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.