3-22

Art is 63 today and in the 15 years I have known him he has not appeared any more handsome or fit. He is down to 147 pounds, lowest weight he says since his 20´s and when he rides the bike he can stretch out low and long on the bike for long periods of time. He says it is because he doesn’t have to lean over his stomach.  I think he has grown more flexible. One those long down hills a low profile makes for speedier riding! He is tan and enjoying interacting with the Latin people and oftentimes understands more of what is said than I do, our linguist. It has been difficult at times, with our numerous illnesses and the attack, but like every other day in life: some are good days; some are not as good.

We have a particularly difficult stretch of road ahead of us into Managua. We may take the bus and work our way forward from there on shorter, more populated sections of highway. There is not much reserve in either of us with 5 – 10 days of sinus infections.

3-23

Up early, no breakfast and we are off to the bus terminal to catch a bus to Managua. As we approach the bus area the road clogs. We are going the wrong way on a one way street filled with cars, buses, pony carts, trucks, bicycles and pedestrians all coming at us. We get of and walk the bike through this hodge podge of humanity and into the terminal which is even more exciting. Shouts of hawkers to choose their bus…vendors shouting their wares and food stuffs…all in all an early morning circus. We choose a bus; check for price and up load Bici onto the chicken bus where he gets to ride on top with the humongous baskets of fruit and other produce. Our bags are tossed in the side emergency exit door and piled in back along with dozens and dozens of cardboard carton full of maybe pickles. Twenty minutes until the bus leaves…so we step off to find breakfast in the vender mill…a small mug of sweet coffee and a donut are my fair. We have become hesitant to eat street vendor food due to our many illnesses.

1. Women Vendors 2. Beverage Vendors 3. Moving Lumber

Our full bus pulls out and we tear through the outskirts of town into the brown parched countryside. The road is good with a three foot shoulder but the wind is strong as we expected. We are glad we chose to bus today. On both sides of the bus we pass towering volcanoe cones in the not too far distance….cattle are grazing in fields nearby and traffic light. We are the only gringos on the bus so we get lots of looks and laughs in our riding clothes. At the very back of the bus we had a full view…windows down, lots of wind…and exciting trip. The terrain became hilly to mountainous as we got near to Managua. On the left, Lago de Managua, very polluted with no life in it, yet quiet picturesque with Volcanoes rising out of it. There is no tourist places left on the shores, no one swims in the brackish brown waters. As another visitor said “what a lost opportunity for Managua and the country as a whole”.

We arrived at the bus terminal – one of four servicing the city, and market again – a beehive of vendors, traffic and overall congestion-unloaded and reload Bici and took off the find a place to stay rather than ride on. We still need rest and found a very neat, quiet place in a university neighborhood, expensive ($49) but seemed worth it as we lounged around the public areas, reading and relaxing. The previous two nights it was very warm in our small room ($10 per night) with a bed that caved as if an elephant or hippo had used it for many years. Happily, our new bedroom with a-c and good bed will be much better. Off to dinner at a next door hotel and then to an early bed so we are ready for our journey tomorrow.

3-24

What an interesting day…ride out of Managua, up, up through heavy city traffic looking for the right road out of town….we had to stop a couple of times to seek directions. Judee does a good job of this, but tends to resist due to her feeling of weakness with Spanish. We find the road with a good shoulder and head on our way to Masaya to visit the craft shops and explore the Parque Nacional Vulcan Masaya.

1. Vulcan Masaya 2. Same

AT the park entrance 22km out of town, we arranged for a ride up to the top (5k) in a park ranger’s truck. He told us in Spanish all about the Park and the Volcanoes. There are three distinct volcanoes in the park: Masay, Vulcan Nindri and Vulcan San Fernando. Eruptions occurred here in 1670, 1772, and most recently 2001. The most recent crater is steaming and has magma you can see at night. It stinks of sulfur at the craters edge. What an awing sight to look into this huge smoking hole. The 350 degree view from the top lets you see Lago Managua, the city of Masaya and the outskirts of Managua itself. The lava flow patterns are very evident and we drive through boulder fields on the way up.

In the town of Masaya we visited one of two large craft markets which display Nicaragua items of carved wood, textiles, ceramics and leather products. Had a much needed scrumptious buffet lunch – meat, mashed potatoes and frijoles. Judee bought some painted wooden letters spelling “Zack” and a cross for her mom.

Soon we worked our way out of town after another couple of stops to get directions so we could find our next destination: Lago Apoyo only 8km away. Well we climbed for a good 7 or 8km to the top of the Volcano crater then dropped down 5 or 6 km on a rough pot-holed lane into the crater. At the lakeshore the paved road ended and we moved to packed dirt and rode for 4 to 6km up, down, some pushing the bike until the road ended at La Abuela, our cozy resort on the lake.

three views of Lago Apoyo

We have a roomy cottage with deck and chairs, all fairly new and well maintained…a restaurant and deck just above the shore, swimming below…beer and swimming in the late afternoon and wonderful, tasty dinner with music in the back ground…we are the only guests tonight, tomorrow the resort is full. The view off the restaurant deck is a sight to behold: volcanoe crater walls, blue sky, and lake with little habitat on the shores …stars are bright and the Bickershams are back on track!!

3-26

Granada, what a wonderful colonial town. Bright colors, much renovation, streets being repaired and a gringo influence. We met a husband/wife combo who moved here 3 years ago from Costa Rica to start new businesses: property management and a restaurant. There is a growing gringo community: potlucks, women’s nights and support groups. In town are many good restaurants with varying menus: Spanish, Mexican, Thai, Asian Fusion, German and Italian. Wandering around town looking in doorways is exciting and rewarding. Someone told us that Nicaragua is all behind walls and it is so true….courtyards, long dark hallways with beautiful furniture, pictures, dishes, family heirlooms…a rich history leading back centuries….all on view for the sharp of eye…the curious.

1. Wagons in waiting 2. Street Parade 3. Hearst in Granada

Lots and lots of wind blows off the lake to keep things cool. We enjoyed our room with a/c. For some reason I had a bad night and could not get to sleep…fought the bed and Judee’s snoring. She can sleep standing up in the sub way while I seem at times to struggle.

3-27

Sleep deprived and grouchy…the day was off to a bang. Judee is feeling better and so am I. Our sinus infections seem to be on the wane. Pancakes, coffee and juice got us on our way: up, up, up, out of town and into the country we cross a ridge/shoulder of a volcano and a volcano crater and zoom down for 11km on the pot holed road with a 20 mph wail wind. Scary but wonderful. Then turn into the hug head wind for 45km. The road is smooth with a fairly good shoulder, but the wind kicks us all around particularly as the 18 wheelers pass in both directions. At times, we are almost knocked off the road. At the end, I feel I have been trying to reign in a bull by the horns and my upper body is worn out.

In San Jorge we found a great buffet for lunch right on the little jardin. Then off to find the ferry to Ometepe. At the dock we were told it would be 40 minutes before the ferry left, so we stood and watched as the boat was loaded with fruit and island supplies. Men loaded huge baskets of fruit from a truck then two mean lifted a single 3 foot diameter basket onto another guys head and he staggered off to the ferry hold where the truck load was stored for the journey. The ferry was small- holding maybe six to eight cars and fifty to seventy-five people. The boat rolled and bucked and smashed down on wave after wave into head winds blowing 20-30 knots constantly, throwing off wave top spray. Bici got a good bath lashed to the ferry’s railing.

1. Ferry to Ometepe 2. Ferry Loading 3. Vulcan Concepcion

The Conception volcano which towers over the island is an active volcano whose top is visually clouded over, but today we got glimpses of the top rim. What an awesome sight with its cloud shadowed slopes and white cloud cap; the lava flow areas pouring down into the surrounding jungles. We rode the 13 km from the port town to our destination: Charco Verde. We did not have any idea what the place was but: WOW!

1. Charco Verde 2. Jay at table 3. Howler Monkeys

Off the main “circle the island road” down a rough dirt road to the beach and an eco lodge, restaurant, cabanas and beautiful black beach with a humongous towering tee shading it all….parrots, monkeys, dog and gardens. What a beautiful open air setting!

3-28

Breakfast on the beach, then a two hour nature trail amble past an inland lagoon, mangroves swamp and high hills over looking both islands and volcanoes…down to a pristine black sand beach with no people or development of any kind. My thoughts were of “Wilson” from Cast-a-way with Tom Hanks once again! On our walk Judee spotted a troop of Howler monkey (8-10) with babies sleeping in the trees below us off the trail: our first sighting of monkeys in the wild. While we observed the rather passive troop the blue jays with their top knots and long tail feathers serenaded us with their heckles and caws….a true jungle experience.

Scenes from Ometepe 1. Wash Day 2. Bad Road 3. Bici and friend

4-1

We are in Costa Rica. How did we ever get here with all the wind? These trade winds blow with such ferocity that we have been blown off the road a couple of times. I (Judee) was so freightened one time that I actually burst into tears. Terrifying – what with the 28 wheelers pushing us off and then pulling us into their wheels with this terrible wind. There are times I wonder if we are moving forward or backward.

We took the ferry back to the mainland after several wonderful days lingering on the island of Ometepe. We rode our bike one day for a little 35 km tour onto the other side. We were staying on the lee side of the island and didn’t suffer as much wind as the Eastern side where the trade winds are coming from. So glad we were directed to Charco Verde to stay. We had trouble riding on portions of the road because of the sand dunes that were created by the wind. The tandem just can’t negotiate the sand and it is even difficult around pot holes. We are long and when we are loaded it is a big piece of equipment to move around – not a lithe as a half bike. Cross winds can be especially dangerous, because with the huge panniers we present a pretty solid surface which the wind blows against. We move when pummeled!!

We had an easy crossing out of Nicaragua and into Costa Rica. Nothing like the entrance into Nicaragua. That was like entering a lawless country and pretty scary. This entry/exit was civilized!! We travels 75km to stay at La Cruz, the first little town with facilities and then came into Liberia yesterday.

Liberia is known as a cow town. There are rolling foothills from the northern border into this area of Costa Rica. We immediately noticed differences in the countryside from the rest of Mexico and Central America. Here there is growth to the road, the land has not been burned, hacked, grazed, or denuded for firewood and grasses. The houses are prosperous and it doesn’t appear that anyone is using wood to cook or heat. There are a number of homes with A/C. There is a presence of police and a feeling of orderliness and a history of obeying laws. The road itself loses the shoulder we had become accustomed to in Honduras and Nicaragua, so the wind and the trucks passing are a huge problem.

We met a couple who have owned property in Costa Rica for 15 years and they gave us recommendations for route they felt we would enjoy and be safe on. It avoids one of the areas I want to see: Vulcan Arnel. But – YEAH – today we spoke with Phil, Tricia and Zack (Judee’s son, his wife and son) and they will be coming first of May. So we will ride our bike on the safe road and rent a car when the kids come, doubling [brief bit of text missing; will get patched later--gary]

more.Costa Rica

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