March 31st 2024 – San José, Costa Rica

Drastic times call for drastic measures.
The alarm was set for the dead of night. The sky was still pitch black when we left San Miguel. We had a long and potentially challenging day ahead of us. The predawn temperatures were reasonable.

The rising sun found us within striking distance of the border to Honduras.
The area around the crossing at El Amatillo was crawling with fixers. They tried to convince us that it would take forever to get across without their help. We firmly declined their offers.

Getting out of El Salvador was pretty straight forward. So was getting in to Honduras – it just took a while to get everything sorted. The way we do it is that Katrine handles all the paperwork and only calls me if I need to show my face at a counter or sign something. While she is doing that I’m keeping an eye on the bikes. This allows Katrine to stroll around in comfortable clothes carrying nothing but our papers.
By dividing the assignments this way we utilize Katrine’s superior patience with officials behind counters and my temper when it comes to dealing with potential scoundrels.

The latter got tested at the Hundoran immigration office. As soon as we parked the bikes a group of guys started circling them. I greeted them politely. After a few minutes one of the guys started touching Katrine’s bike and gear. I asked him not to. He said it was OK and continued. I asked him again to please leave the bike alone and told him that if he didn’t I would have to break his fingers – and that it was way too hot for that kind of exercise. If it was because of what I said or how I said it in broken Spanish I don’t know, but it made the whole group of guys crack up. It created a relaxed atmosphere and no one touched the bikes after that.

While we were waiting at Aduana, a motorcycle club from El Salvador showed up. I got fist bumps or handshakes from the members. We were all released from the border at the same time. The next half hour, until Kat and I stopped for a cup of coffee, we acted as Tailgunners while the President took the lead.

The border crossing had taken  a total of around 2 hours. It was still early morning but already brutally hot as we traversed the lowlands.

The temperatures continued to climb. Luckily so did the terrain as we approached the border to Nicaragua. We had gained almost 1.000 meters when we reached the crossing at El Espino. It was still hot, but less humid and more windy. It made a world of a difference.

After 3 hours in Honduras it was time to leave. It took longer than that to get into Nicaragua even though the border crossing went smoothly. The bureaucracy is often cumbersome but so far every official we have encountered has been polite, friendly and helpful. Our improved Spanish skills make a huge difference.
Nicaragua doesn’t allow drones in the country. We don’t have one but got asked several times and they searched our entire luggage before letting us in. It was the first time on this journey anyone has checked our luggage.

After 10 hours, 234 km and 3 countries, we arrived in Somoto where we had booked an apartment for the weekend. It had been a long warm day. Before doing anything else we both enjoyed a cold shower.

Our host Sandra dropped by late afternoon to say hello. She lived on the ground floor with her 2 kids and rented out 3 apartments upstairs to supplement her income as a social worker. It was a very nice place and Sandra a very sweet person.

The next morning Francisco and his son picked us up at 8. Sandra had called him the previous evening to arrange things. It was going to be our reward for the previous day’s struggles.
15 minutes out of town we arrived at Francisco’s finca. His wife had prepared a hearty breakfast for us.
Besides driving people around and feeding them, Francisco and his family also run a very basic B&B, but their main business is La Ceibita Tours that organizes activities in the Somoto Canyon.
We got introduced to Shaq from Philly. He was staying in a cabin on the property and was going to join us on a 13 km hike through the canyon. Francisco assigned us a guide and off we went.
The first couple of kilometers was just an ordinary hike. Then we reached the river and it turned into a combination of bouldering, canyoning and swimming. There were several opportunities for jumping off the cliffs and into the river. The highest jump according to our guide was 18 meters. All of us passed on that one.  
It was a Friday and we had the place more or less to ourselves. Only once did we encounter other people. It was a family on a shorter tour. I can’t imagine a better way to spend a hot day!

After several hours of fun in the canyon, a short boat ride and a 1 hour strenuous uphill hike we arrived back at the finca. Francisco’s wife prepared a delicious late lunch for us, before he gave us a lift back to Somoto.

We spent the rest of the weekend in Somoto. It was an interesting place to explore. Besides practical stuff like getting local cash and SIM cards we also found time to celebrate Katrine’s birthday. My gift to her was a visit to a hairdresser recommended by Sandra. It took the better part of an afternoon. Katrine enjoyed the experience and was very pleased with the result. Sandra also had a little something for Katrine. Besides a bottle of wine the gift included a sunset trip to a new vista point above the town. The place was newly built and set to open the following day.

Between all the other stuff I watched MotoGP from Portimão – my favorite track on the calendar. I would love to ride it someday. The Sunday race was, like the track, a real roller coaster.

The weather was scorching hot during our stay. The elevation made the nights almost pleasant. The last two days in Somoto we enjoyed heavy showers late afternoon and in the evenings. It helped cool things down a bit.

After a much needed rest it was time to move on. We left early morning to get a head start on the heat.
The reward was a great morning ride. Only when we dropped down towards Managua did the heat become an issue.

We had booked a room with AC through Airbnb. It turned out to be a room in an otherwise abandoned hotel. A couple of older gentlemens worked there as caretakers/security. They allowed us to park the bikes behind the hotel by the pool, helped us settle in and did what they could to make us feel welcome.
The place was like a small oasis.

The following day we just chilled (literally) in our room most of the day. Late afternoon the sound of German engineering lured us out into daylight. Lo and behold – it was the Coloradan version of Don Quixote riding in on his trusty steed MechanicO. After a couple of adventurous weeks in northern Guatemala and Honduras he had caught up with us.

He arrived just in time to join Katrine and me for a ride to the Masaya Volcano. The plan was to watch the sunset from the summit and the glowing lava inside the crater after dark. When we arrived at the entrance we were met by a closed gate. It turned out that the National Park was closed the whole week due to increased volcanic activity. What a bummer! I had checked their homepage the previous evening. There had been no mentions about the closure. That’s Latin America for you…
Back at the hotel Fin and I spent the evening sharing beers and tall tales by the pool.

After another day at the oases all 3 of us were ready for another Central American border crossing. It was still early morning when we left Managua behind. At 9 am, after 2 hour’s spirited riding, we arrived at the border to Costa Rica. The heat was relentless despite the early hour.
Getting out of Nicaragua turned out to be the biggest hurdle. We had no issues as such, everything just took time. After 3 hours in total we were allowed into what is known as Central America’s Switzerland.

From the border it was an easy ride to the small town of Curubandé de Liberia on the edge of Parque Nacional Rincón de la Vieja. We had found a funky little place to stay. It was part hotel, hostal and campsite. We stayed in 2 out of 5 en-suite rooms that shared an open-sided living room. The building was surrounded by a big garden dotted with gazebos of varied sizes. One of them even had an outdoor kitchen.

After a change of clothes and a quick lunch we headed for the nearest water hole – in this case a stream with the pompous name Rio Blanco. It turned out we had arrived at the warmest location in the country on the warmest day of the year. I’m beginning to see a trend here…
We were not the only ones taking a dip in the river.

The following morning while Fin went on a guided hike to a nearby water, Katrine and I headed out on our own to explore the area. We reached another access point to Rio Blanco a couple of kilometers away. It was nicer and more tranquilo than the place we visited the previous day. We met a young dog at the river. She tagged along when we left. We ignored her in the hope she would turn around. she didn’t. As we got further away from the river she became increasingly insecure. She ended up following us all the way back to where we stayed. We talked about taking her back to the river, but how would we make her stay there, and was that even where she belonged?
She stayed with us for the reminder of the day, following us wherever we went.
Our host said he would try to find out where she belonged (the dog, not the German woman). She looked too well cared for to be a street dog. When we retired to our rooms in the evening our host took her away. We didn’t see either him or the dog again before we left.

The dog was not the only one who decided to hang out with us that day. In the afternoon we got a new housemate. A German solo traveler, who after several years with husband and kids had gone full vogue as a lesbian, vegan, spiritual dance therapist…

As Katrine, Fin and I moved out in the morning it was with the promise of cooler temperatures before the end of the day.

The first part of the ride was flat, hot and boring. Traffic increased during the morning until we reached a traffic jam. There had been a traffic accident that blocked the Panamerican Highway.
We worked our way to the front of the very long line to see if we could sneak by. No such luck. I talked with a cop. He told me that one guy had been killed and several injured. The area was soaked with diesel oil and they didn’t dare to let anyone pass because of the fire hassard. He expected that the road would be closed for at least another couple of hours. He suggested an alternative route that involved dirt roads and a water crossing. It sounded better than waiting in the sun. We studied the map and gave it a go.

The detour took us along dusty farm roads and through a rocky water crossing. We met several other vehicles taking the same route in both directions. Some of them were struggling.
After about half an hour we returned to tarmac on the other side of the accident – in time to leave the Panamerica and head up into the mountains on smaller roads.

The ascent was a roller coaster ride on perfectly surfaced twisty roads. The riding and the views were spectacular.
1.000 meters above sea level the temperatures became comfortable. We stopped for lunch at a 100 year old restaurant with an amazing view.

The last bit to San Jose went smoothly. We zipped through traffic to our destination in the city. Fin had booked an apartment and invited us to join him for the weekend. It gave Katrine and me the opportunity to see how rich people roll.

At the entrance we were greeted by security guards. They wanted to see our passport before showing us to our 3rd floor parking spot. From there it was a short walk to the elevator that took us to a 7th floor luxury apartment. From our balcony we had a good view of the pools. 10 minutes later we were doing laps in the “semi olympic”. Before I had done 1.000 meters a security guard showed up to politely inform us that we needed to book the pool in advance, that maximum 2 persons were allowed in the water at a time and that swimming caps were mandatory. Being kicked out of the pool was a good reason to get on with the day.

First order was for Katrine and me to get new SIM cards. Fin joined us – probably to observe the issues poor people have to deal with. He of course has a $$$ mobile solution that covers the whole world. We combined the SIM card hunt with a stroll downtown to have a look at the capital. It seemed very relaxed and had a lot to offer. On the way back to the apartment in Barrio Escalante we stopped for a nice dinner at a Greek restaurant.