The village is quite poor so any clothes/toys etc for the kids is always appreciated. A lot of youngsters are starting to surf so any wax or stickers would also be well received. Getting There

We are on the coast in northern Nicaragua, near a town named Chinandega (30-40 min away) which takes about two hours from Managua airport.

Our taxi driver connection in Managua will be waiting for you (after you give us your flight details) and will be holding a sign. The trip should cost $80 total from the airport to Joe who will set you up in the cabin. Or from Chinandega it will cost $15.

Yes but it's a mission involving a few connections. You might want to bus as far as Leon or Chinandega and get us to organise you a taxi from there. You would have to start before midday.

The cabin is close to two beaches- Aposentillo and the Boom, both about a 10-15 minute walk away(exit my property at top end). Aposentllo is good for beginner/novice surfers while the Boom is better for intermediate-advanced. To get to the main peak at the Boom it's about another 10-15 minutes walk up the beach.

See the map (place page)- Aposintello is an easy, straight run. For the Boom you can either ride up the nearby beach access road and along the sand (mid to low tide) or turn left on the main road that runs parallel to the sea and enter Chay's, he has a restaurant there so you can buy cold drinks, lunch etc after surfing.

No but the Marina does which is close to where you launch for the Point. Just take your laptop and buy a drink at their restaurant.

The shower is a screened area a few steps down from the balcony. The floor is tiled and you hang a solar shower from a tree inside the screen and have piping hot water. The toilet is a "longdrop" style screened area about 20 yards from the cabin. It has a sit down seat and is dug deep. So to answer your question, for the cool adventurous girlfriend yes, for the prissy princess type, probably not.

There are a bunch of citrus trees, a few avocado ones and a ton of mango trees. I eat a lot of fresh mangos during my stays.

Yes it's fully lockable and watched over by the trusty caretaker and her family night and day. If you have any worries with cash or passports you might like to leave them with Joe for peace of mind. Remember that you can easily get cash out at the ATMs in Chinandega in both local currency and US dollars.

No not at this point, sorry, as I don't want the cabin to be a fire hazard. You can get Donna Angela, the caretaker (who lives next door) to cook inexpensive massive meals which are very popular. You can also get fresh fish from the marina area for her to cook. If you need to keep anything cold (beer springs to mind!) ice is sold cheaply a couple of doors down.

Yes. The cabin has a cooler box and very cheap ice is sold just a couple of doors down. It's recommended you buy a tray of beers in Chinandega from the supermarket before you arrive.

Basically to cover costs. It's good to keep my neighbors in work and also cover the costs of any maintenance or improvements to the cabin. The more people stay, the more styley I can make it.

Contact me to check availability. When you are ready to book I'll tell you how much the deposit is to secure your booking (usually around 30%.) I'll then send you a Paypal request to lock it in. The remainder must be paid to Joe on arrival at the cabin as its needed for caretaker costs, sheets, water etc.

Yes as long as they are available. Shortboards (from 6'1 to 6'6) cost $8 a day. There is one longboard (9'8) which costs $10 a day. Bring your own wax.

No. It's just starting to get known so now is a good time to visit. There are usually 3-4 decent peaks up and down the beach plus a few other wave options so crowds are not yet a problem.

A rash shirt or two (it's too warm dor a wetsuit), tropical wax (sticky bumps is good), a ding repair kit and or Solarez, two or more good leashes and 2-3 boards (stuff as many as you can in one big boardbag to reduce the costs that the airlines usually charge.) Basically the beach gets very hollow so a tube riding semi gun is a good idea (make sure it's thickly glassed!), the point and other beaches can be really playful so your standard shortboard would be good to have and during the rainy season (June to September) there are some bigger swells so one other gun would be well worth bringing to make sure you don't miss out.

www.wetsand.com do a pretty good job. They update their long range report every Saturday. Look for swells from the SW to W direction. Also check www.magicseaweed.com for swell graphs with winds and star ratings.

Joe will help you with that. Typically the boat costs US$30 for the return trip divided up by how many people are on board. He runs excellent value, popular fishing trips (big or small) and supplies the rods. You'll need to bring your own spools though.

We have two waves seasons- summer (November to March), when the winds are offshore most of the day and the swell is smaller, and winter when the swell is bigger and the winds are usually clean in the morning and seabreezes kick in in the afternoon. The water enough for trunks all year round.

If the Boom is breaking clean and you know how to drop in and hold your line then yes, yes I can.

Yes. You can change them almost anywhere for a good rate. You can also take out US dollars from the cash machines.

Believe it or not, yes. It's currently rated as one of the safest countries in Central America. Tourism is on the up and it has been named by Lonely Planet as one of the top 10 countries to visit and is currently attracting a lot of foreign investment. Like anywhere, pay attention in big cities and don't go wandering around in dangerous areas at night. Where we are located on the coast is a very safe area, and you have the caretaker and her family next door watching the place 24-7.

Like other Central American countries, Tetanis, Typhoid and Hepatitis A are recommended. I've never heard of anybody catching malaria or dengue fever there.

No. Typically it rains in the morning and later in the afternoon or evening. It's difficult to predict but there can be long periods of sunshine between the rains.

Not much. Some of the grommets are catching on. Joe will help you out if you get stuck. Basically it's a great place to practise and improve whatever Spanish you know without going to Spanish school!