Sometimes Expectations are more than reality… But Monkeys make EVERYTHING better!

We spent our second day in Nicaragua in a rural setting.  The hotel was the Eco Posada a “sustainable” hotel that focuses on the environment and not using more than is needed.  During our dinner there I asked the owner about things like solar electricity and water catchment, she said that they were planning on doing water catchment because the government had recently implemented a program to bring electricity to the rural areas and that now they didn’t feel the need to focus on solar.  It was a question of where their resources would do the most good.

Our drive to Granada was shorter than expected we arrived a little after 11, and while I was hopping out to see about a hostel, Fritz was chatting to an American, I quickly returned to the truck to find out if he knew a place that would have parking and take our dogs… Score he did!  We were quickly settled into the Casa Cubana, a great little boutique hotel http://casacubanagranada.com/ that we loved!  The owner is an over lander whose camper is currently parked in Peru and he is returning to it at the end of the month. 

We took a quick tour around the town to get a bite to eat.  It is a cute little colonial town with a large cathedral and central park.  Leading toward the lake is “restaurant row” a well paved street lined with everything from “O’Shea’s Irish Pub” to “Comida Tipica Y Mas”. 

Once we found a place to eat in the shade (did I mention how hot Granada is?), we were approached by a man who quickly told us he was a street artist but his paints had been stolen the night before, he proceeded to tell us a poem and Fritz gave him a couple Cordoba and he went on his merry way.   

That evening we ventured out again, we went to a bar on “the strip” and soon a young man came by to offer me a rose made out of palm fronds, not wanting to encourage the begging/hustling of the kids (because it results in them dropping out of school) I tried to say no, but he was too cute and had too good of a gift of gab…”oh Patricia is a lovely name”, “in school we study about the environment that is why I make you a cricket”.  After he left there was another young man who told us how his flute had been broken and now he could not perform on the streets for tips.  Around this time we were discussing where we would go to next as Grenada had definitely made us a bit sour. 

In the morning after a great breakfast at the Hotel we decided to do a day trip to the Masya Volcano and the Laguna Apoyo.  The volcano last erupted this last April so much of the park was closed, but we did get to see the smoke billowing up from the crater.

 

The Laguna Apoyo was more interesting, it is the cleanest water in Nicaragua, and to protect it they do not allow motorized vehicles on the lake.  We at lunch at a restaurant nestled in the hill where Howler Monkey’s with their babies entertained us!  Our day trips made us like the area much more, and appreciate the people as well.

 

Two borders in one day is one border too many!

We left our beach paradise in El Salvador early on Sunday.  We figured Sunday would be a good day to cross the border, especially early before the holiday vacationers were up (Friday was Mother’s day). We had heard that Honduras could be tricky, that the border was a mess and that once across it we would be playing stop and pay with the police.   The border was actually straight forward, it was long and there was a lot of back and forth between buildings (and a 2 kilometer stretch of no man’s land) but it was quicker than Guatemala and Mexico. 

We went through 3 police road blocks, where we signaled over and asked for our papers.  I am not sure if it is our age, our truck or the fact that I use these police check points to make sure that we are going the right way, which completely confuses the policeman as now he has to think, look at my map and confirm my directions, but we didn’t have to show our triangles (which we bought in El Salvador) or our fire extinguishers, and Fritz was really upset that I told him to wear shoes. Every police officer we met was friendly and helpful and not one bribe or fine asked for!

The Nicaraguan border was longer and more complicated mostly because of the dogs which meant another office to visit and more fees to pay but after 3 hours we were done and on our way.  Finding hotel however proved more difficult.  The plan was to drive to Esteli, but after 9 hours in the car (ok 4 hours driving and 5 at borders) I was done, get me a beer and a pool and preferably some air conditioning.  The first 4 hotels we stopped at said no to the dogs or were full, but the 5^th hotel was blissfully empty, would take the doggies and had a pool, wifi and AIR!  Score! 

At the crack of 8 we were on our way to Esteli, a quick 2 hour drive on good roads and 1 hour on 8 miles of bad road.  The Sustainable Tourism Hotel was great, we played with the cows, went for a hike and swam (ok waded) in the waterfall pool.  All and all a great stop that I would recommend to anyone in Nicaragua.  After cooling off in the mountains it was off to Granada…

SUP in La Tortuga Verde

About the last things that we bought for our trip were two Stand Up Paddle Boards, our goal was to learn to use them on the trip.  We had gone out to a local Harbor and tried exactly two times before making the purchase.  We thought we would use them in Baja, nope to damn cold.  We got them out in Bucerias and that was fun, we thought they would be useful in Oaxaca, the waves were too big and we only used them once.  I even chose Fritz’s language school based on its proximity to a lake, but the lake was too cold so they have sat on the roof of our tuck more than being in the water where they belong.

When we got to the Tortuga Verde we finally had a place to use them again.  Every other time had been in extremely clam water so this was going to be a challenge.  The first day we paddled around in the white wash on our knees just getting the feel of it, every few feet we were thrown off, the boards did a nose dive, or even if we did stay on the waves pushed us back toward shore. 

The second day of playing was basically the same for me (hey I didn’t care it was still great fun), but Fritz finally got outside the waves and was actually using them the way they were supposed to be used!  I ran up the beach, dragging the board behind me to get the camera, and when I finally got it he was walking calmly out of the water! 

On the third day we both had success, we got out beyond the waves and were both able to stand up.  What a great feeling, both going up and over the huge waves (ok the picture shows they are only about 2 feet but to us they felt 20 feet high) and then being outside the waves standing up and paddling. 

It was scary as well, the distance from the shore wasn’t the only thing concerning me, the 7 or so jellyfish were also pretty scary, and great motivation NOT to fall off the board.  That was also the first “wave” I rode in, although on my knees, it didn’t matter, I was hooked!

 

We went out again and Jessica, a woman staying at the Tortuga Verde was nice enough to take these pictures for us.  It is also great motivation to get back out there!

 

 

We found it… Paradise

We left El Tunco twice, the first time we were about ½ an hour away when it dawned on me we had forgotten a pot!  I am not leaving one of my 2 pots behind so we retraced our steps and made it out by 11, a late start for us.

We had an idea of where we were going but as the beach known as Flores wasn’t on a map (or known by Greta) we set off with more of a general idea and not a final destination. I saw a sign to a beach that was mentioned in the Lonely Planet Central America (I finally got a copy a week before we left Guatemala), and turned down the road.  The road ended at a couple of little restaurants and a couple of hotels that were either closed or abandoned, we couldn’t tell which. 

We let the dogs out to finally get a walk and go pee and were greeted by no less than five barking dogs, our once frantic dog attacking dogs that we had problems walking on the strand, calmly walked past the them and didn’t even pay them any attention, they are getting so good! 

We asked the locals if there was a nice hotel around, we had a recommendation to look for a guy named something O’Rourke who worked at a hotel but considering we weren’t sure where we were, we figured that finding him would be slim to none.  We took the locals recommendation and found a great little spot called the “Green Tortuga”, right on the beach, still undergoing construction but for $35 a night (and they took the dogs) possible less if we don’t use the air, and a pool we were in. 

As always we booked it for a night, just to see if it is really as good as it appeared and went to check out the beach.  The waves are much smaller here than in Tunco, maybe two feet high, the beach is flat and sandy and there is a nice breeze from the west, basically it is perfect. 

 

As we settled in and got our modem hooked up, we met a kid from New York, he has been here for four months working on social marketing for the hotel, after a bit of conversation I asked him his last name, O’Rourke!  Once again we found the place we were supposed to be, quite by chance.

The next morning during low tide we decided to brave the waters and took the boards out for our first open ocean experience (ok we went out in Puerto Vallarta but that is a very calm bay).  We never got past the first round of breakers but had so much fun we decided to stay a few more days.  This is the first place we’ve visited that makes us think… there is hotel down the road for sale, and if the price is right we may just stay!

What matters most…?

As we have been traveling around we find that our favorite places to stay have one thing in common.  The rooms are all about the same (with a few exceptions), some have had pools, others haven’t, some have been on beaches or lakes and others in cities, but the thing that makes traveling great is meeting great people. 

Many people come down to El Salvador for this…

Fritz likes El Salvador for this…

And I liked El Salvador for this…

But truly the reason the reason we both had such a good time in El Salvador was that we met a great group of people who welcomed us with open arms, even though we don’t surf, and even with the language barrier, we still met so many great people that we will keep in touch with forever. 

Jesus saves… I am a witness

 

All over Maui there were T-shirts and bumper stickers that read “Eddie would go”.  Eddie Aikau is remembered because he lost his life paddling to get help after the canoe he was in capsized off the islands of Molokai and Lanai, everyone else was saved but Eddie who had set off to get help was lost at sea.

We left our “BikeHotel” early setting off toward cleaner beaches.  The first place we stopped was beautiful but too much money for us, the second was cheap but not nice enough for us, the third, fourth and fifth places were perfect but wouldn’t take dogs!  Finally we found a cute little Hostal/Hotel in El Tunco (The Tunco Lodge) that would take us and our dogs AND more importantly had a pool!  The pool was mandatory for me as swimming in the Ocean was a no go due to the huge waves and treacherous currents.  Walking through the town of El Tunco we were told that at least 6 people had died in the month of April (ok so we heard different numbers from 5 to 11 so we are going with 6), some were surfers and others swimmers caught in rips and towed out to sea or smashed on the rocks that dot the ocean. 

It was hot and we were hot so we spent most of the afternoon splashing in the pool trying to cool off while the dogs slept in air conditioned bliss. Around 4 in the afternoon we were all sufficiently cooled down enough to check out the beach.  The waves were incredible, toward the west side of the beach (it is a south facing break) there is a place that breaks right in an almost straight line.  The surfers can catch a wave and ride it for ages but never move further down just in.  The waves start about a mile out so the paddle is long and hard.  In the center of the beach is a large rock and the currents around it swirl and twist, it is not a place I would want to swim and on that day I wouldn’t have even waded in the ocean. 

We walked down the beach to watch the few surfers brave (or dumb) enough to go out that afternoon.  Right in front of a group of three surfers (2 guys and girl) went in and started paddling the mile to the break.  As we watched I really wondered if they were going to make it, one of the guys took off and quickly made it out, the other guy and the girl seemed to be having a harder time, and eventually the girl started to paddle in and the guy took off to the break.  After 15 or so minutes the girl had not gotten any closer to shore but was being pulled closer and closer to the rock.  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing this poor girl was in serious trouble, a few minutes later another surfer entered the water dangerously close to the rock, he quickly paddled out to the girl and got her to turn around and paddle with the current around the rock, within 10 minutes they were both safely on the beach. 

I asked a local who the guy was, was he a local lifeguard, I wanted to know.  It turns out he is a waiter at a local restaurant and when people saw she was in trouble they ran to get him.  After he saved her he went back to the restaurant, showered changed clothes and went back to work.  His name is Jesus, and when I spoke to him he said it was no big deal that he does it all the time.   

The next morning the waves and currents had settled down, the ocean was full of surfers and swimmers.  We saw Jesus paddle out to catch some waves, besides being the unofficial life guard he was one of the best surfers in the water that day.

El Salvador we made... it to a Bicycle Hotel

We’ve read the blogs and heard the stories, all over Guatemala and Mexico we saw the signs AutoHotel, a place for weary travelers with secure parking and right on the road, a perfect for one night between stops, that is until they realize these are hotels set up for secret trysts, where the rooms rent for the hour not for the night. We knew better, we avoided them, especially the ones with names like “Secret Desires” or “Romantic Whispers” (notice the names are always in English).

We got a late start out of San Pedro; I had forgotten a very important item in the apartment (my custom made mobile toilet seat) and had to wait until 8:30 to be let back in the apartment to retrieve it (yes I am not leaving that behind, pun intended).  The drive out of San Pedro was great, beautiful road that ended abruptly and turned into a terrible wash out that lasted for 2 or 3 kilometers before returning to incredible road again.  We arrived at the El Salvador border around 2, about a mile before the border we knew we were getting close, a motorcycle pulled up and offered us assistance at the border, soon another approached us.  The first cut off the second and they pulled over (we assume to discuss who would be allowed to help us), the first motorcycle followed us and the second disappeared. 

At the border I explained that I could not accept help because if I did all my family and friends would laugh at me and that it was a point of pride to complete the task of the border crossing unassisted.  That worked, for the most part, the motorcycle helpers left, but a persistent man  kept following me around, cutting in front of me and explaining to the migracion what I needed done.  It was very annoying!  After completing the check-out of Guatemala, I gave him $2 for his help and again explained that I really NEEDED to complete this on my own.  The next step was easy, immigration check, no need to even show the papers for the dogs (though I tried repeatedly) to the Aduana for the car, they kept going out to check the car, write down an itemized list of things we had on top, return to the office, make copies, back to the office.  No problem but it was 3:30 before we were done. 

I checked with Greta to see where we were (a huge shout out to Dan for downloading the maps for us!) and to confirm that the route to our next stop was on the map.  What I saw on the map was a dirt trail (30 miles long) that would take us up to the camping area.  Not feeling up to 30 miles of rough road, and seeing as it was getting close to our self-imposed “in a hotel by 4 or 5 at the latest” we changed plans and headed towards a coastal town.  On the map there was what looked like a cruise ship so we headed toward the city of Acajutla.  I soon discovered my mistake, it was a ship yes, but not a cruise ship it was a port town lined with freighters.  Not wanting to push on we quickly found a cute little hotel/restaurant to bed down for the night.  When I entered the hotel area, there was a family sitting outside all laughing and talking, the kids were very interested in the dogs and the room was only $10 a night!  Well it was a scuzzy room, dirty even, and the toilet didn’t have a seat (yes that is why I bring my own) but the restaurant was on a bluff overlooking a black sand beach, with crashing waves and a pool (filled with small children which meant that I wasn’t going in but still nice to watch).  So we stayed. 

Hot, tired and getting hangery, we took the dogs down to the beach and entertained the locals with our crazy American dogs chasing a ball and the ball thrower (something most people haven’t seen)… at least our doggies are getting better at being free range and we can let them off leash!  We then had a great (and cheap) lobster and shrimp dinner, a walked down the very shabby beach front street to a Volley Ball game (organized like a soccer match), and returned to the hotel. 

We were surprised about the number of bikes parked in the courtyard, the family was all gone so we pulled up our chairs and sat to have a beer.  As we sat talking the couple in the room next to us exited and very discreetly kissed, the man got his bike and left and a few minutes later the woman left, after about a ½ hour the second couple left, this time the woman first on her bike and then the man riding the opposite direction… we went to the car and pulled out our sheets.  In the morning the courtyard was empty of bikes.  We walked the dogs on the beach, kissed and discreetly got in our tuck and left together!