Days 66 to 68: San Juan del Sur, NIC

So it is Christmas day (day 68 of the trip) and we are a little worn from yesterday's surfing attempts and a sunburn. Perfect day to take a break from the beach and to catch up on the blog.

San Juan del Sur was exactly the kind of place we were hoping to find to spend a few days over the holidays: a mix of locals and tourists, no condos, laid back vibe, nice beaches and good party scene.

Mihai and Josh got there a day before me, due to my license problems in Granada. They booked a room in Hotel Colonial, a decent hotel with secure parking and a nice garden. Not bad, except for the high price due to the time of the year (60$ per night), and the three of us were crammed in a small room. 

Hotel Colonial

Our room. So much for privacy..hehe.

There are several bars and hostels in San Juan. Several are beach front. We really like the place. Unlike Zipolite in Mexico, where we hung out for a couple of days on the beach, this place is a backpacker's spot and there are very little hippies. This is a good thing, as Mihai and I have seen enough hippie bullshit on this trip to come to dislike the ''culture''.

Beachfront bars and restos

Beach football at sunset

The beach in San Juan is OK, but there is a much nicer one about 12 km away, called Playa Maderas. That's where we have been hanging out. It's a surfer's spot, so I tried it for the first time ever. I suck at it so far, but still enjoy it a lot. It's more of a physical workout than I would have thought. No wonder all serious surfers are very lean dudes.

Surfer ripping through a wave at Playa Maderas

Playa Maderas

Beach volleyball, always popular.

More of Playa Maderas

Our bikes at the beach

Chilling..... I definetely like this Sandy Xmas thing :)

There are many international travellers from all over the world here, mainly backpackers. Surprisingly, several motorcycles showed up too. On Christmas day, we have counted so far 12 bikes so far, from Canada, USA, UK and Costa Rica. Looks like, just like us, many of the moto overlanders are looking for a few days on the beach before continuing their respective journeys.

A couple from Michigan is riding this cool Triumph Scrambler 900 to Argentina.

Since we got here, our diet consists mainly of burritos, tacos, and beer. There's also a great little ice cream joint, which we have been hitting daily so far :)

The ice cream is awesome. Josh agrees

Tomorrow (day 69), we are planning to head out to the island of Ometepe, which is about 50 km from San Juan del Sur. We are looking forward to it, as it is supposed to be the highlight of Nicaragua. There are two volcanoes on the island, and it is apparently a very scenic place. We should be there for 2-3 days, before returning to San Juan for New Year's Eve celebrations and some more time on the beach. Hasta luego!

Days 62 to 65 - Granada, NIC

Day 62:

The ride from Leon to Granada took us half a day. We hit the worse paved road so far in South America... Actually, I wouldn’t even call it ''paved'', as there was about 50% of asphalt left, with huge pot holes all over. Even with the DR's long-travel suspension, we were unable to ride faster than 70 kmh, as beyond that speed it would be risky to hit something and fly over the handlebars. Fortunately, the nasty stretch only lasted for about 30 km. We tried to so some more dirt tracks, but eventually gave up due to navigation problems. Our maps were not precise enough, and the trails were getting really confusing, so we decided to not waste anymore time and headed back to pavement.

Once in Granada, we found a hostel and parked in front to see if they had room, and for how much. All was good, so we headed back to the motos, as the receptionist opened the gate for us to park the bikes inside. We were on a one way street, so Mihai and Josh u-turned and rode the 15m or so to the gate. I went last, and as I turned around, I came face to face with a cop on a small bike. Shit. 

The guy pulled me over, obviously. At first, I played dumb with the ''No hablo Espanol'' line, but unfortunately it turned out that this guy spoke fluent English. Shit. The other odd thing in this situation is that he looked a lot like Lou Diamond Philips, a fairly known actor (remember the movie La Bamba?). 

I tried to explain to LDP that I was just looping to enter the gate, and that it wasn't really going against the traffic. Even the receptionist had my back, and she confirmed my story. But LDP wouldn't have it, so I just told him to write the ticket and I'll pay it (not to him, obviously). After the Acapulco episode, I was determined not to bribe anymore crooked coppers. That's where my saga began. In Nicaragua, when you get a ticket, it goes like this:

1) your license is confiscated

2) you have to bring the ticket to a bank, which will issue you a receipt after payment.

3) you bring the recipt to the police station, and they give you your license back.

Now that doesn't seem too complicated, but it turned out into a mess.

Once LDP handed me the ticket, I didn't go to the bank right away. I was hungry and needed something to eat, and also I wanted to check directly at the police station if it was no bullshit.

After having a bite, I went to the police station. They told me that I did indeed have to pay the fine at a bank, but that it was too late that day and they were closed already. Shit.

Day 63:

I woke up at 8 am, and went to the bank to pay my fine. Once at the police station, I was told that the office where I was supposed to claim my license would only open at 2 PM. Shit.

So I went back to the hostel, and we agreed that Mihai and Josh would get going towards our next destination (San Juan de Sur), and I would catch up later that day.

At 2PM, I was back at the police station. There were several other ''offenders'' waiting to get their papers back. The whole process was slow and completely disorganized, Two hours later, I was told that they didn't have my license: LDP didn't turn it in at the end of his shift the previous day, and apparently he was off duty that day too. Shit. 

I was told to come back the next day at 10 AM...

Day 64:

The next day, I was back at the police station at 10 AM. The whole situation was not looking too good: if I didn't get my papers back that day, the next day was a Sunday, and then it was Xmas. I could see how I could get stuck in Granada for a week... or more, if LDP trashed my driver's license.

So I got to the police station pumped, knowing that it was do or die that day. I started bugging every cop in sight, repeating the same story. At first, the lady in charge, ''la jefe'', told me that they didn't have the key to the office, the douche that had it was doing traffic somewhere in town, and they didn't know when he would return. I had nothing to lose at that point, so I just stuck around for another 1.5 hours, bugging more people. Finally, at 10 am, the door to the office opened magically, and I got my license back. Hell yeah! I strolled off to the hostel with a big smile on my face, packed and left for San Juan del Sur.

The whole process was one of the most patience trying events I've been through in my life. However, these problems are part of a trip like this, and I was well aware of it before undertaking this trip. My morale is still unscathed :)

Not many pictures from Granada, as I had bigger fish to fry during my stay there ;)

At Hostel Oasis, where we stayed.

My hosts during my stay in Granada

Almost 3 days later, my driver's license finally appeared through this little window.

Lou Diamond Phillips (LDP)...lol

LDP writing my ticket

Days 59 to 61 - Esteli, NIC to Leon, NIC

Day 59:

 

We woke up the next day a little slow, since we partied pretty hard (for our age anyway... :) the night before at the horse festival in Esteli. Since the festival was finishing that day, we decided to pack our stuff and take off for Leon, about 130 km from there. 

The riding was fun enough in the beginning, but eventually the road got real flat and straight for most of the way. It probably around 35 deg. C that day, and all three of us had to fight hard not to doze off. 

In Leon, we found the two major hostels in town, which were actually both on the same street, right across from each other. Since the nicer Via Via didn't have room that night, we stayed at the Blackfoot, even though they wouldn't let us park the motos inside. Fortunately, we were able to arrange with the manager of Via Via to let us leave the bikers there, once we let him know that we would move to his hostel the next morning.

Che mural in our room at the Blackfoot hostel in Leon

Our 3 bikes, plus a BMW GS 1150 from Oregon, parked at Via Via

Via Via hostel. Great place with tasty food as well.

Flor de Cana... Great Nicaraguan rhum. Cheap in Central America.

Day 60:

On our second day in Leon, we moved our stuff from Blackfoot to Via Via, and then jumped on the bikes to check out the nearby beach, about 20 km away. The place was a disappointment: pretty deserted, and not that nice either: littered and with gray, volcanic dust-like sand. We hung out a bit at a local hostel, and then had lunch at a nearby seafood restaurant. About 15 minutes after downing a plate of seafood pasta, my stomach started to feel a little weird... Fortunately we made it back to Leon on time, but it  was close call ;) 

Later that night, Josh and I went to get a haircut. As much as the barber in Puerto Escondido, Mexico, did a good job a few weeks ago, the one in Leon came up with the worse haircut I've had in the past 20 years... It was NOT worth the 2$ I paid for it. (a week later, I am seriously considering about getting it fixed by someone else.. it's that bad... :)

 

Beach near Leon. A disappointment.

The USA/Canada connection at the beach

Day 61:

The next day, we intended on checking out the nearby Cerro Negro volcano, and to doing some ash boarding. The place was only 25 km from Leon, but the ride was more challenging than expected, as the road was very sandy.

Once there, we leased two boards, and took off with our guide to climb the volcano. The hike took about 40 minutes, and I was out of breath for most of the way: the trail was steep, made of soft volcanic material, and I am out of shape. Once on top of the volcano, it was extremely windy, but the view was awesome.

The surfing part wasn't actually that fun: the boards don't have bindings, but straps, which don’t provide any ankle support for carving. Also, they are too short and keep sinking in the volcanic dust. I am still glad that I did, but it's now off the "to do" checklist and I wouldn’t care about doing it again.

Crater of the Cerro Negro volcano

There are a few other volcanos in the region. You can see the smoke on this photo.

On top of the volcano... Finally. I was a sweaty mess.

Mihai getting ready to descend.

Then it was my turn... Pic taken by our guide.

We went back to our hostel, re-packed our gear (the part of the trip all moto travellers dislike the most...packing and unpacking), and headed to town to snap a few photos. The next day we had agreed to head to Granada.

Kids playing soccer, with a few skaters on the side.

Happy Holidays!

In case I don't have time to make another entry before Christmas, I'd like to wish everyone reading this all the best for the Holidays. I'm sure you are looking very much forward to those few days off work :) 

To my family in Poland: Wesolych Swiat i wszystkiego najlepszego w roku 2013. Zobaczymy sie za pare miesiecy w Gdansku. Lato 2013.

Feliz Navidad a todos!

Day 58: Yuscaran, HON to Esteli, NIC

I'm presently stuck in Granada, Nicaragua with driver's license issues (more on that later), so I have some unplanned spare time to catch up on the blog. Once again I am recycling some stuff from Josh to speed up the process.

From Yuscaran, we decided to do some dirt roads all the way to the Nicaraguan border. It was fun, but dusty as hell. Our motorcycle gear hasn't been washed in over a month, and it is now in pretty nasty shape. Imagine the scent of a hockey bag, combined with a layer of dust and a crust of dead bugs...

Road going straight through a football field.. That's a first, even in Central America..lol.

Small water crossing along the way.

Me crossing a bridge.

We made it to the border at around lunchtime on a Sunday, so we expected things to go SLOW. 

Quoting Josh:

The crossing took over 2 hours. Mostly getting into Nica but it was because we got the lady we needed on lunch break and then things just move slow. We all hung out BS'd and laughed. We are in no rush either. One pushy handler to shoo away but other than that all was easy and chill! Another handler and some truckers told us to get ahead of them in line. The guy took our paperwork and handed it to the lady told her our deal and ''boom'',  that part was done. He never even indicated he wanted any money. I gave him and another guy and Alaska postcard and they were pumped!

The guys at the border that operate the gate and where you get insurance love the bikes! Some people are just stoked on the trip. We laugh with them get insurance shake hands and hit the road. Nica roads are great! Especially compared to Honduras.

Riding with the Canadians is a real good time. I have road with other guys on similar bikes and they struggle to keep up but Team Smoke Screen (Josh gave us this nickname) know how to ride and run the DR's hard.

We make it to Estreli (NIC) expecting a nice chill night because it is Sunday and we were up late due to the little local festival in Yuscaran. NOPE not happening. Esteli is crazy and almost completely booked!! 

It is the last night of some Horse Festival where all the best horses from all of Central America come. I don't know what classifies a horse as a "best" horse but these people are into it. When in Rome...

Here is preview picture or two...bad cell phone shots but you get the idea.

At the HON-NIC border crossing in Los Manos.

Horses dancing to the music!

Big party going on! We joined it and had a good time. Needless to say, the morning after was a bit slow..lol.

Mayhem! 

The horses walk the same area as the people. Horses are bigger than people and when a horse is coming you get out of the way. The people riding horses usually have a beer in hand as well. It is crazy. We saw a horse do a little spin move and kinda slam a young lady into a beer cart. Everyone just laughs including the lady. Total mayhem!! 

Mihai being... Mihai..lol

Josh wilding out!

Some guys let us ride there horses just because we were gringos and they were drunk (and so were we..a little...lol). No charge. Just people being nice and having a good time!

I told them I was gringo and didn't know how to ride a horse. Then pulled this cool move!

Being a little more conservative than Josh, but I still had no idea how to handle that horse..lol

Those guys just about fell over laughing. It was a very fun and unique night!! Off to Leon a little slow the next day.