eats rats and stuff. I asked and he said it's a constrictor, and it is presumably not big enough to do anything to a human. Pretty cool watching it lift its head up and climb stairs etc.

But finished Coke, p7 keyboard and screen still shit and inconsistently so, but let's head back to room.

2027 found a scorpion in sink after (!) Cleaning teeth. Came out to tell staff and found them posing for photo with Germans with the snake. I did stroke it but no photo, felt very firm and cool (kind of as I would expect but still interesting). They say the scorpion might be dangerous and are going to look, not sure if they are there now or not.

2035 the two hostel chaps just came and discussed it and picked it up live in a tissue after doing something with a wooden stick. Had a bit of a chat with them, it is not lethal but would apparently have a very unpleasant sting, so I don't feel bad about getting them in to deal with it. I asked and the spiders aren't dangerous. I think I came across as reasonable and interested and not flapping., which to be fair I am not. Albeit I don't fancy a chance encounter with one of those scorpions!

2046 okay so I kind of want to go to bed but let's dictate this. So the lesson was basically okay it was emotionally a bit rocky to be honest I got a different instructor a Portuguese chap called Pietro I was a bit annoyed just at changing instructor full stop he seemed okay but I didn't feel quite as good and his sort of style was very much like not quite telling me off but it felt like that and it was I'd sort of fight down a certain amount of irritation and it didn't seem to be going all that well and it was a bit frustrating I mean it's very early days yet so don't get too worked up about it and I did kind of warm to him a bit towards the end anyway and anyway we'll see how it goes

The lesson was only two hours. I didn't query that when we were out in the water (we didn't actually do any boarding, the closest we got was a little bit of body drag which I wasn't doing very well but I did sort of kind of get it going right at the end of the lesson) so it was only two hours. I didn't query that when we were out there but when we got, I thought it might be about the weather or it might be some judgment they'd made on my competence or something. I wasn't acting upset and didn't feel that upset but when I got back I asked if I could do three hours tomorrow. Did I say weather because anyway. And they said yes but essentially it transpired that two hours is the normal and recommended amount and I'm not going to push that. It's just the way their pricing works in three hour packages and stuff confuse me a bit and the first lesson was three hours because there's a theory bit on the front. Anyway, it's fine and I think the way the pricing works is actually better than I thought and basically it's almost sort of a tiered structure and the more I pay the cheaper it gets and they just express it slightly confusingly as if you have to buy a bulk package of so many hours up front. Not that it's a huge  deal because the discounts aren't massive but anyway I paid basically $110 for the two hours today.

So I've signed up for the two hours and I have a class at 8.30 tomorrow morning and I need to be there five or ten minutes early to get ready which is fine you know I should be able to have breakfast and if I can't I've got snacks I'm not too worried it is a bit early but just give me the rest of the day free anyway let's not jump ahead one of the things I was thinking about this is that having discovered that the basic thing is two hours and it's probably not smart to try pushing that although the total sort of training budget doesn't change the time budget and the associated accommodation budget does since I'm obviously only getting two hours of time in towards whatever competence qualification level is needed you know or giving up because I've given it a fair try and it's not working I'll need to be here longer to clock up any given number of hours I reflected on this a little bit I checked on booking I thought well I'm definitely staying tonight anyway and the price was $19 effectively on booking so I went to the reception and extended it and that's no problem oh by the way I also found out from talking to that woman this morning I saw already knew this from known but it wasn't quite clear they will actually give you a cup of hot water and a spoon so on the way back from the lesson I went and bought a packet of some cappuccino type coffee sachets and I got them to give me some water and I had one of those when I got back from the lesson so that's a small saving very very tangential that

So on reflection my inclination is I don't want I need to be careful not to go sunk cost fallacy and overdo it But you know I want to give the kitesurfing a fair shot. It is kind of nice to be here It's quite nice that this little sort of goal stroke project has organically arisen out of nothing You know I've not got anything specific I need to do or want to do except la union volcano not a big deal because it's right on the way back anyway And it will only take a day or two whatever and it's not absolutely bucket list of course. so I have four weeks left well maybe not right as I write this but basically four weeks I have time I can afford time budget wise to spend another two weeks here if I want it is kind of nice I'm starting to get into it. I may change to another hostel in a dorm or a private for some sort of social experimentation But I want to get the lessons at least a bit on the way first even if I carry them on after I change I Think it's fine. I mean also to some extent if you want to look at it as like future It's like I had nothing special to do It's much better if the story (even just for myself) for this trip is "oh Yeah, that's when I spent two weeks on omatepe learning to kite surf" rather than " oh well I was doing that but it seemed to be taking a bit too long so even though I had nothing else to do I cleared off so I could vaguely bumble around Nicaragua and maybe find a nice beach somewhere or maybe have some cool stuff happen That I didn't really know what I was looking for" and actually what I don't want to walk away from something Which has sort of dropped in my lap as a thing to do and a challenge and blah blah blah

So obviously with the lesson being relatively early at nine, I got back to the hostel and I've been thinking about renting a bike, a pedal bike, so I asked at reception after I'd had my cappuccino from the hot water and they said they recommended a place around the corner, I went there and there was no one there. I wondered up and down the road a bit and I was thinking I'd maybe wander towards Balgate and see if there was anywhere, because I was sure I'd seen somewhere with an actual sign which there wasn't at the mi ranchito place that the hostel recommended. The owner sort of chap from the current surfing school drove past on a moped and pulled up and said hi to me and I thought oh I'll ask him and he said the same mi rancheeta place and as I was planning to anyhow I went back and there was a guy there and I sort of grabbed him. Long story short I paid 180 cordobus for three hours of rental, he wanted me to leave an identity document with him but I would have been reluctant, it's not like I'm hiring a quad bike or a scooter but I gave him my photo copied and rather dog-eared and delaminating mini passport copy and he took it with a bit of hesitation, he asked which hostel I was in and stuff.

The bike, not that I'm an expert, was not in super condition, it was some sort of basic mountain bike. I could not get the gears figured out and not that I'm terribly familiar with these two shifter derailleur types, but I'm not sure it was working, maybe it was. I bodged around and sort of clutched it into having a high and low and made do with that. I didn't have a helmet, didn't really want one, but I didn't have one or a puncture repair kit, not that I would have known how to use it. I basically cycled up through Balgate and just kept going and I was getting a bit knackered, but it was kind of fun and I think basically I got nearly to Potrerillos and I stopped at a mini market. It turned out I actually passed a few without noticing it, but this one was on Google Maps for some reason, so I stopped there and I bought, I was very thirsty, I'd stopped to have a bit of water on the way. I had like a 2 litre bottle of coke with sugar in and I drank about half of it there and I finished the rest off on the ride back. If there was very steep hills I got off and walked, I did do some moderate hills, bear in mind I don't know what I'm doing with the gears apart from the fitness, and I walked up more hills on the way back. I was a bit worried that I would crap out or that the bike would crap out or I wouldn't get back in time, but I think I did basically do according to organic maps, just looking at the route, 14 kilometres out and maybe that back, or maybe it's 12 kilometres out, I can't remember, I think it might be 14, but obviously you could look it on GPS route or whatever. I didn't do too badly considering obviously sweating like a bastard, I gave my trousers that I'd put on I think back last Sunday in Leon, I gave them a hand washing sink and I've switched to the laundry, the grey pair, I'll maybe keep those hand washed, is a proper washer, so I'll maybe keep those black trousers for activity for the next day or two because I'll probably hire a bike again at some point.

On a completely random note that I should have mentioned earlier, I had my prescription doggle sort of on around my neck during the kitesurfing today but I didn't actually put them on because they tend to hurt my eyes if I were wearing them for too long and it's not super convenient what with the helmet and the cap I'm wearing under it to shield the sun because the shirt is abetian and although that might account for the problems, to be honest it didn't feel like it was that big a deal, I didn't really feel that I needed perfect vision, I mean I had them there to put on if I did, so anyway that's just a buy the buy.

So when I was in Balgue which is nearly back and all the hills much further on than there, oh by the way once you get past Balgue a little bit it's like the road is even quieter and you stop even seeing tourists on scooters basically it's it's locals on scooters and a few trucks and buses and assuming I had some basic lesson like they were giving in the street out front of the Santa Ana Hostel I think on a practical level I wouldn't really have any qualms hiring a scooter and riding it on the roads here the traffic levels really are so low there are virtually no forks in the road most the time it's like it would be fine I don't think I would do that given all the myriad legal and general so on implications of motor vehicles and accidents and insurance and leaving your passport with the rental place and what if it gets stolen I mean like these things can happen with a pedal bike but it's a much lower stakes proposition right but nonetheless the traffic level it's like in Santa Ana it was not just nerves or practicalities about you know insurance and stuff the traffic levels like at least in the town would have been higher not necessarily a big deal but you know you'd have had to be going across intersections and stuff like that to get to and from the hostel whatever it was like out in the country whereas honestly here it's like I do feel it would not be actually particularly suicidal or dangerous for anyone else for me to be driving around cautiously on a scooter despite my general lack of driving experience.

Anyway, so when I was in Balgue, I think I pulled up outside someplace, but I was due of pulling up a lot to stop and rest and walk up hills and have a drink, and also the traffic gets a little bit thicker at Balgue and I would sometimes stop or whatever, but I pulled up outside this little, not quite shack, it was an icish little building, and there was a really nice chap there actually, and it said outside they were selling fresh coconuts, but it was all something out, Ilado Stolece, and I said, oh have you got them, and he said, yeah, yeah, yeah, and I said how much is it, and he said, oh it's ten cordobers, and I said, oh great, I'll have one then please, I mean probably taking a risk, but it was nice, and he just brought me this little plastic bag full of sort of frozen, I think it was strawberry and milk that had been blended up, and it was fairly solid, and I sort of tore a hole in the bag and sucked at it, and you know probably got all sorts of contamination off the bag, and I'm standing there eating it with the bike propped up, and he says, and he comes back and he says, oh no, no sorry, it's only five, and he gives me the five cordobers, I mean the ten was already nothing, and I gave him the bag afterwards, and he said, oh yeah, thank you, thank you, take that, because you know, to put him in the bin, and so a bit further down the road, I was having another rest and drinking my coke, and moped pulls up scooter, whatever it is, and I think he was French guy, the one I chatted to back in Rick's hostel, and then who turned up at the hostel the next day, he was there, he had a friend on the back of the bike, he didn't say anything, we were speaking in English, I don't know whether his friend was someone I met before, but he reminded me who he was, but I did recognise him after a little bit, we had a bit of a chat, and he said he'd maybe seen me crossing the Maxi Pali car park in Granada, where there was the chicken place, not necessarily that day, he wasn't sure, it could have been me, but he might not have seen me, anyway we didn't chat that much, but you know, that was that was nice, a couple of minutes chat at the side of the road, and a nice little coincidence.

Oh going back when I started off riding the bike I was like super cautious and like fortunate there's no forks in the road well there's one fork like by the hostel it was that was no not a big deal exactly yes I'm on the right side of the road literally and figuratively but I'm still feeling really kind of nervous and like I'm doing something wrong or something's gonna go badly wrong and I don't know how it happened but I think in hindsight I had the kickstand out because at one point about five minutes in maybe going through probably ten minutes in maybe going through Balgate some guy sort of shouts I think who is he going at me and I sort of ignore him and maybe he's just talking to a friend but I feel a bit guilty in case I've done something wrong and I think in hindsight he was trying to warn me about that because about 15 minutes later I'm on a much quiet stretch of road and there's a local woman on a moped and she calls at me and she tells me in maybe Spanish maybe English she said the word kick or something she points out that the thing is down and I go oh sorry and I put it up I didn't rip the end off or it wasn't abrading I think it was just down and maybe a bit unsafe or people just noticed and wanted to let me know don't know how I started off with it like that but you know for what it's worth I started to feel less nervous as time went on I mean I was a bit worried the bike would crap out or that I would crap out or I get puncture or something or that there'd be a dog but I want there was less traffic on the road and I was getting a bit more convinced cur confident and like I was probably overly riding on the brakes going down the hills because it was very gravelly and like it's not super steep but there's you know enough up and down it's like I'm not super confident I don't trust myself I don't trust the bike I'm not wearing a helmet so I was trying to keep it really slow and I was riding the brakes a lot you know but it's fine

So I got back and dropped the bike off fine, and I think I went and got myself a drink at Ocean Market and brought it back to the hostel. Yeah, I think I did, and I sat on the terrace a little bit, and then I went into my room and did the laundry and faffed around a bit. And then I went back out onto the terrace, which was deserted towards sunset, and I think that's where I already written up to. So that's probably the basic gist of the day, if I didn't miss anything.

I'm not super keen to go overloading every day with activity, but given the very early lesson tomorrow, if I feel basically okay, I'm a bit worried I'll be stiff after the bike ride, but I think it'll be fine. I had a shower if I didn't say when I got back and was in the hostel room before going out for the sunset. Tomorrow I'm thinking I might do the kayak thing, probably walk down to where it was, maybe WhatsApp the guy first, but it might be a bit awkward because my shorts will be wet from kitesurfing, but I might walk down to where I was the other day and have a kayak for an hour or two and maybe a coffee and then come back. I could get a bike, but I don't think I need it. And then I'm kind of thinking that maybe another day, perhaps the day after, depending on lessons and stuff, I might hire a bike and see if I can ride round to the track. I think it might be at San Ramon, which is a 40-minute hike because the guy I met who was on the moped, the guy I met at Santa Ana, he was telling me about this. There's a 40-minute hike up to the waterfalls, I think not to the lake at the top of the volcano. That's probably, although I need to research it a bit more involved. But there's a 40-minute hike up to some falls on the volcano, the eastern volcano, I think it begins with an M. And I could probably, having looked at organic maps, the ride I did today was probably about the same length, maybe the road's hillier, maybe it's not. The ride is about the same length to there. So in theory, like if I had a longer day and I hired the bike for longer or whatever, maybe it was a day when the lesson was cancelled, I could cycle to there, leave the bike at the bottom, do the hike up and cycle back. So, you know, compensating for not having a scooter or something. I have also thought that I could try and circumnavigate the volcano. That would be about twice the distance I did today because there wouldn't be the there and back, it would just be a circuit. And I think, you know, if I hired the bike for the whole day and I was prepped and I could buy some bits and pieces at some shops on the way, that might be quite cool. But I think it's probably a bad idea to mix that in with doing a volcano hike, you know, so not with the waterfall hike. So maybe that's the thing to look at first. And then if I have time, because I may be hanging around here for a week or more, you know, maybe then another time, I will consider doing the whole circuit around the volcano, the eastern volcano. There are the two, you know, I think it's the eastern one.

Okay, I'm sorry this is all just stream of consciousness, but it's the voice dictation. I want to bash it out. Obviously, if I really care in the future, cross-referencing some of this with the GPS logs might be instructive, assuming they survive, which they probably will. Anyway, I'm gonna send this now. I think I forgot to send it yesterday, so I'm gonna send this and then I'm gonna go to bed.