Nicaragua and getting to the harbour

 

An easy crossing gets me into Nicaragua, things get simpler, slower and considerably cheaper. A land of lakes and volcanoes and sadly just another Latin American country invaded by the Spanish 400 years ago and more recent US interventions to prevent the construction of a canal and fighting the rise of the guerilla movement. I’m constantly hailed on the roads in the hope of hitchhikers getting a ride until they see my bags taking up the space behind me. Leon was my first stop, yet another colonial town but this one has an unusual charm as it seems little money is spent on restoring the buildings and is not so obsessed with comfortable tourism. The beer is better here. There’s so many river crossings that never get tiring to gaze over especially when they open up to the sea or snake through a deep valley. I’ve now reached the edge of my large map of Mexico so I spent an afternoon searching for a map of Nicaragua in vain and settle for a sketch of the country from google maps which is working well. Getting lost is always fun until the directions I’m offered contradict each other. A cop catches me out overtaking on a continuous line and sends me on my way after a pep talk and a $4 bribe. The sunny lunch stops in the mountains are so restful, people watching as the buses flow through, the commotion builds then returns to silence. The chatty women cooking away with humble facilities amuse themselves by poking fun at me on a ride up to Esteli. Is that your horse they ask, nodding towards Sixto and stand nearby for a camera phone shot. More rice and beans and tough cuts of beef.   

 

The two lakes are vast and cover a big chunk of the country. Granada sits on Lake Nicaragua where I take in a few days and then take a ferry to Ometepe, the island within it. A real paradise it is, two towering active volcanoes on an island in a lake in the tropics.  A natural wonder. A cruise inland on the surprisingly good roads takes me to Fidel's hostel where I stay for a few days. It's more a commune with no other foreigners and an eclectic mix of Nicaraguans of all ages with assigned roles in managing the homestead. They're a warm, curious bunch who make me very welcome.

 

I set off at sunrise one morning to hike the 1400m high volcano. I chose not to pay the inflated price for a guide so take it alone. The hike up takes two and a half hours passing wet, muggy, humid and cold stages and I'm offered avocadoes from the monkeys pushing them down at my feet and scattering off. There's too much mist in the air to enjoy the views at the peak but I rest at the nearby lake and share mangoes with a Spanish couple who I passed on the way up.

On descending I daydream with my ipod on and somehow take the wrong turn down a path and after two hours I realise I'm off track. The roaring noise from the nearby animals start to intimidate me and I get paranoid that I'm being chased by when it gets closer and louder. Eventually after I jog further down the path comes to an end and the forest opens up into a huge clearing. I can see the lakes waters which put me at ease but have no idea where I am. After crossing the fields and roll under a couple of fences, I see a farmer who directs me through several farms to get to the main road. He assures me the noises were just howler monkeys, louder this time of the year he says. After asking for permission to pass through several farms and stopping to chat to the guys working the corn crops I eventually make it to the road and am guided 3 further kilometres to my starting point, no less than four hours from leaving the peak. After a few more days of hanging by the natural springs, leisurely walks and rides throughout the island I farewell my Nicaraguan family at the hostel and set off early to catch the morning ferry to the mainland and ride on to San Juan del Sur to meet Simon and Clare and their mate Luke who flew in from Canada for a short trip. I met Simon and Clare a few weeks earlier in Guatemala, we caught up in Honduras to go diving and now we spend a few days surfing and chilling out in this fun surf town in the Nicaraguan south. We get the diving group back when Steve arrives a couple days on and Ian on the weekend. We do the local rum, hangovers and surfing and enjoy our last days before the group splits once again.

  

 



 

 

 

An evening spent visiting the turtles at a nearby beach coming out to the shore. Hundreds come by two or three times a year for the six month season to dig a large hole in the sand, lay 90-120 eggs, bury them and waddle off the sea again and swim on as far as Peru, never to see their offspring which hatch a month or so on. 

 

I leave San Juan and Nicaragua, farewelling Steve and Ian who have given me plenty of laughs  and good times over the past few weeks. I have less than a week to get to Turtle Caye marina on the Caribbean coast in Panama where Sixto and I along with 16 others are getting aboard the Wildcard and sailing to Colombia, something I've been looking forward to for a while. Simon and Clare were supposed to be on the boat, unfortunately it was overbooked so they've been forced on to another leaving on the same day. We plan to meet in Panama City in a few days. I spend the following days getting through two difficult border crossings, the Costa Rica and Panama customs procedures become the most disorganized and difficult thus far. I stick to the superbly paved Panamerican Highway for this section, spending only 24 hours in Costa Rica , including my longest ride of 652km's one day and am surprisingly let off with warnings for traffic infringements on three occasions, one in Costa Rica and twice in Panama. Who says the police are all corrupt and out to get you? I can't complain so far. If the highlight whilst charging through Costa Rica was avoiding the high prices and winding through the forests of the south, the highlight of Panama was the cheapest fuel I've found so far, crossing the Panamerican bridge high above the canal as I approached the city and visiting the locks the following day. It brought me back to crossing the Golden Gate back in my first week and excitingly been pushed by the high winds feeling high in the sky. Three nights in Panama City during a weekend was a fun time, the old town is particularly beautifully and the city itself well spread out along the waters. I spend my last day in Central America meeting the Caribbean once again and arriving a few hours early to the marina to meet Debbie,Wayne and Carlos the crew of the sailboat and figure out a way to get Sixto on safely ......      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watching the commercial ships pass through the canal and waiting patiently as the locks balance the water levels & with Lui and Clare at Panama City harbour