Glover's ongoing report on Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua
Feb 19th, 2016, 09:07 AM
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Montibelli Reserve, Nicaragua
We said goodbye to the nice folks at Paz de Luna hotel in Leon and were driven by our driver Lester from the tour day before about an hour, passing Managua, out to the country to the Privately owned Montibelli reserve, known for its good birding. The reserve land as well as other land surrounding had once been Somoza holdings. (In fact our guide said that a downside of the redistribution of Somoza's holdings to local people had been deforestation.). His father had described to him the beautiful dense forest that existed there in his time. The people to whom the lands were given were of course very poor and immediately began cutting down trees for fuel etc. The last few kms of the drive to Montibelli were on dirt road. Lester had numerous calls with the reserve manager to ensure we were still on the right road.
We were greeted on arrival by Reserve employee Alan, who was to be our rather constant companion for the next several days: he guided us on hikes, served us our meals, helped carry luggage, pretty much everything. He's a local guy with some English, and good eye for and knowledge of birds and other nature in the reserve.
Very bright, obviously reads a lot, speaks some, though not a lot, of English and is very talkative - full of info - real and mythological tales about nature. The reserve has maybe 12 rooms or so, basic with mosquito nets and private baths in a few wood buildings nestled in trees. Meals are simple local food well cooked served on the back porch of the main building. We're pretty much the only guests except for one night when a tour group of mostly German tourists arrives. The reserve has several really beautiful trails of varying levels of challenge. We do most of them during our stay. Wake every morning very early to the sound of howler monkeys nearby. See fair number of birds, including two cool new ones for us: a painted bunting and a long-tailed manakin. We meet Alan's girlfriend and their 8 month old son Ian. The three of them live down a dirt road some distance away but come and stay with Alan at the lodge (apparently in a tent) whenever Alan is required to stay at the lodge at night (when he has guests assigned to him to care for). Lots of Spanish practice with them. They were getting married on February 14 at some kind of mass ceremony (300 people) at a church in Managua.
Numerous day trip tours of coffee, cacao, and pineapple plantations are offered from the reserve. We opt to go to a larger nearby reserve where different birds might be seen - along with the evening roosting spot of hundreds of Pacific parakeets (a volcanic cliff face with small waterfall), quite spectacular to see. We get a new guide employed by that reserve (Chocoyero Reserve) and he works very hard to find us the long tailed manakin.
The journey from Montibelli to Chocoyero was, as usual, a little more time consuming than we had bargained for. We had the option of going by taxi or tuk tuk. We chose tuk tuk. Soon the driver arrived. He and Alan got in front and Mr G and I and Alan's girlfriend holding baby Ian squeezed in back. I tried to get her to sit between us to reduce risk to baby, but she demurred. What a contrast to our kids strapped in car seats! We lurched and rocked along the rocky road for probably almost an hour. Alan and driver talked nonstop, occasionally checking cell phones. Great scenery. Lots of pineapple fields, stop for a photo, since it's my favorite fruit. We pass through several tiny villages, all very poor. As usual people on foot and horseback pass in both directions. At some point we stop and Alan's gf and baby get off, they've arrived at home more or less. Alan points out his grandma's very poor house and just says that his house is "up the hill." We continue on. The way back was even hairier as the last few kms were done in dusk to dark. Driver decides to turn on his light only when it becomes REALLY dark.
We were glad to arrive in one piece.
Another of Alan's duties turned out to be bat dispersal. Mr. G went back to our room one eve before dinner, heard some noise inside, and saw bat land on bed as he opened door. He decided he didn't want to deal with it, so Alan went back. Looked every where, and declared it gone.
All in all a nice visit, relaxing, but with lots of good exercise/hiking.
Said goodby to our new friend Alan and were picked up by a jolly new driver for fairly short ride to Managua airport, from which we flew in a very small plane, a Single engine Cessna Caravan, to the small town of San Carlos on the huge Lake Nicaragua.
Mr. G loves these small planes, me not so much, but so far the weather has been good and flights on time and pretty smooth with nice views. Also blessedly short flights - like under an hour. We land on a tiny dirt airstrip, are quickly checked in in very tiny nearby building and jump into a waiting taxi. A short time later we are at "the best hotel in San Carlos" Hotel Grand Lago. Not many hotels in this lakeside small town described as "a little rough around the edges." We had to stay a night here because of boat schedules to our next location, Los Guatuzos. We are greeted by kind owner Ronaldo And taken to our charmless room on the second floor. Rooms are clean and basic.
The common balcony looks out over metal rooftops and a vacant lot to the lake beyond. We also appear to be next to a fish storage shack. This is a big fishing village. We have an afternoon and Eve to kill here. Find an ATM, buy boat tickets for next day's long trip (about $4 each) and locate recommended restaurant for lunch: Kaoma, a very pleasant second story open air spot with good food. Nice views over the malecon to the lake. We immediately love our very attentive, friendly waiter with a great sense of humor. We're so fond of him and the place itself that we come for dinner later as well. Have some good fish, who knows what really, possibly corvina.....or not.
We take cold showers and crash. Sleep well until we're awakened early by scampering? Tapping? Sounds. I'm thinking rats in the wall. But we saw later that some kind of little sparrows were tapping at our windows and scurrying around. Interesting bird behavior we've seen a few times before. Early next am a young girl, perhaps a family member, walks us and our luggage around the corner, past many people selling fish on the street, to the small restaurant on the malecon also owned by hotel. Here we eat our simple included breakfast of eggs and the ubiquitous Gallo pinto and drink just the smallest amount of coffee in preparation for our 4 hour public boat ride across Lake Nicaragua and down the Río Papaturo. (there's some type of rustic toilet behind a door on this boat, but it hasn't been recommended to us....
Wow, what an experience this boat was!! An old all wood boat with roof and open sides and rows of wood bench seats, each with space for 3. Fortunately these benches also had fold up/down minimal backs, unlike the boat we returned on.
Clearly all seats were sold, and we figured the boat held 90 or so passengers, plus crew. Not to mention cargo: 2 motorcycles, cases and cases of the national beer Tona, cases and cases of diapers, sodas, bananas, Who knows what else? We were on the boat probably an hour as they loaded more and more passengers and more and more cargo. So interesting to watch. There are only 2 other foreign tourists on the boat, all the rest locals. Finally, life jackets are handed out and all are advised to put them on. An official of some sort appears on the dock to check. (We understand that Nicaragua has tightened up its procedures after a tragic accident a few weeks ago
Which killed 12 Costa Rican women. 20 plus were rescued. Smaller boat went out in bad weather near Corn Islands.). But of course the jackets are hot and seats hard, so most people, including me, opt to sit on them after departure. The boat has several outboard motors and is a slooowwww, but smooth ride across the enormous lake. A few hammocks are strung up by crew members and one by the other foreign tourists,
A Canadian woman and German man traveling together. Fortunately it's possible to stand up and move around a little. Many people manage to sleep, as there's nothing but water to see while crossing the very large lake. Midway through our journey a small motor boat pulls up and ties up next to us. They turn out to be food vendors. Passengers clamor to buy fried fish wrapped in banana leaves accompanied by lime slice. Many, many of these are sold. Some uncooked fish exchange hands as well. Almost everyone but us chows down on their fish, picking meat off bones with fingers. A messy business indeed. Fish bones go back in the lake. All very fascinating. I managed to read for quite some time. As we approach the mouth of the Río Papaturo, we get stuck in low water. This adventure adds another hour or so to our already long journey. No one panics. All remain calm, make jokes. Lots of young male passengers jump off boat into waist deep water, German guy too, amusingly stripped down to his Santa Claus briefs. They all make little headway trying to maneuver extremely heavy boat this way or that. Crew tries to use poles without much success. Finally another smaller boat appears and most cargo is offloaded. Eventually we're off again... The ride down the Papaturo River is great. See monkeys in trees, some caiman, many big beautiful iguanas in trees, and lots of water birds. Surprised by how excited all the locals get about the iguanas.
We said goodbye to the nice folks at Paz de Luna hotel in Leon and were driven by our driver Lester from the tour day before about an hour, passing Managua, out to the country to the Privately owned Montibelli reserve, known for its good birding. The reserve land as well as other land surrounding had once been Somoza holdings. (In fact our guide said that a downside of the redistribution of Somoza's holdings to local people had been deforestation.). His father had described to him the beautiful dense forest that existed there in his time. The people to whom the lands were given were of course very poor and immediately began cutting down trees for fuel etc. The last few kms of the drive to Montibelli were on dirt road. Lester had numerous calls with the reserve manager to ensure we were still on the right road.
We were greeted on arrival by Reserve employee Alan, who was to be our rather constant companion for the next several days: he guided us on hikes, served us our meals, helped carry luggage, pretty much everything. He's a local guy with some English, and good eye for and knowledge of birds and other nature in the reserve.
Very bright, obviously reads a lot, speaks some, though not a lot, of English and is very talkative - full of info - real and mythological tales about nature. The reserve has maybe 12 rooms or so, basic with mosquito nets and private baths in a few wood buildings nestled in trees. Meals are simple local food well cooked served on the back porch of the main building. We're pretty much the only guests except for one night when a tour group of mostly German tourists arrives. The reserve has several really beautiful trails of varying levels of challenge. We do most of them during our stay. Wake every morning very early to the sound of howler monkeys nearby. See fair number of birds, including two cool new ones for us: a painted bunting and a long-tailed manakin. We meet Alan's girlfriend and their 8 month old son Ian. The three of them live down a dirt road some distance away but come and stay with Alan at the lodge (apparently in a tent) whenever Alan is required to stay at the lodge at night (when he has guests assigned to him to care for). Lots of Spanish practice with them. They were getting married on February 14 at some kind of mass ceremony (300 people) at a church in Managua.
Numerous day trip tours of coffee, cacao, and pineapple plantations are offered from the reserve. We opt to go to a larger nearby reserve where different birds might be seen - along with the evening roosting spot of hundreds of Pacific parakeets (a volcanic cliff face with small waterfall), quite spectacular to see. We get a new guide employed by that reserve (Chocoyero Reserve) and he works very hard to find us the long tailed manakin.
The journey from Montibelli to Chocoyero was, as usual, a little more time consuming than we had bargained for. We had the option of going by taxi or tuk tuk. We chose tuk tuk. Soon the driver arrived. He and Alan got in front and Mr G and I and Alan's girlfriend holding baby Ian squeezed in back. I tried to get her to sit between us to reduce risk to baby, but she demurred. What a contrast to our kids strapped in car seats! We lurched and rocked along the rocky road for probably almost an hour. Alan and driver talked nonstop, occasionally checking cell phones. Great scenery. Lots of pineapple fields, stop for a photo, since it's my favorite fruit. We pass through several tiny villages, all very poor. As usual people on foot and horseback pass in both directions. At some point we stop and Alan's gf and baby get off, they've arrived at home more or less. Alan points out his grandma's very poor house and just says that his house is "up the hill." We continue on. The way back was even hairier as the last few kms were done in dusk to dark. Driver decides to turn on his light only when it becomes REALLY dark.
We were glad to arrive in one piece.
Another of Alan's duties turned out to be bat dispersal. Mr. G went back to our room one eve before dinner, heard some noise inside, and saw bat land on bed as he opened door. He decided he didn't want to deal with it, so Alan went back. Looked every where, and declared it gone.
All in all a nice visit, relaxing, but with lots of good exercise/hiking.
Said goodby to our new friend Alan and were picked up by a jolly new driver for fairly short ride to Managua airport, from which we flew in a very small plane, a Single engine Cessna Caravan, to the small town of San Carlos on the huge Lake Nicaragua.
Mr. G loves these small planes, me not so much, but so far the weather has been good and flights on time and pretty smooth with nice views. Also blessedly short flights - like under an hour. We land on a tiny dirt airstrip, are quickly checked in in very tiny nearby building and jump into a waiting taxi. A short time later we are at "the best hotel in San Carlos" Hotel Grand Lago. Not many hotels in this lakeside small town described as "a little rough around the edges." We had to stay a night here because of boat schedules to our next location, Los Guatuzos. We are greeted by kind owner Ronaldo And taken to our charmless room on the second floor. Rooms are clean and basic.
The common balcony looks out over metal rooftops and a vacant lot to the lake beyond. We also appear to be next to a fish storage shack. This is a big fishing village. We have an afternoon and Eve to kill here. Find an ATM, buy boat tickets for next day's long trip (about $4 each) and locate recommended restaurant for lunch: Kaoma, a very pleasant second story open air spot with good food. Nice views over the malecon to the lake. We immediately love our very attentive, friendly waiter with a great sense of humor. We're so fond of him and the place itself that we come for dinner later as well. Have some good fish, who knows what really, possibly corvina.....or not.
We take cold showers and crash. Sleep well until we're awakened early by scampering? Tapping? Sounds. I'm thinking rats in the wall. But we saw later that some kind of little sparrows were tapping at our windows and scurrying around. Interesting bird behavior we've seen a few times before. Early next am a young girl, perhaps a family member, walks us and our luggage around the corner, past many people selling fish on the street, to the small restaurant on the malecon also owned by hotel. Here we eat our simple included breakfast of eggs and the ubiquitous Gallo pinto and drink just the smallest amount of coffee in preparation for our 4 hour public boat ride across Lake Nicaragua and down the Río Papaturo. (there's some type of rustic toilet behind a door on this boat, but it hasn't been recommended to us....
Wow, what an experience this boat was!! An old all wood boat with roof and open sides and rows of wood bench seats, each with space for 3. Fortunately these benches also had fold up/down minimal backs, unlike the boat we returned on.
Clearly all seats were sold, and we figured the boat held 90 or so passengers, plus crew. Not to mention cargo: 2 motorcycles, cases and cases of the national beer Tona, cases and cases of diapers, sodas, bananas, Who knows what else? We were on the boat probably an hour as they loaded more and more passengers and more and more cargo. So interesting to watch. There are only 2 other foreign tourists on the boat, all the rest locals. Finally, life jackets are handed out and all are advised to put them on. An official of some sort appears on the dock to check. (We understand that Nicaragua has tightened up its procedures after a tragic accident a few weeks ago
Which killed 12 Costa Rican women. 20 plus were rescued. Smaller boat went out in bad weather near Corn Islands.). But of course the jackets are hot and seats hard, so most people, including me, opt to sit on them after departure. The boat has several outboard motors and is a slooowwww, but smooth ride across the enormous lake. A few hammocks are strung up by crew members and one by the other foreign tourists,
A Canadian woman and German man traveling together. Fortunately it's possible to stand up and move around a little. Many people manage to sleep, as there's nothing but water to see while crossing the very large lake. Midway through our journey a small motor boat pulls up and ties up next to us. They turn out to be food vendors. Passengers clamor to buy fried fish wrapped in banana leaves accompanied by lime slice. Many, many of these are sold. Some uncooked fish exchange hands as well. Almost everyone but us chows down on their fish, picking meat off bones with fingers. A messy business indeed. Fish bones go back in the lake. All very fascinating. I managed to read for quite some time. As we approach the mouth of the Río Papaturo, we get stuck in low water. This adventure adds another hour or so to our already long journey. No one panics. All remain calm, make jokes. Lots of young male passengers jump off boat into waist deep water, German guy too, amusingly stripped down to his Santa Claus briefs. They all make little headway trying to maneuver extremely heavy boat this way or that. Crew tries to use poles without much success. Finally another smaller boat appears and most cargo is offloaded. Eventually we're off again... The ride down the Papaturo River is great. See monkeys in trees, some caiman, many big beautiful iguanas in trees, and lots of water birds. Surprised by how excited all the locals get about the iguanas.
Feb 19th, 2016, 01:01 PM
#48
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Los Guatuzos, Nicaragua. Eventually we too are offloaded to yet another smaller boat and at last arrive at the "dock" at Papaturo, a community of about 120, where we are met by our hostess for the next few days Aileen. Aileen and her husband Armando have a little enterprise in the community called
Cabanas Caiman: a couple cabins, an outdoor "restaurant", a small convenience store, and nature tours. I came across them in a travel blog somewhere. It sounded just like our cup of tea! Aileen walks us down a short path from the dock along the very low River to a simple wood cabin that fronts on the river. Simple but comfortable enough.
Two beds with mosquito nets, 2 chairs, bath with cold shower. 2 great sling beach chairs on the "veranda" out front. Armando, clearly a talented fellow, built the cabin himself. He also carves amazing birds from dead wood. And he is the nature guide par excellence. We spent 3 nights here. It was a unique and *mostly* wonderful experience.
After checking in and getting the lay of the land we walked across a small bridge to the Los Guatuzos Bar and Restaurant, where we met the two other foreigners and had a couple beers. They were staying at the nearby Los Guatuzos reserve. The bar owner delivered the news that, in honor of Valentines Day that weekend, the bar would be hosting a special 2 night event with dj and dance contest. Yippee.
After a simple but good dinner at Aileens restaurant ( just us), we went out on a night wildlife tour with Armando on the river. We saw birds sleeping close up in branches, often several huddled together, many many caiman, a few frogs, iguanas. ...... And In one very open area. Fabulous stars in the sky in this remote spot.
Next am we got up before the crack of dawn and met Armando down the path at the restaurant. Jumped in a truck with a driver and drove the 4 kms or so to the border with Costa Rica and dropped us off. Armando just told the immigration person on "our" side that we'd be right back, and we walked into Costa Rica so we could say we'd been there FOUR times. Surprisingly, no officials on CR side. Armando said it's a very minor border and CR ISN't interested in maintaining. There is much easy back and forth between the 2 countries here. In fact their cell service here was from CR rather than Nic.
We walked for almost 4 hours with Armando, down the road and through the jungle. Armando is a man of few words and no English, but is a great nature guide and really knows the area.
Saw a sloth, some birds, more monkeys. He opened a cacao pod for us and showed us and had us taste for chocolate (just a faint taste). Ate some breakfast at their place, then spent the rest of the afternoon just lounging on our veranda watching passing caiman, water birds, a few boats, and 3 kinds of monkeys in nearby trees: howlers, white faced capuchins, and spiders. Wonderful.
Cold showers, then dinner once again at Aileen's. (There are only 3 places to eat)
Walked back over to the bar to check out the action, dj and speakers were set up and music was blasting. Couldn't talk and there weren't yet any people to watch. Had a beer and went back to the cabin to sleep and per chance to dream. It was not to be. Party took off at 8 pm and music and base boomed throughout the community and into our little cAbana without a single moment's rest until about 1 am. Impossible to sleep. Mr. G said next day he had harbored homicidal thoughts about bar owner.
At breakfast next am chatted with Canadian women who happened by. Her German companion had left early that am. They had gone to the party the night before and enjoyed it. Her dance card was very full. He watched. We decided to join up for dinner that eve at Bar Wesley down the road. She had eaten there before and told us we'd need to tell the woman there we planned to come. Since we'd decided to take another walk down the road to Costa Rica and bar Wesley was on the way, we stopped to "make a reservation." The owner wasn't too welcoming and allowed as how she only had eggs, some vegetables, and beef. We signed on for beef later that eve.
Enjoyed our walk down the road with really no car traffic, only occasional bike or motor bike or walker. Fabulous old huge trees: ceibas, guanacastes, jinerios? And others. Saw a pair of crested caracaras, but not much else. Also tried to walk into the actual Los Guatuzos reserve, but were stopped by a guide there who told us it was impossible to walk without a paid guide.
Later we met our new Canadian friend in the empty Wesley Bar with booming lights and blasting music (Valentines day). Thankfully this owner agreed to turn down music so we could have good conversation, interesting conversation about Canadain and US politics. She then went off to change for more partying and we went over to just check out action at bar. This time a bunch of guys were standing outside. Some seated people inside (no one dancing, music blasting). A sweet young guy from Costa Rica came up and introduced himself wanting to practice his English. Nice chat with him. He gave us the low down on the scene. The men were too embarrassed to dance yet he said. Female bar owner came out and tried to persuade
Us to come in. Offered free admission (think it was just over a dollar to get in), but we thanked her and declined. This was the first time we'd had the opportunity to pay LESS as a foreigner!
Sat outside on veranda awhile. Music went on only to midnight this time.
Up early of course the next day for long day of travel. Because of the low River, the big boat we barely made it in on will go today from the mouth of the river. People and cargo from down River will be transported there by smaller boats. Armando kindly insists on taking us and our Canadian friend in his boat to meet the larger boat. That all works fine. This boat is a downgrade even from the last, slightly smaller, no backs on rough wood bench seats and not even a semblance of a bano. Those in desperate need go in a big bucket in the hatch, emerge with said bucket and empty it into the lake. Uh. Never seen that before. ..... Funny though to see the impish look on one little boy's face (5 years old?) who clearly got a kick out of the whole process. The reason we allowed selves only 1 small cup of coffee at breakfast! I manage to read quite a lot of the way, standing up now and again for change of position. Enjoy watching the "lunch break" scene again as small boat ties up again purveying fried fish in banana leaves.
4 hours later and without getting stuck thank god, we arrive back in San Carlos. Now we need to go up the San Juan River that joins the lake nearby, but first must determine where those boats disembark and get more money. I leave Mr G on a shady bench with luggage and start asking questions. After following 3 or 4 people's vague "down there" instructions and walking several blocks in hot sun, I locate the next dock and figure out what's going on with tickets and times. Wait in line a while until window suddenly closes. Others tell me someone else will be back "soon". Fearing Mr. G will be worried by my extended absence I bail on the line and walk back and get Mr G. Find one of the guys who pushes big wooden carts on street for hire and have him tote our luggage down street as we walk along shady side. Halfway down we remember ATM need, so Mr. G goes out to hunt one down. Later he meets me at boat terminal with sad news that he struck out at 2 ATMs, no money, and never did find another alleged to be at the mercado. Since we have an hour before our boat and really need the cash, I decide to see if I can track down the other with my better Spanish. I set off down the street and ask the usual 3 people. Finally I locate one blocks beyond market and successfully use both our cards. Trudge back to terminal hot and sweaty but triumphant! At last we board our more modern and faster boat. Vinyl bucket seats, wow! But not being sure about luggage placement, we make mistake of keeping ours with us. Meaning one piece is shoved under our seat and the other at our feet. And of course there's next to no leg room between seats as it is. So we're kind of frozen in our seats for 2 hours up the river. No standing possible on this boat. Water spray from wake feels great at first but then becomes strong enough from wake that all pull the fabric like curtains to avoid getting wet. Boat stops several times along the river to let some off and pick others up. People just wave from wherever they at to get boat to stop for them. Not much development right along the river at all between San Carlos and Sabados. People at "stops" (usually nothing more than enough cleared beach for boat to pull up) appear to have walked some distance from area farms.
Cabanas Caiman: a couple cabins, an outdoor "restaurant", a small convenience store, and nature tours. I came across them in a travel blog somewhere. It sounded just like our cup of tea! Aileen walks us down a short path from the dock along the very low River to a simple wood cabin that fronts on the river. Simple but comfortable enough.
Two beds with mosquito nets, 2 chairs, bath with cold shower. 2 great sling beach chairs on the "veranda" out front. Armando, clearly a talented fellow, built the cabin himself. He also carves amazing birds from dead wood. And he is the nature guide par excellence. We spent 3 nights here. It was a unique and *mostly* wonderful experience.
After checking in and getting the lay of the land we walked across a small bridge to the Los Guatuzos Bar and Restaurant, where we met the two other foreigners and had a couple beers. They were staying at the nearby Los Guatuzos reserve. The bar owner delivered the news that, in honor of Valentines Day that weekend, the bar would be hosting a special 2 night event with dj and dance contest. Yippee.
After a simple but good dinner at Aileens restaurant ( just us), we went out on a night wildlife tour with Armando on the river. We saw birds sleeping close up in branches, often several huddled together, many many caiman, a few frogs, iguanas. ...... And In one very open area. Fabulous stars in the sky in this remote spot.
Next am we got up before the crack of dawn and met Armando down the path at the restaurant. Jumped in a truck with a driver and drove the 4 kms or so to the border with Costa Rica and dropped us off. Armando just told the immigration person on "our" side that we'd be right back, and we walked into Costa Rica so we could say we'd been there FOUR times. Surprisingly, no officials on CR side. Armando said it's a very minor border and CR ISN't interested in maintaining. There is much easy back and forth between the 2 countries here. In fact their cell service here was from CR rather than Nic.
We walked for almost 4 hours with Armando, down the road and through the jungle. Armando is a man of few words and no English, but is a great nature guide and really knows the area.
Saw a sloth, some birds, more monkeys. He opened a cacao pod for us and showed us and had us taste for chocolate (just a faint taste). Ate some breakfast at their place, then spent the rest of the afternoon just lounging on our veranda watching passing caiman, water birds, a few boats, and 3 kinds of monkeys in nearby trees: howlers, white faced capuchins, and spiders. Wonderful.
Cold showers, then dinner once again at Aileen's. (There are only 3 places to eat)
Walked back over to the bar to check out the action, dj and speakers were set up and music was blasting. Couldn't talk and there weren't yet any people to watch. Had a beer and went back to the cabin to sleep and per chance to dream. It was not to be. Party took off at 8 pm and music and base boomed throughout the community and into our little cAbana without a single moment's rest until about 1 am. Impossible to sleep. Mr. G said next day he had harbored homicidal thoughts about bar owner.
At breakfast next am chatted with Canadian women who happened by. Her German companion had left early that am. They had gone to the party the night before and enjoyed it. Her dance card was very full. He watched. We decided to join up for dinner that eve at Bar Wesley down the road. She had eaten there before and told us we'd need to tell the woman there we planned to come. Since we'd decided to take another walk down the road to Costa Rica and bar Wesley was on the way, we stopped to "make a reservation." The owner wasn't too welcoming and allowed as how she only had eggs, some vegetables, and beef. We signed on for beef later that eve.
Enjoyed our walk down the road with really no car traffic, only occasional bike or motor bike or walker. Fabulous old huge trees: ceibas, guanacastes, jinerios? And others. Saw a pair of crested caracaras, but not much else. Also tried to walk into the actual Los Guatuzos reserve, but were stopped by a guide there who told us it was impossible to walk without a paid guide.
Later we met our new Canadian friend in the empty Wesley Bar with booming lights and blasting music (Valentines day). Thankfully this owner agreed to turn down music so we could have good conversation, interesting conversation about Canadain and US politics. She then went off to change for more partying and we went over to just check out action at bar. This time a bunch of guys were standing outside. Some seated people inside (no one dancing, music blasting). A sweet young guy from Costa Rica came up and introduced himself wanting to practice his English. Nice chat with him. He gave us the low down on the scene. The men were too embarrassed to dance yet he said. Female bar owner came out and tried to persuade
Us to come in. Offered free admission (think it was just over a dollar to get in), but we thanked her and declined. This was the first time we'd had the opportunity to pay LESS as a foreigner!
Sat outside on veranda awhile. Music went on only to midnight this time.
Up early of course the next day for long day of travel. Because of the low River, the big boat we barely made it in on will go today from the mouth of the river. People and cargo from down River will be transported there by smaller boats. Armando kindly insists on taking us and our Canadian friend in his boat to meet the larger boat. That all works fine. This boat is a downgrade even from the last, slightly smaller, no backs on rough wood bench seats and not even a semblance of a bano. Those in desperate need go in a big bucket in the hatch, emerge with said bucket and empty it into the lake. Uh. Never seen that before. ..... Funny though to see the impish look on one little boy's face (5 years old?) who clearly got a kick out of the whole process. The reason we allowed selves only 1 small cup of coffee at breakfast! I manage to read quite a lot of the way, standing up now and again for change of position. Enjoy watching the "lunch break" scene again as small boat ties up again purveying fried fish in banana leaves.
4 hours later and without getting stuck thank god, we arrive back in San Carlos. Now we need to go up the San Juan River that joins the lake nearby, but first must determine where those boats disembark and get more money. I leave Mr G on a shady bench with luggage and start asking questions. After following 3 or 4 people's vague "down there" instructions and walking several blocks in hot sun, I locate the next dock and figure out what's going on with tickets and times. Wait in line a while until window suddenly closes. Others tell me someone else will be back "soon". Fearing Mr. G will be worried by my extended absence I bail on the line and walk back and get Mr G. Find one of the guys who pushes big wooden carts on street for hire and have him tote our luggage down street as we walk along shady side. Halfway down we remember ATM need, so Mr. G goes out to hunt one down. Later he meets me at boat terminal with sad news that he struck out at 2 ATMs, no money, and never did find another alleged to be at the mercado. Since we have an hour before our boat and really need the cash, I decide to see if I can track down the other with my better Spanish. I set off down the street and ask the usual 3 people. Finally I locate one blocks beyond market and successfully use both our cards. Trudge back to terminal hot and sweaty but triumphant! At last we board our more modern and faster boat. Vinyl bucket seats, wow! But not being sure about luggage placement, we make mistake of keeping ours with us. Meaning one piece is shoved under our seat and the other at our feet. And of course there's next to no leg room between seats as it is. So we're kind of frozen in our seats for 2 hours up the river. No standing possible on this boat. Water spray from wake feels great at first but then becomes strong enough from wake that all pull the fabric like curtains to avoid getting wet. Boat stops several times along the river to let some off and pick others up. People just wave from wherever they at to get boat to stop for them. Not much development right along the river at all between San Carlos and Sabados. People at "stops" (usually nothing more than enough cleared beach for boat to pull up) appear to have walked some distance from area farms.
Feb 19th, 2016, 01:09 PM
#49
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Sabalos, Nic. At last we arrive at dock in Sabalos. Our hotel, Hotel Sabalos, is just across very narrow little adjoining river, Sabalos River, sitting on stilts at the intersection of the 2 rivers. We're picked up immediately by another Alan from our hotel and delivered to the hotel's dock in a couple minutes. We immediately love the hotel and staff. Hotel is constructed completely of wood, with a deck that goes all the way around on the river. Our room is small and basic but bed is comfortable, fan works well, and shower has ok pressure and some hot water. But the deck seating area is just wonderful. And the 3 staff members just terrific. We really, really enjoyed sitting out and watching life in this riverside community. The hotel is a favorite with fisherman, who come to the river to catch huge tarpon and snook. Two groups were there during our stay, a boisterous group of guys from Granada and Costa Rica, and two quiet guys from near us in the US. We talked to both about their fishing experiences. Took a photo of one with his 14 pound snook. The hotel cooked and served it to them that night. The US guys alleged they'd caught a 125 pound tarpon, but they do only catch and release. We make new friends with a fun couple from UK. Have dinner with them at hotel one eve and exchange lots of travel stories, discuss politics in US and UK.
On our first full day in Sabalos we lazed over coffee and breakfast on the porch, then walked back some distance inland on "our" side of the Sabalos River. Basically a sidewalk goes back 1/4 mile past neatly kept, but very basic, mostly Caribe style one story wood homes, small convenience stores, a couple minute churches, and a few "restaurants." The sidewalk then joins a dirt road. We walk up the dirt road a little and see a beautiful hooded tanager in a tree. A gorgeous multi colored bird. But the sun is very hot, so we turn back toward shade. Consider taking hotel's rowboat out for a spin, but decide against it after noting condition of heavy wooden paddles. Have staff deliver us across river to "town". Doesn't take much more time to explore it. First we take the only road/street to right a few blocks till it ends at a lumber yard. As we turn around, a nasty little black terrier dog runs out to Mr. G, who yelled at him in an attempt to scare him off. (Perhaps further aggravating the dog?). Dog actually nipped at him, but fortunately seemed only to have grazed rather than broken any skin. Our only bad dog experience in all our Mexico/Central America travels. We got out of that area fast and took the road I the other direction. Pass some wood government buildings with plethora of Sandinista/FSLN flags. Eventually this dirt road ends up at the river again where we believe a rusty old car ferry comes and goes. Also there is a construction project of some sort, 4 big pipes, maybe 4 feet in diameter. We ask several people about the project - both our questions and their answers rife with possibility for misunderstanding of course.
(Later we laugh with our new UK friends when we found they'd asked similar questions and received similar answers. ) Our friend said "Imagine what those guys said about the TWO gringas who couldn't figure out what a boat/lancha was." We realized that our "what's happening there? " questions had been understood as something like" what goes (from) there?" so ..... Duh, lady, the boat (car ferry) goes from there. Sigh. Later we learned from our hotel manager that the pipes will be used for transporting the dreaded palm oil.
On our second day in Sabalos we had signed on for one of several available tours. We were collected by small motor boat at 6 am by Spanish speaking guide and driver. We motored slowly down San Juan River checking out wildlife. Saw lots of water birds, a sloth low in a tree,
Monkeys, and several beautiful basilisks (the Jesus Christ lizard that walks on water - always fun to see in action). Watched two caracaras (black and white raptors) try to corner and capture an egret in the air. They came dangerously close, but we were happy when they finally gave up and egret managed to get away. Then we transferred from motor boat to the canoe the guys had been pulling along with us and they rowed us down a little mangrove like side stream called Boca Negra. This was a really beautiful spot with still green water lined with huge palm branches. We tied up along here and briefly walked a jungle path. Our guide pointed out trees and plants of interest along the way, including a large type of almond tree, fruit for many forest animals, and broken egg shells of guans. All very interesting, if hot and buggy.
Lazed away the afternoon on the deck watching river life again and had another nice cocktail hour and dinner right there. Manager Mariela and servers Alan and Juan were just the best. As others have said, nothing was too much trouble for them. Everything you asked for was easily arranged and accommodated. Stronger coffee? Here's a new separate pot freshly brewed just for you. We loved it there! Food was pretty good too!
Slept well till wakened by sounds of river life. Some actual rain beats down in the early am, but then weather clears. Juan delivers breakfast and then shuttles us across to boat dock for trip back down river to San Carlos, making sure we get tickets correctly etc. (Mr G just counted 20 in and out of boats on this trip! ). Knowing the drill this time, we allow our small carry on suitcases to be slung on top of boat along with other baggage and cargo, leaving us each just a smaller piece to put under seat. A much more comfortable ride back, probably less windy/with just enough water spray to be refreshing. No curtains needed, so we really enjoy the ride this time, looking at birds, river life. People get dropped off and picked up along the way. One big group of German tourists is dropped off just under a new bridge (built by Japan) that connects Nicaragua and Costa Rica across San Juan.
Finally back in San Carlos we slog down the Malecon with our luggage to our favorite lakeside restaurant Kaoma. It's only a little after 10 and our flight out of nearby San Carlos "airport " on La Costena isn't until 2:15. We while away some time drinking coffee, checking email, and talking to our favorite waiter Mario. Eventually eat some pretty decent Spanish tortillas. While looking for a taxi on the street we're passed by one full taxi which turns out to be transporting Aileen our hostess from Los Guatuzos,
Who waves gaily. We run into her again at airport where she's meeting 6 French tourists who will be staying with them. We enjoy our 20 minute flight in the 12 seater plane from San Carlos to Ometepe, the large island in middle of Lake Nicaragua. Only a little bumpy. Great views of the island's two volcanoes as we descend. We'll be here in Ometepe for 3 nights.
On our first full day in Sabalos we lazed over coffee and breakfast on the porch, then walked back some distance inland on "our" side of the Sabalos River. Basically a sidewalk goes back 1/4 mile past neatly kept, but very basic, mostly Caribe style one story wood homes, small convenience stores, a couple minute churches, and a few "restaurants." The sidewalk then joins a dirt road. We walk up the dirt road a little and see a beautiful hooded tanager in a tree. A gorgeous multi colored bird. But the sun is very hot, so we turn back toward shade. Consider taking hotel's rowboat out for a spin, but decide against it after noting condition of heavy wooden paddles. Have staff deliver us across river to "town". Doesn't take much more time to explore it. First we take the only road/street to right a few blocks till it ends at a lumber yard. As we turn around, a nasty little black terrier dog runs out to Mr. G, who yelled at him in an attempt to scare him off. (Perhaps further aggravating the dog?). Dog actually nipped at him, but fortunately seemed only to have grazed rather than broken any skin. Our only bad dog experience in all our Mexico/Central America travels. We got out of that area fast and took the road I the other direction. Pass some wood government buildings with plethora of Sandinista/FSLN flags. Eventually this dirt road ends up at the river again where we believe a rusty old car ferry comes and goes. Also there is a construction project of some sort, 4 big pipes, maybe 4 feet in diameter. We ask several people about the project - both our questions and their answers rife with possibility for misunderstanding of course.
(Later we laugh with our new UK friends when we found they'd asked similar questions and received similar answers. ) Our friend said "Imagine what those guys said about the TWO gringas who couldn't figure out what a boat/lancha was." We realized that our "what's happening there? " questions had been understood as something like" what goes (from) there?" so ..... Duh, lady, the boat (car ferry) goes from there. Sigh. Later we learned from our hotel manager that the pipes will be used for transporting the dreaded palm oil.
On our second day in Sabalos we had signed on for one of several available tours. We were collected by small motor boat at 6 am by Spanish speaking guide and driver. We motored slowly down San Juan River checking out wildlife. Saw lots of water birds, a sloth low in a tree,
Monkeys, and several beautiful basilisks (the Jesus Christ lizard that walks on water - always fun to see in action). Watched two caracaras (black and white raptors) try to corner and capture an egret in the air. They came dangerously close, but we were happy when they finally gave up and egret managed to get away. Then we transferred from motor boat to the canoe the guys had been pulling along with us and they rowed us down a little mangrove like side stream called Boca Negra. This was a really beautiful spot with still green water lined with huge palm branches. We tied up along here and briefly walked a jungle path. Our guide pointed out trees and plants of interest along the way, including a large type of almond tree, fruit for many forest animals, and broken egg shells of guans. All very interesting, if hot and buggy.
Lazed away the afternoon on the deck watching river life again and had another nice cocktail hour and dinner right there. Manager Mariela and servers Alan and Juan were just the best. As others have said, nothing was too much trouble for them. Everything you asked for was easily arranged and accommodated. Stronger coffee? Here's a new separate pot freshly brewed just for you. We loved it there! Food was pretty good too!
Slept well till wakened by sounds of river life. Some actual rain beats down in the early am, but then weather clears. Juan delivers breakfast and then shuttles us across to boat dock for trip back down river to San Carlos, making sure we get tickets correctly etc. (Mr G just counted 20 in and out of boats on this trip! ). Knowing the drill this time, we allow our small carry on suitcases to be slung on top of boat along with other baggage and cargo, leaving us each just a smaller piece to put under seat. A much more comfortable ride back, probably less windy/with just enough water spray to be refreshing. No curtains needed, so we really enjoy the ride this time, looking at birds, river life. People get dropped off and picked up along the way. One big group of German tourists is dropped off just under a new bridge (built by Japan) that connects Nicaragua and Costa Rica across San Juan.
Finally back in San Carlos we slog down the Malecon with our luggage to our favorite lakeside restaurant Kaoma. It's only a little after 10 and our flight out of nearby San Carlos "airport " on La Costena isn't until 2:15. We while away some time drinking coffee, checking email, and talking to our favorite waiter Mario. Eventually eat some pretty decent Spanish tortillas. While looking for a taxi on the street we're passed by one full taxi which turns out to be transporting Aileen our hostess from Los Guatuzos,
Who waves gaily. We run into her again at airport where she's meeting 6 French tourists who will be staying with them. We enjoy our 20 minute flight in the 12 seater plane from San Carlos to Ometepe, the large island in middle of Lake Nicaragua. Only a little bumpy. Great views of the island's two volcanoes as we descend. We'll be here in Ometepe for 3 nights.
Mar 1st, 2016, 06:01 AM
#51
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Ometepe (will post the rest of our trip in segments, as lately I can't seem to post a long report in a single segment - is it just me?)
We were picked up at Ometepe’s tiny airport by our prearranged taxi and driven across the island to its southwestern side near the “town” of Merida. For the last 500 meters or so we turned off the “main” road (dirt itself there and barely 2 lanes) onto the rocky road that led to our next lodging “Finca Montania Sagrada.”
I guess there are more remote lodgings than this on Ometepe but I wouldn’t know where. Mr. G liked the sound of this place, and since he doesn’t usually express a strong opinion about lodging, we went with it.
This is a property of a couple hectares owned by 3 middle aged Europeans (German/Italian). Over the last 8 years or so that they’ve been here, they’ve built 3 or 4 cabanas, a kitchen/dining palapa, and a horse stable area, and created some lovely grounds. Hari, one of the owners, runs a horse rental biz from here (he has 10 well maintained horses, though most aren’t stabled at the property). They also have a collection of pets – Peruvian hairless dog, a half dozen Chihuahua puppies, a parrot, and a collection of cats. We have reserved the large room on the second floor of one of the cabanas. It’s nicely comfortable with a big porch in front with rocking chairs and hammock – also a fine view of both Concepcion and Maderas volcanoes (in fact a trail to Maderas starts just about at the property).
The first thing we notice upon arrival is that it is VERY WINDY. Gusts up to 50 km/h. If we hadn’t been staying in such a solidly constructed building it would have felt scarily windy. Not unusual for this time of year the owners said, but the windy period seems to be extending longer this year…… Since we arrived mid afternoon and didn’t relish the hot afternoon walk to the “main” road, we just relaxed on our porch and enjoyed the view (the wind not so much). We also decided to eat at our “hotel” for 2 reasons: 1) we’d have to return back the rock road in the dark with a flashlight if we went to “town”, and 2) the European owners and their local cook will make dinner for you (mostly pastas – but hey they’re Italian!) for $15 pp. As it turned out we did this all 3 nights of our stay – enjoying pesto, arrabiata, and putanesca pastas, good salads, and homemade bread. We chatted a bit with the owners at dinner and more with the few other guests (two younger Canadian couples, one with a delightful young daughter). The family had a wonderful time riding with Hari and his female horse whisperer friend. They gave the daughter a few lessons, ran the horses on the beach, and even a bit in the water. Daughter was in horse heaven. It sounded wonderful, and I was sorely tempted, having done a bit of riding in the past and enjoyed it. Odds are I’d have stayed on the horse, but. .. . falls are more damaging than they used to be…..
Instead we were lazy. Walked into “town” one day and ate lunch at a little palapa with a lake view. Next day took a much longer walk up toward Maderas volcano. The hike to the top is apparently quite challenging – 7 or 8 hours round trip and treacherous in some parts, so that was not for us. Instead we walked up for about an hour and a half on the trail (gentle ascent at that point) until it started to get much steeper and then turned around and came back. Lots of nice views of lake below and the other volcano, saw some monkeys, and only a handful of other people – including one of the other couples staying at our hotel who said they’d walked for 3 hours and weren’t farther than half way . .. . . . they said they hike in the Rockies, looked very fit too, but deemed the hike very challenging. Ours was a much gentler and lovely walk. When we returned we walked down to the main road and this time turned toward the lake. Ate a sandwich at Hacienda Merida, which fronts on the lake and also has lodging, a restaurant/palapa, a bilingual school and some reserve property.
We were picked up at Ometepe’s tiny airport by our prearranged taxi and driven across the island to its southwestern side near the “town” of Merida. For the last 500 meters or so we turned off the “main” road (dirt itself there and barely 2 lanes) onto the rocky road that led to our next lodging “Finca Montania Sagrada.”
I guess there are more remote lodgings than this on Ometepe but I wouldn’t know where. Mr. G liked the sound of this place, and since he doesn’t usually express a strong opinion about lodging, we went with it.
This is a property of a couple hectares owned by 3 middle aged Europeans (German/Italian). Over the last 8 years or so that they’ve been here, they’ve built 3 or 4 cabanas, a kitchen/dining palapa, and a horse stable area, and created some lovely grounds. Hari, one of the owners, runs a horse rental biz from here (he has 10 well maintained horses, though most aren’t stabled at the property). They also have a collection of pets – Peruvian hairless dog, a half dozen Chihuahua puppies, a parrot, and a collection of cats. We have reserved the large room on the second floor of one of the cabanas. It’s nicely comfortable with a big porch in front with rocking chairs and hammock – also a fine view of both Concepcion and Maderas volcanoes (in fact a trail to Maderas starts just about at the property).
The first thing we notice upon arrival is that it is VERY WINDY. Gusts up to 50 km/h. If we hadn’t been staying in such a solidly constructed building it would have felt scarily windy. Not unusual for this time of year the owners said, but the windy period seems to be extending longer this year…… Since we arrived mid afternoon and didn’t relish the hot afternoon walk to the “main” road, we just relaxed on our porch and enjoyed the view (the wind not so much). We also decided to eat at our “hotel” for 2 reasons: 1) we’d have to return back the rock road in the dark with a flashlight if we went to “town”, and 2) the European owners and their local cook will make dinner for you (mostly pastas – but hey they’re Italian!) for $15 pp. As it turned out we did this all 3 nights of our stay – enjoying pesto, arrabiata, and putanesca pastas, good salads, and homemade bread. We chatted a bit with the owners at dinner and more with the few other guests (two younger Canadian couples, one with a delightful young daughter). The family had a wonderful time riding with Hari and his female horse whisperer friend. They gave the daughter a few lessons, ran the horses on the beach, and even a bit in the water. Daughter was in horse heaven. It sounded wonderful, and I was sorely tempted, having done a bit of riding in the past and enjoyed it. Odds are I’d have stayed on the horse, but. .. . falls are more damaging than they used to be…..
Instead we were lazy. Walked into “town” one day and ate lunch at a little palapa with a lake view. Next day took a much longer walk up toward Maderas volcano. The hike to the top is apparently quite challenging – 7 or 8 hours round trip and treacherous in some parts, so that was not for us. Instead we walked up for about an hour and a half on the trail (gentle ascent at that point) until it started to get much steeper and then turned around and came back. Lots of nice views of lake below and the other volcano, saw some monkeys, and only a handful of other people – including one of the other couples staying at our hotel who said they’d walked for 3 hours and weren’t farther than half way . .. . . . they said they hike in the Rockies, looked very fit too, but deemed the hike very challenging. Ours was a much gentler and lovely walk. When we returned we walked down to the main road and this time turned toward the lake. Ate a sandwich at Hacienda Merida, which fronts on the lake and also has lodging, a restaurant/palapa, a bilingual school and some reserve property.
Mar 1st, 2016, 06:03 AM
#52
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Granada I
After 3 relaxing days on Ometepe, we were driven back across the island to the airport for our flight to Managua.
This was the only flight of our two month trip that wasn’t on time (what good luck we had!) – an hour and a half late. We were the only waiting passengers! (Did I mention that this is one of those airstrips that an airport road crosses ? Fun to wait at the road’s gated crossing when planes take off and land. . ) At last our tiny plane arrived. One passenger got off and we got on. Surprised to run into our Canadian friend from our Los Guatuzos stay. She had just come from the Solentiname Islands (other group of islands in the lake). She and the other passengers already on board, all looking rather shaken, told us about the bumpy ride they’d had to Ometepe. Apparently the plane bounced way up and way back down - as they were crossing over the volcano. And they got lots of other small bumps along the way as well. Lots of wind, as mentioned earlier, could have been a contributing factor. Glad we missed that! And fortunately it was only a slightly bumpy ride for us to Managua.
In Managua we were again met by a prearranged taxi, a nice driver who pointed out a few things of interest, e.g. a cockfight ring (!) - on way to Granada, our next and final location. Granada is a lovely colonial town (founded in 1524) with a population of 130,000 or so. We really enjoyed our time here – our wonderful B&B Casa San Francisco, the pleasant town plaza, beautiful old churches, good restaurants, and hanging out with our friend Jane, who joined us in Granada – a place she fell in love with years ago and always wanted to return to. Casa San Francisco is North American owned, has just 4 or 5 rooms, a nice little restaurant area with good food, a cozy little bar, a breezy roof top terrace, an inviting dip pool, and beautiful greenery and flowers. Reception was staffed by several very helpful and efficient women, all of whom were fluent in English. This hotel, and Hotel Sabalos on the San Juan River, were our favorites of the trip!
After 3 relaxing days on Ometepe, we were driven back across the island to the airport for our flight to Managua.
This was the only flight of our two month trip that wasn’t on time (what good luck we had!) – an hour and a half late. We were the only waiting passengers! (Did I mention that this is one of those airstrips that an airport road crosses ? Fun to wait at the road’s gated crossing when planes take off and land. . ) At last our tiny plane arrived. One passenger got off and we got on. Surprised to run into our Canadian friend from our Los Guatuzos stay. She had just come from the Solentiname Islands (other group of islands in the lake). She and the other passengers already on board, all looking rather shaken, told us about the bumpy ride they’d had to Ometepe. Apparently the plane bounced way up and way back down - as they were crossing over the volcano. And they got lots of other small bumps along the way as well. Lots of wind, as mentioned earlier, could have been a contributing factor. Glad we missed that! And fortunately it was only a slightly bumpy ride for us to Managua.
In Managua we were again met by a prearranged taxi, a nice driver who pointed out a few things of interest, e.g. a cockfight ring (!) - on way to Granada, our next and final location. Granada is a lovely colonial town (founded in 1524) with a population of 130,000 or so. We really enjoyed our time here – our wonderful B&B Casa San Francisco, the pleasant town plaza, beautiful old churches, good restaurants, and hanging out with our friend Jane, who joined us in Granada – a place she fell in love with years ago and always wanted to return to. Casa San Francisco is North American owned, has just 4 or 5 rooms, a nice little restaurant area with good food, a cozy little bar, a breezy roof top terrace, an inviting dip pool, and beautiful greenery and flowers. Reception was staffed by several very helpful and efficient women, all of whom were fluent in English. This hotel, and Hotel Sabalos on the San Juan River, were our favorites of the trip!
