Chirripo River and Junction Crossing

After La Virgen, we road over tons of roadside streams and rivers all extremely inviting. We were surrounded by super lush jungle but it never stopped raining on us. The few times the sun did show itself it was awful as it immediately became hot and extremely humid. That night we asked a man welding outside his house under his large shed if we could camp under his shed, he agreed but then decided to open his house for us to use instead. He lives in Quebrador on the river Chirripo. The house wasn't set up to keep mosquitos out so we set up our tent in the room. Lucky we went with a two man tent for this trip. We cooked then went to bed early, tired from the wet ride.

Pozo Azul in La Virgen

Poison arrow frog: don't eat with your hands after touch them. If the poison on their skin gets to your blood, you die.

The frog's camo isn't as effective in hand. 

Rigel balancing on the rocks under a waterfall near the Poca Azul site.

The road towards La Virgen was a bit hilly and hot in the morning but by the afternoon it had started to cloud over again. Its great riding weather when it's cloudy without the wet part. Another group of cyclists Maggie had been in touch with recommended La Virgen for the hikes and camping so we decidd to spend a few nights there. We found an adventure company called Pozo Azul and they let us camp for free under one of their big sheds. The property used to be a cattle ranch so it has tons of space for use.
The next day Rigel, Maggie and Bryan went on a nature hike, and saw a ton of poison arrow frogs, little brown frogs that looked like leaf litter, a fer de lance snake, Puma tracks, toucans, macaws, and many other animals. They also saw walking ferns and swam at a nice waterfall in the middle of the hike. Our guide, Max was very good - he would stop and say "smell that? A wild boar is nearby." Or "listen!" and then start clicking his fingers and a bird in the bush would respond with a similar click and start excitedly flitting back and forth in the bush.
 I stayed at our camp and worked on my bike and some of my stuff that needed repairs. We cooked all our meals and were invited to use the food in the garden as well. The garden had surprising things like ginger, star fruit, black pepper corn vines, and some more typical things like sugar cane, tomato, green onions, cabbage, yucca root, oranges, guava, papaya trees, and some hot peppers like a red bonnet pepper or maybe a cayenne. For the second day we went on a rafting trip down the Rio Sarapiqui for $150 for all four of us. We saw howler monkeys and walls of fern on the river's edge. It was a lot of fun on the rapids much like being on the Little Saskatchewan with inflatables.

From left, Erin, Bryan, and Maggie. During the rafting trip down the Sarapiqui river.

Erin inspecting the scene on a suspension bridge during our short night hike.

Poison arrow frog wandred into our camping area during one of the fierce rains.

land of a thousand rivers

We crossed river after river on the north side of the volcanic mountain range in central Costa Rica

The next day was a lot of uphill and in the rain mostly. In order to dry off, Bryan and Maggie rented a hotel room and we camped on their front step under the cover of their porch.

More storm clouds rolling in...

Erin riding into some blue skies

soccer fields

Giant grasshopper type critter with sensible camoflauge.

That wonderful starry sky aparently disappeared and was replaced with rain clouds in the middle of the night so we hastily threw our fly over the tent, but got quite drenched in the process.  It rained quite vigorously and surprisingly in the middle of the night, so we got quite wet throwing our rain fly on the tent. With quite damp things in the morning we started cycling again, starting, again, quite late due to needing to lessen the moisture on our tents.

We cycled about 3 km, and stopped for lunch at a Costa Rican soda shop, which there version of a comedor. Again we paid too much, though not as bad as the first day where a fried chicken combo had been $7. Started riding again and had on and off rain and rather hilly countryside.We stopped at a large fruit stand, bought big mangos and tried a fruit that looks like a just forming coconut, but it is red and has to be boiled for an hour becoming soft and tasting like a chestnut.

Waited over an hour for a downpour to end and was served coffee by one of the super friendly employees. Once we started out we immediately saw toucans in the trees and flying. They are very recognizable as they flap their wings with great enthusiasm so as to not take a nose dive because their beaks are so big. 

Riding only 25km due to the rain, we ended the day by asking some locals if we could camp outside their church or soccer field. Either was fine, and we decided the shelter of the soccer facility was better than the small covered areas of the church doors. It rained once again in the night, but not before we had a chance to hang quite a few things up to dry, and harvest a ton of coconuts to eat. Yum!

Drying our things after an unexpected rain

Orange fields

Border crossing by boat

The morning after dad took a bus back to Managua to catch a plane, we went down to the San Carlos docks to catch a ferry up the Rio Frio to Los Chiles, Costa Rica. We caught up with Katherine and her husband (also travelling to Panama by bike) at immigration and asked to be on the next boat out, trying not to make a big deal that the already full boat had to hold six bikes and all their bags and us of course. So after a big ordeal about which ferry we would be on and when they put us all on the first one at 10:30 stashing four bikes in the back and two on the prow. The two on the prow got a really good wash while ours stayed nice and dry. The border crossing went smoothly and we all somehow skipped over the bag search because our bikes were not in the line...

We rode into the town and were welcomed by the grocery store giving away hot plates of food. Afterwards we went for more food as it didn't quite fill our bellies, but were quite shocked at how expensive it was, almost double that of Nicaragua. Before leaving town we filled our water dromedaries (from a tap! Yay free potable water!) and headed to the highway south. We were not sure how far we would get but managed to make it about 20km from the border. Just before the town of Pavonwe stopped at an orange orchard that looked great to camp in. The men working said it was alright to camp there so we were set. The guys even had a hose for a shower which is pretty necessary in the heat. We spent the rest of our time cooking and eating the left over oranges from the harvest. So many oranges! Big semis full of oranges kept passing us by that were headed to Limon on the Caribbean coasr either for shipment or for making delicious juice. We went to bed after cooking dinner under a starry clear sky.

Camping in an orange field

San Carlos, Nicaragua

At the end of our overnight, 14 hour - come 18 hour - ferry ride we arrived early morning to the southern shore of lake Ometepe at a town called San Carlos. San Carlos is the gateway to the Rio San Juan on the Ometepe side, and is a town with a lot of history. During our time there, Bryan, Erin, Pete, Maggie, and Rigel enjoyed the local sights including, on land, an old fort infested with very hard working leaf-cutter ants.

Leaf cutter ants haulting flower and leaf parts back to their hive

Boats tied up in San Carlos, Nicaragua

We also paid 100 american for a 4 hour boat tour of the area that included an hour on the Rio Frio and a couple hours on the Rio San Juan. We made it right up to a new bridge that will link the east side of lake Ometepe with Costa Rica. The strange thing is, all the markers on the bridge indicate it was Japanese funded. The local guide said they traded fishing rights for a bridge. The devastation we saw in Bahia de Concepcion on the Baja California came up in my mind, and i really hope the Japanese refrain from scouring the seabed of kelp and coral setting the whole area back 20 years this time.

Sign denoting the partnership betwen Japan and Nicaragua. What happens to the bridge if a canal is built?

The boat tour was fantastic though, and we saw so many birds from the melodious blackbird grackles we've been seeing since Mexico, to innumerable varieties of fly catcher, king fisher, tiger herons, parakeets, and various and sundry others. On land, we saw a tethered caiman crocodilis, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, and white faced monkeys, as well as so called jesus lizards that run on the water's surface and a few tortoise husks on the river bank.

My hand is a lot closer to the camera than the 18 inch long headed crocodile yearling in front of me.

We didn't have to go so far to enjoy a show as our hotel hada wild, grown over back yard that featured many creatures from two foot lizards bobbing our their mating calls to a tortiose that wandered to close and caught the attention of some other hotel guests. For $4, we bought a couple 375 mL bottles of 5 year Flor de Caña rum and learned to enjoy the sweet liquor alongside tasty mangos from the market.
Unfortunately, the airport decided to run the airplane to Managua only on two inconvenient days of the week, so dad had to take a bus back to Managua, preferring to do so Thursday night for his flight 13 hours later. While loitering around town, however, we stumbled across a drama unfolding above a local hostal. A sloth was in the power lines above the building while a fellow tried to keep him busy or bring him down while the Bomberos were enroute and the locals gathered and looked on.

Granada with Pete

Leaving the lake we decided to split a cab ride with Maartin, our new Dutch friend who was also headed to Granada, instead of being squished onto a bus on an erratic holiday schedule. The staff at La Libertad were happy to see us again for the... Fifth?... time and this time they had many rooms available. After settling in we all went for lunch at the Garden Cafe, filling my craving for a really good salad. Before dark I started in on fixing my flat tire and changing out my tires for my two new Schwalbes Pete brought me from Vancouver. The next morning we were headed to San Carlos via ferry but not before fixing the hole I missed in my tube. Rigel stopped for a burrito to go, while Erin and Peter got fruit smoothies. The ferry was PACKED with people. The Thursday ferry hadn't run so the monday ferry had a back up of people and merchandise. Pete rented a hammock chair, while Erin and Rigel mostly stuck to the crowded indoor benches. In either case, none of us got a solid nights sleep on the supposed 14 hour ferry ride that took closer to 18 hours due to crowds and delays. Bryan and Maggie got on the ferry at Ometepe and thus had a 13 hour ferry ride too. We found a hotel in San Carlos on the San Juan river, both within a few hours of the costa rican border, and a short plane ride away from Managua for dad.

And back to Managua

We left our bikes in Granada at La Libertad Hospedaje after a couple days of rest and relaxation in town, then took a bus back to Managua again to meet dad. Once in Managua, we returned to the hotel we had been to twice before, paying too much again to have air conditioning in the morning. Actually, all the hotels we visited in Managua were either grossly over priced or just gross. Pete flew in at 9pm or so and we caught a taxi back again. We caught up a bit talking about tectonic fault lines and our plans for travel, deciding in the morning to head for the Pueblos Blancos.

Erin napping enroute back to Managua

We caught a taxi to the bus station in the morning, and found that the easter holidays had made the bus station a little deserted but then extremely crowded on the buses that did run. We squeezed off the bus at Catarina, had a snack and took a tuk tuk up to the Mirador (viewpoint) in town.

Sitting in Catarina looking at Apoyo

After taking in the view (again) we wandered back down the hill in hopes of finding a nice hotel. None existed so we decided to splurge and headed down to Lago de Apoyo on another tuk tuk. We stayed at the Peace Project for two nights. The Peace Project is a school but they also rent out rooms. There was also a kitchen with a set menu and amazing cook.

Having a meal at Lago de Apoyo

We noticed right away the abundance of howler monkeys lurking in the trees overhead. One of the women there said we were pretty lucky to see them as they are not always there. Our time was spent lazing around, swimming, eating good food with great cmpany and conversation and watching howler monkeys. For the Easter weekend it seemed all the locals were out at the lake blaring their music. The lights in our room flickered to the bass a block away.

Howler monkeys over our hostel in the trees

Lago de Apoyo being a crater lake without any feed we wondered about the population of fish and found out there are 5 different species that all diversified from a single species but no one knows how they got there but there are a few current theories such as the fish were brought by a tornado or birds or the lake overflowed at some point.

Pete and Rigel going for a s3im in Apoyo

The Last Managua

After Kacie made her way to the airport, we made up our minds to move our bikes further south. We started out around 9 and finally visited some of the points of interest in Managua including a huge abandoned church in the downtown core that looks like it is about to fall apart, with huge cracks in the masonry.

 Lago de Managua was nice to finally see up close, though we did not take a swim as it is known to be quite polluted. We started cycling uphill away from the city centre and the lake and, after an hour of uphill a fellow with a pickup stopped and offered us a ride to Masaya. Of course you can't turn down a free ride so we piled our bikes in the back of his truck and up the hill we went. From what we gathered with our poor spanish he was headed to Granada and we had the choice of where we wanted to end up. We took a side trip to Volcano Masay, which was nice because you are not allowed to walk up to the crater because of the sulfer dioxide rising out of the crater. While at the crater you are only allowed to spend five minutes at the edge or you start coughing. They posted signs saying the volcano could start spewing rock and ash any moment and to not to panic. Very reassuring.

Back in the truck we took in the amazing views of the countryside as we got back to the road heading to Masaya. We took a quick stop at the artesian market where we ate a quick lunch before hitting the road again this time taking a detour to the Catarina mirador (viewpoint). We had not been up there yet and and was quickly impressed with the all encompassing view of Lago de Apoyo, Granada, Volcan Mombacho and Lago de Nicaragua.

Had a beer and did some shopping (new dress and shirt because it was pretty and cheap) before moving on, this time to Granada. When our driver asked if we had done the isletas tour and we said yes he became a little angry as (we think) he was very excited to be showing us around Nicaragua as he was touring it with his family. We had to explain that Kacie had come to visit and thats why we had done the area already. This is where we disembarked and biked on to our hostal. Over the course of the day my tire flattened, forcing me to pump it up again...

That night we enjoyed a very nice dinner at a restaurant down the street where we got to witness a bat scampering into his home under the eaves as well as the many geckos circled around the lights awaiting their meal.

Leon II

After our night in Granada we hopped on a bus to Masaya for one last walk around the artisanias market and smoothies on the corner of the bus terminal. Then we took a bus to Leon. Finding a hotel was a little tricky as everything is so expensive and most of the good places were full. By nightfall we found Hotel America. It had high ceilings, so was nice and cool but had quite a strong religious theme to it. Oh and they shut the wifi off between 10 and 8.

Kacie glamming it up before the Leon central cathedral

Our main purpose for visiting Leon again was so the three of us could go volcano boarding on Volcan Cerro Negro, but after a couple emails we were told there was a red alert on all the volcanos because of the earthquakes the country has been experiencing. The tour guides said it would probably only be a day or two til they reopened so we found other activities to pass the time.
We toured the Museum of Legends and Traditions in the afternoon after checking out the cathedral. The museum featured papier mâché figurines traditionally created to make fun of the Spanish against murals painted on the walls of methods the Guardia National used to torture prisioners. The museum is displayed in the former prison. Most of the rest of the time was spent relaxing and eating delicious Italian food. Kacie has a love affair with pizza...

Buying coffee to return to Canada

On the third day we decided to try and make it to the beach. After just barely making it off the bus before it took off again we found ourselves in a town where the beach was blocked off by the official port, so we had to take a tuk tuk to the actual beach, 6km away. The beach was nice without many people and the water was perfect. The area is a known surf spot and for good reason. The waves here were huge! And the people riding them fearless.

Reliable tuk tuk transport around the shore

Evaporation pools for salt production

That basiclly marked the end of Kacie's time with us. We took a mix match of vehicles back to Managua and ate at a very nice restaurant just a couple blocks from our hotel for supper before hitting the hay early. Also after checking our email, we got news the volcanoes were open again and could have gone boarding on Cerro Negro, sigh.
Bright (well not so bright) and early I rode with Kacie to the airport to see her off.

Granada 2

We got up quite early, heading to the central park in Altagracia on Ometepe, where the island buses wait, and quickly jumped on a bus that did not wait at all, running to catch it. We left Ometepe on the ferry to San Jorge under a strong wind.  Many waves crashing against the boat, and the boat was rocking against the rocky wavebreak. Many staff were in the water to move ropes or holding ropes on land attached to the ferry to bring it into position. Once docked and tethered, manual labour also worked to straighten the ferry at times., such as just before they tried to unload any of the large commercial trucks on board.

Manually turning the ferry so the truck can more easily disembark.

We caught a taxi with Santi, our Argentinean friend from the hike, heading into Rivas proper to find the bus station. Unfortunately, he was heading South back home to Tamerindo in Costa Rica and so had to wait at a different station, but invited us to join him there where he lives if we should so wish. When we got to the station we stopped at a comedor (spanish for dining room) to buy an inexpensive breakfast. We boarded the bus riding north back to Granada where we would have to change buses for Managua and then, once there, again for Leon.

Mansion covered islets near Ometepe

In Granada we headed back to La Libertad hospedaje, getting a room in their alternate space with the restaurant and then went to central park to find Jerry, who had previously offered us an inexpensive tour of the islets near Granada. Finding him, we made our arrangements to take a wild tour through the mansion covered islands. Before the tour we finally climbed the church clocktower where Rigel took some hammy photos.

Obstructed view from the top of the church clocktower

A hammy photo on the tour boat through the islets.

The islands had few land animals on them, but many birds and bugs. Fishermen would work the lake between the islands where swallows operated in swarms of thousands feasting the the small midge type insects above the water. Many eagles, storks, and herons were also to be seen naturally living in this exotic extended boundary ecosystem, formed by the explosive destruction of the top of Volcano Mombacho 20,000 years ago.
One unnatural feature that caught our attention, besides the many island covering and even bridging mansions, is the island prison of 4 spider monkeys rescued from the US. The monkeys cannot swim so they are quite constrained, and sadly the island is not of a sufficient size to provide for them itself, so they are reliant for food on visitors and presumably a caretaker. One, the lone female, is very social and came aboard the boat for a visit and moreso a rummage thru our stuff.

Erin giving a banana chunk to the son on the island.

Lucy, the social mother on the island.

Lucy hanging with Kacie.

Note: spider monkeys like beer!

After going to monkey island as it is called, we swam, went for a beer at the pirate bar, watched the sunset, and returned to Granada. In the morning we hopped on a bus for Managua, there to transfer for Leon.

Sunset in the isletas.