Chinandega

From Potosi to Chinandega we had first 20km of dirt road, which in the heat was a dust bath. After that we hit pavement and sat down to eat some El Salvadorian mangoes. We were low on water and Erin feeling the  pressure so she left and Rigel,  riding on his own to catch up saw a spider monkey roadside chained up and shared a few of his mangoes with the poor squeaking fellow.

A spider monkey enjoying some mangoes Rigel shared with her

The ride was a lot easier once on the pavement, but still very warm. Erin's rear tire was low, and we quickly discovered it would need a repair and only held air for about 40 minutes on pumping. We stopped at an eco lodge to inquire aboutpricing, but didn't prefer the 40 dollar charge so we took 10 liters of water they offered us from their filters, when back to the highway and crossed the road staying with a family on their rural estate. It was very modest with a dirt porch, out house, well, and cooking fire. Still, we needed a place nearby as the light was fading and Erin's bike still needed a repair. A bucket shower directly out of a well is a new one!

Rigel working on Erin's bike before sunset at a rural Nicaragua home with a child perched in a tree above him

Our tent set up in an orchard of apple type things. When parakeets came to eat the fruit, the woman living there were take a slingshot to them to protect the fruit.

The ride was a bit windy into Chinandega but was mostly pleasant; fairly flat too. Stayed in a nice hotel that was having some repairs done to the bathroom showers sliding door so it was only 10 dollars instead of 20 or 30, but no air con. We contemplated hiking volcano san cristobal, but instead pushed on to leon in hopes of finding better accomadations. One strange thing about the town was that all the directions people gave us were accurate! Didn't leave til mid morning so it was a very hot ride.  Got a little lost finding our way out of town as there was a parade/rally on the main street and we wanted to avoid it. The parade was about Nicaragua wanting consulates around the world. The wind was completely against us the whole day.