Lori relaxing at the beautiful and tranquille Lago Apoyo
Monkey Hut Hostal on Laguna Apoyo...one very enjoyable place to spend some time swimming in the bathtub warm, clear freshwater, hiking and kayaking.
One of the hundreds of fantastic old doorways in historic Leon
Gorgeous cathedrals to go along with the doorways..Leon Nicaragua
It's the end of October...rainy season is pounding us so its time to roll north and see if Nicaragua is a little drier than Costa Rica. Reaching the only road accessed border crossing between Costa Rica and Nicaragua we are reminded of why we through S American folks were more friendly than people in Central America. Firstly the money changers pulled the old “calculator” (incorrect addition) trick on us (but got caught), then we were run through the usual border crossing bureaucracy..a far cry from the free crossings and hearty welcome to our country that we got in SA!
Our first stop is the beautiful Laguna Apoyo...a volcanic crater lake that we spent a few days at back in March. Today the dry, leafless forests of March are gorgeous in a coat of green that comes with the rainy (green) season. What a wonderful place to relax, hike, kayak, swim (bathtub warm, crystal clear water!) Sleeping on the wharf we were treated to a impressive show of lightening every night (not to mention sore backs...my back does not like laying on planks all night!) The people here are so friendly and I needed their help when I strayed off course during a hike and ended up hiking for about 20 km’s through jungle, villages and a combination of dirt tracks and tarmac roads. The hike through the dark revealed hundreds of bats (all sizes and shapes) and fireflies.
After three days on the lake its the first of Nov and time to move on...today we ride to Leon and I figure that it should take no longer than 3 hrs to travel the 130 kms. Wrong-o! We end up having to ride in the capital city of Nicaragua (Managua) and I can tell you that we are NOT impressed! Even though Leon is a city of over 100,000 souls their is not a single sign and at least 15 branches in the road. To compound the problem Managua lies on a plain that is as flat as a board...to mountains to guide one about! First of all we get stopped by the police for riding about 20 feet the wrong way down a one way street (what is a offense here is considered standard MC operating procedure in S America!) After a long argument and lots of whining (in decidedly crappy Spanglish!) by us we are set free. Then..just as we break free of the city (yes!!!) three cops jump out on the road and flag us down...I am accused of passing on a single line and speeding. This one time I am definitely innocent and protest strongly...to which the police say “yes we believe you..here is your papers back...but its Lori who was actually speeding and passing dangerously! They show us a book...with driving offenses in it...around 100 US for the supposed infractions...no f’ing way and after a “Mexican standoff” of about a half hour we get our papers back and continue on (through 35 degree heat!) Now to really add insult to injury two farm tractors that we passed before we entered Managua actually passed us while we were arguing with the police!!
Not to worry...we are in Leon before dark and grab a fantastic hostal for 12 bucks per night. Leon is a really neat historic city with some spectacular cathedrals and a very laid back friendly atmosphere! We spent our first day exploring the many sights in town then booked a two day hike into Volcan Telica with Quetzeltrekkers..a group that completes treks where all the money goes to helping street kids in Nicaragua. There was only three of us on the hike and ironically Heather, (the third person) works as a firefighter for the Vanderhoof Forest District and knows Rob and Jason Moore. We make a pretty good group along with our guides (guias) Trevor and Claudio..a pretty and easy hike to the crater after which we lay around and BS in the alpine area forgetting one of the golden rules of camping...get your tent up as soon as you arrive (especially if you are not familiar with the tent in question). Well guess what..we ended up tossing up the crap tent in the middle of a torrential rainstorm...one fun night of sleep with three of us in a leaking tent laying on a quarter inch thick piece of foam...ugh! So much for bitchin...a good hike and tomorrow we head to Honduras!!!
