chasingsummerp.018

Chasing Summer p.018

Report initially published in the Adventure Rider web site. For more interaction and comments check it out here

Nov 19th - part 1 - Las Penitas

I don’t know what’s wrong with me but it’s only 5:30 AM and I’m already out! I’m usually a late sleeper but not in this trip… The motivation is also to catch up the sunrise’s beautiful light for some pictures.

Some fishermen are already coming back

While some others are just leaving...

The atmosphere is very peaceful

Meanwhile, in the streets it's not as pretty but it's breakfast time for some...

But hey, pigs can be beautiful too

Other ways to dispose of garbage ...

Those small fires are everywhere and seem to be the most popular way of getting rid of things here. Let's go back towards the laguna instead, with the 'Barca de Oro' in the background.

This one might be my favorite...

And now the beautiful beach

I suppose that this guy was fishing something but I couldn't figure out what he was doing...

Back in the hotel for a good breakfast. I know that will sound crazy but I do feel in 'vacations' for the first time. Yes, I realize that I haven't got a job for months while most of you have been working hard but it's just the feeling I got in that great place...

Nov 19th - (part 2) - Las Penitas - Granada

There are 2 roads going from Leon to Managua: on the map like on the GPS, the south one appears to be the main one. Well, I learned later that the newest/better road is actually the north one

This pic is quite representative of my ride with a mix of rain and sun and a mix of dirt and pavement...

I finally arrive at SalCar's house at the entrance of Managua. Wow, he does have a great house indeed! I think his project in the future is to use this house and a couple of bikes he's buying to rent to visitors who want to fly to Managua and ride around. That would be awesome!

Since I stayed in Las Penitas last night my plan was just to say hi and go to Granada for the night. Cool, I learn that's also Salcar and his friends' plan!

On my way to Granada I stop at the Masaya Volcano. It's the most active volcano in the region with the most recent eruption in 1993.

The crater is gigantic (4 by 7 miles, 6 by 11.5 km)! But with the gas (sulfur acid) permanently coming from it it's hard to see the bottom of it. This is the best I could get:

Other views

Arrived in Granada, I immediately have a nice feeling about it. I was afraid that it would be very touristy but most tourists seem to be 'contained' in the very small center so it's not a problem.

While visiting the market, we get a sudden but intense shower

Luckily most don't last long at all and I'm back to my visit...

It seems that the Nicas are not pictures shy...

Sadly, one of the problem of Nicaragua is that the streets/roads are quite dirty. This pic below is an extreme example but we're only a few block from the historic center

Shower again. more and more intense! Wow, this one seems to be there for quite some time.

I have a drink, waiting for it to stop but after a while just walk back home, completely soaked, but since it's not cold that's OK...

Nov 20th - Granada

Often times lack of safety comes from an excess of poverty but not in Nicaragua. The 2^nd poorest western country (after Haiti) is also one of the safest in Central America.

In Granada, like in the rest of the country so far, it’s easy to relax and not worry of safety issues and so I’m doing a pretty extensive tour this morning.

Granada is the oldest colonial city in Nicaragua and I believe, in the entire Western Hemisphere. It is also the all-time-rival of Leon which has the reputation of being more liberal. For my part, I would have a hard time to choose between those 2 cities that I consider quite different. Leon is maybe more ‘authentic’ whileGranada caters more to tourists, but I like its ‘Caribbean’ feel (at least in my eyes).

Granada streets are more narrow (and so more shady) with still many Spanish-style houses with interior courtyards.

But I like also the more popular place like the old market...

If you don't go to the market, the market will comes to you

. This guy was selling his fishes 'door-to-door'...

I then walk to the Malecon which here is the coast of the huge Lake Nicaragua. It's the 10th largest fresh-water lake on earth and the only one to have fresh-water sharks, named the Nicaragua Shark. It's only 15-20 mn walking distance from the center but still, it feels disconnected from the town even if they tried to create a nice avenue to get there.

As a result, the border of the lake which should have a huge potential, looks abandoned and dirty

The color of the water doesn't help either...

I didn't pay the fees to enter the nearby park where people go for recreation/picnicking and even beach I think.

Back to town, on the main plaza. I wanted to show those cell phone towers. Even though those ones were much lower than the average they're still right on the heart of the historic center! I believe most of those countries have better cell phone coverage that what we have in the US but the price to pay if to see those red towers sometimes in the most scenic places.

The plaza is beautiful though...

I give a try to the 'Vigoron', a traditional food served in banana leaves. It's made mostly with broiled pork with boiled Yucca (a starchy vegetable).

I would not eat yucca every day but it definitely filled a gap!

On the street, going back to the hotel I meet SalCar and his friends! They had planned to see the volcano Mombacho (10 kms away) and so I change my plans and tag along with them. Here is a view of the volcano from a distance...

You have to leave your car/bike at the entrance of the park and take a 4x4 truck/bus. The climb to the top is incredibly steep, by far the steepest road I've ever seen! The only problem is that the summit being at 1200 meters it's also way above the clouds that surround the volcano and it's wet, cold and foggy. Since we were all only wearing T-shirts we buy those fancy rain covers

Since we're here we do the hiking circuit but I have to admit that we couldn't see much...

Although, right where I took this picture above, we've seen several monkeys in the trees! Too far/dark for a picture...

It's only at the end of the hike that there was a bit of sunshine but it was fun any way. The luxuriance of the vegetation is just incredible and many trees carry dozen of other species on them.

OK, now it's time for fun and going back mid-way on the volcano slope we stop at a 'Canopy tour'. It basically means going through the forest via cables connected from the top of the biggest trees. Here is the demonstration/explanation:

Here is the first cable and the small platform built on the tree. Yes, it's very high and quite impressive but also really fun.

After the few passes the guides who are really excellent, started to make us try more acrobatic positions. Here is a link to a video of me in a 'Superman' position and a not-so-Superman arrival

http://jean-luc.smugmug.com/gallery/...223839149-A-LB

And other fun positions...

I can't remember how many crossings we did like that but we all had a blast! Highly recommended.

I say goodbye to SalCar and his cool friends who are going back to Managua and make a detour to see the Lago de Apoyo, a deep Volcano crater lake presumed to have the clearest water in Nicaragua. It's a bit dark already but the place is beautiful!

What you see here is the Lago first, then a stripe of land where Granada is located and then the Lake Nicaragua with some mountains on the background.

Sorry no panorama function in my camera and so you will have to glue the pics together yourself

It was almost sunset when I arrived in Granada but there was still a ray of beautiful light on that church tower. I stop to take a picture of it...

Looking around I see that there are people on top of another of the church towers and I hurry to get up myself before the last ray of light. It was just incredible! The Cathedral with the lake on the background:

While admiring the fantastic views I meet a Swiss guy who happened to own a KTM 990 Super Duke. Of course we sympathize quickly and decide to meet for a drink later.

Going back to the bike though a bad surprise expected me: someone has stolen my shoes that were strapped to the bike

. I was so in hurry to get the last rays of light that I forgot to attach them securely. Damn!!! They're my only shoes too... Oh well, the pictures are worth it and I met a great guy, so it's just part of what happens on a trip.

The evening with my new friend was great and it was very interesting to hear his stories. He's an avid traveler, and even better, his job also takes him in many places around the world. As a freelance private investigator he usually extends his stays to travel for quite some time every year and has many interesting stories. He leaves for Colombia tomorrow so we might catch up there...

Nov 21st - Granada to Canas

Interactive Map: http://www.gpsxchange.com/phpBB2/download2.php?id=1500

I really liked Nicaragua, and with Mexico, it’s been my favorite country of the South leg so far. Of course there are problems like the electricity being cut several hours a day, even in the big cities - the government promises to stop those cuts December 1st. Bad roads, quite dirty too… but still it’s a great place with character and nice people. I think this country will rise very rapidly for tourism, following somehow the steps of his successful neighbor, Costa Rica.

My only goal today is to get to Costa Rica, somewhere close to San Jose to be ready to welcome my family the following evening. Just a few hundred kms and a border crossing on the program. Not quite: there were also cops on my way!

Several guys in a car of the Policia Federal riding quite slowly. I manage to pass them staying under the speed limit so this move went fine. They must have guessed that I could be a ‘customer’ because they followed me from a distance. Unaware of it I just continue riding like any other driver here, i.e. passing on double yellow line.

Of course, that’s what they were waiting for and I see their roof lights soon after my move. Damn! I stop on the side and a very severe looking officer comes to tell me that I have to pay a $100 ticket at a bank in the next town. I try to tell him that $100 is a lot but to no avail. So I precede them to the next town, quite unhappy about this mishap. A few minutes later the police car uses his high beams to tell me to stop which I do. The same officer, smiling this time, comes to tell me that if I want to save time we could arrange this affair right here for $50. Now we’re talking! I negotiate down to $20 and he’s now my best friend

I know that bribing is fundamentally wrong but in this case I was really at fault (even though everyone does the same) and I’m quite happy that it costs me only $20 and almost no time compared to what would have happened in the States or Europe!

Before this crossing I was starting to wonder about all those horror stories you read about border crossing. So far (except when I didn’t have the right papers) it went pretty smoothly, generally taking about half an hour. Well, the Penas Blancas crossing (the main one) was quite different! Instead of the 4 steps (immigration x 2 and customs x 2) you have to go through 7 steps, just to get out of Nicaragua!!! Nothing that complicated (I declined the helpers) if you ask at every step what should be the next, but still confusing and such a cumbersome process!

When finally done with Nicaragua I'm happy to move on to Costa Rica, presumably a much more modern country. Well, I was wrong! If there were ‘only’ 5 steps, some took hours because either there was a very long line or because the guy in charge was gone for more than an hour!

The only good thing about this awful border crossing (4 1/2 hours) is that it gave me a chance to meet Margaret (Beemerbird) from Tasmania.

If you ever thought of us being ‘brave’ then what do you think of this amazing lady who when she reached retirement age decided to ride alone around the world for 4 years!

This particular leg was especially crazy since she had to do San Diego to Ushuaia in just a month to catch a boat to Antarctica. All that not knowing a word of Spanish! Good thing that she will have plenty of time on the way up to visit places.

Margaret had a near death experience when crashing her 1200 GS in Australia some time ago (there is a thread in ADVrider on that) and has that enthusiasm and confidence brought by thinking: ‘Every day that I’m living right now is a “bonus” and I better enjoy it!’

You can check her web site here: http://www.ridingtoextremes.com/

Canas has nothing special, just a convenient place to stay before sunset catches us on the road...

Nov 22nd - Canas to San Jose

We ride again together with Margaret this morning up to San Jose. She's a great rider and a good company but we now have to depart.

There is a lot to like about Costa Rica. One of their most impressive achievements (IMO) is to have suppressed their army in 1949 so the saved money goes to things like education instead. As a result many ‘stats’ are similar to the USA (life expectancy, literacy rate, etc.) and it’s the richest country in Central America.

Of course, from a tourist point of view what matters is that in a relatively small area, Costa Rica offers a lot: There are secluded white sand beaches with great surf and amazing scuba diving; active volcanoes and towering rain forests. And, eco-tourism is a specialty of the house.

Despite all that I’m somehow disappointed on our ride from the border to San Jose. It’s green, clean and beautiful but just too similar to Switzerland (a name often used for Costa Rica) or France for that matter, with black and white cows everywhere in green pastures. The dollars are accepted in most places, many people speak English… where is the exotism?

Of course during the week spent there with my family we saw beautiful sceneries that were very different from anywhere in Europe or USA so this was just a first impression.

The other thing that didn’t appeal to me is how everything is focused on tourism (of course we went to many touristy places). It’s not that it was over crowded with tourists (it’s the low season) but there were just too many English signs and too many eco-this, eco-that.

More importantly it also changes the way people interact with you. It seems sometimes impossible to have genuine information. Just a quick anecdote to illustrate this: I needed to rent a car and so went to the airport on my way to San Jose thinking that it would be easier to compare prices there. I ask for a cab driver at the airport for the rental places and right away he tells me he rents car too and that he can give me a good price. I try a cop a bit further and he gets on his cell right away and put me in touch with a rental agency who wants to pick me up at the airport. I pretend I’ll go there myself (it was in fact too expensive) and ask the cop for directions. Again, I can’t get the information and he asks me to follow him instead to the rental agency. Finding the hotel I had a reservation for in San Jose was also a frustrating experience since there are no formal street addresses in Costa Rica! You have in fact two informal systems: The first (often used in tourist guides) indicates the road on which the establishment is located (e.g. "6th Avenue") together with the crossroad interval (e.g. "between 21st and 23rd Streets"). In practice, street signs are virtually non-existent, and locals do not even know the name of the street they are on! The second system, used by locals, is known as the "Tico address", usually involving an oriented distance (e.g. "100 meters south, 50 meters east") from a landmark (e.g. "the cathedral").

Other difficulty specific to San Jose: Avenues run east-west and streets run north-south but the numbering is less straightforward. Starting at Central Avenue going South are 2nd, 4th, 6th Avenue, etc. while going North are 1st, 3rd, 5th, etc. Streets use even numbers going west, and odd numbers going east. This means that if you are at 7th Avenue and 4th Street, and looking for 6th Avenue and 5th Street, you are on the wrong side of town

. Don’t ask how I know.

By staying longer in Costa Rica we started to like it more and more, especially the places more remote where some spots are really fantastic. Here are a few pictures from our family vacation there:

Nov 30th - Esterillos to San Isidro

Interactive map: http://www.gpsxchange.com/phpBB2/download2.php?id=1540

Very early start this morning to get to the airport. We didn’t like San Jose much and rather than sleeping closer to the airport we stayed one more night in our little piece of paradise in Esterillos, right on the beach.

It was very hard to leave my family but the ride must go on…

It feels almost weird to get on the bike again after just 8 days in a car. It also seems much heavier than before, possibly because of the significant added weight of the chain and sprockets that my wife brought for me.

Not too sure where to meet Teryk, but willing to avoid another night in San Jose I just pick the next ‘big’ town on the road to Panama: San Isidro, about 140 km further. I suggest this destination to Teryk by email but unfortunately we can’t connect ‘live’ and so after a while I just get on the road hoping that he can make it too.

I was imagining that past San Jose traffic jams, the ride would be quick to San Isidro but the road was quite challenging. The highway passes the highest point along the Interamericana, the famed Cerro de la Muerte (3491 m) or ‘Mountain of Death’. The road would be a great motorcycle road (very twisty and climbing) if only it was not at clouds level, meaning foggy and wet, with very little visibility.

In the very briefs moments when the fog clears you’re supposed to see ‘exquisite panoramic views of the Cordillera Talamanca on all sides’ but as it is today I can understand why it’s considered one of the most dangerous roads in Costa Rica.

San Isidro has nothing special but seems full of energy and for a nice change, not focused the least on tourism. At the internet place bad news were expecting me: I was not precise enough in my email and there are in fact several others ‘San Isidro’ towns around San Jose and so Teryk picked a different one! Damn, we will not be able to catch up yet

Quick summary of those last few days… (1)

^{Costa Rica}

Costa Rica - Mogos - Panama - La Conception 12-05-2007

Interactive map: http://www.gpsxchange.com/phpBB2/download2.php?id=1538

Teryk had to take the most direct road through Central America and had long riding days before in order to meet me. So, of course he was looking for a break in some nice place. We choose Uvita, a remote beach about 1 hour from San Isidro.

We had a very good time there, visiting the local cascades…

We were then invited by the local community of expats on a party on the beach followed by an after party in a very beautiful house with swimming pool etc. Definitely a great group of people leaving there!

After such a party we were not ready too early the next morning and so decided to leave our luggage at the hostel and just go for the day to visit the Osa peninsula. According to the guides it's a very beautiful place with plenty of wild life, secluded beaches and the famous Corcovado Park. Part of its charm is that the place is very remote which of course means that the dirt road to get there is quite rough. But it was quite fun on our motorcycles with several water crossing.

Here is the Golfo Dulce where you can sometimes see dolphins and whales.

A mangrove...

The awesome (and hard to reach) Playa de Cabo Matapalo

At the beach we see several spider monkeys

It was getting late already and we didn't feel like rushing through the potholes at dark so we decided to take a room in Puerto Jimenez. I liked the frontier atmosphere of that city although we couldn't visit for long before a torrential rain arrived.

We were sure glad to have stop here rather than riding back at night and under such an heavy rain.

From Uvita to David (Panama)

That section of the costal road to the border is very scenic and we were enjoying it when we had again to face a very heavy rain. This one was there to stay and since we really wanted to cross the border that day we continued our way, completely soaked.

The border crossing was 'normal' which means about ½ hour without too much hassle. The good surprise as you know was of course to meet Paul and Dennis at the border! Those guys are really cool and being locals (for 17 years for Paul) are a wealth of information that they happily shared. Then Paul invited us to stay at his place, 30 minutes North of David.

David - Boquete

While we enjoyed Paul and Anita's kind hospitality we mostly worked on finding a boat or a solution to go to Colombia. But we also worked on the bike a bit: I did an oil change and finally replaced my clutch line! Besides that the bike continues to be maintenance free. Too bad however that the rear tire I ordered didn't arrive in time. Meanwhile Paul is working on building ultra lights

We also had a great riding day

This area is awesome and those guys know it by heart and so it was a perfect dual-sport mix of narrow paved road and good dirt roads. The team...

The bikes...

Riding with Paul and Denny was quite an experience too: those guys are fast! For years they were professional racers (Baja 500, flat tracks, motocross…) and it shows.