The Biker meets the Surfer Bum (and I think the surfer wins)

View from the beach near the Surfers Hotel

What happens when two distinctly different cultures collide? Its always interesting to see how they adjust to each other and end up co-existing. While I'm obviously no Hell's Angel, I'm still on quite a different trip down here then surfers who seem to have come to this part of El Salvador from all over the world to just surf, surf and surf some more, hanging out for the "perfect wave".

Surfers at Sunset, many would surf until it was completely dark out there.

So as I pull my bike into the "Surfers Hotel" the sign that says "rooms for rent", all written in English, I know in a way I'm looking for my own perfect wave. Or at least a cool place to hang out for a couple of days, speak English and meet people from all over the world while getting into the surfer scene. Having been a ski bum myself for a couple years after high school, I figure we probably have a lot of common ground.

My bike and room at the Surfers Hotel

I talk to the owner and though he doesn't speak English, I get that its $8 a night. At that price I pay for two nights. He shows me my room in a shaded back yard with assorted rooms in different buildings all around the property. There's hammocks everywhere, and no one around, it seems almost too quiet like, maybe I'm going to be alone here as well. I look at one of the picnic tables between the rooms and it looks like it has left over party things from the night before. A couple of almost empty whiskey bottles and some empty plates. It was close to my room and I didn't like the idea that there may be partying all night right outside my room. Well no one was here now, it seemed peaceful and the ocean was a short walk away. I had to stay someplace and hopefully this would be my "beach time".

The path to the beach, the side streets and alleys were often just two tracks that served as main roads

Having only slept really one good night of the last 3 I took a nap. When I awoke the surfers had returned. It looked like 3 or 4 guys from Germany and one lady were in their group. They were all in there 20's and seemed to speak Spanish well as well as English and German. I had to initiate any kind of conversation though, they didn't seem to notice me or care about me one way or the other. So my first hope of having some good conversations and learning something about surfing was not going to happen with them. Either I was too old, not part of their group, or maybe more likely they were just on their own trip, though somewhat stoic like some Germans can be, and it was all about business, or surfing. In fact I don't think I heard any of them laugh the whole time they were around. They would get their boards and head for the beach about 3 times a day, hardly say anything on departing or returning. While the guys would acknowledge me and say hi if I said hi, the one lady wouldn't even make eye contact or even say hi. It was like I was invading her or their space or something. It was sort of odd being in a country where you don't speak the language, have a group right next to you who do, but they never say a word to you. Oh well, another part of travel....

Here I am catching my first big wave.

Well Ok, so if I wasn't gonna be with the in crowd here I'd have to strike out on my own. The beach was a short walk away and I went down to explore it. It was really hot and the Pacific Ocean while somewhat cooler then the air, was not refreshing by any means. There seemed to be 30 to 40 surfers at any given time out "working the waves" a few hundred yards off shore. I could see why this was such a good spot. The waves were all about 10 to 12 feet high, and perfect for novices as well as more experienced surfers. I don't think you could get hurt trying to learn here, and the waves were big enough to have fun. Plus they seemed constantly the same size all day long.

Sunset along the Pacific

A fisherman watches the sunset and prepares to cast his hand fishing line out into the surf.

There was maybe 5 or 6 Hostels or Hotels along the beach, and while not crowded, there seemed a fair number of people from different parts of the world there. A surf shop, a few restaurants and of course a security guard with a gun were all present. I thought seriously about renting a board and giving it all a shot, but at the moment the heat was too much and I retreated back to my room. Later I walked back down for the sunset and watched a couple of locals casting nets into the rising surf as it got dark though I wasn't sure what they were trying to catch.

Last light in the tropics

After getting back to my room I thought about asking the surfers where the local scene was at night, but there wasn't anyone anywhere on the whole place. Here it was 6 o'clock and it was already dark. I decided to write up some posts so the next time I got to an internet service I could use it. There was a internet place across the street but the lady didn't speak English at all, and we got no where with it. If I had just wanted to use a computer we could have figured it out, but asking about wi-fi and being able to use my laptop seemed more of a hassle then it was worth. I was a little frustrated too that here again, what should have been the simplest of things, like using a computer in a internet cafe was made overly complicated by the language barrier.

A Nearby River draining into the Pacific

The river canyon coming down from the mountains.

So I used the time to really do some writing, I hadn't planned on doing a lot of long posts on the way back, but here I was again with a lot of experiences I wanted to record and a lot of time do to it because of it getting dark so early down here. And doing a lot of the writing now will save me from having to do it later when I get back. Then most of the work will be just organizing my writings.

The road heading away from the coast and towards Guatemala

One of the many tunnels along the coastal highway.

So I was deep into writing when people started coming back and I could hear them outside my room. There seemed to be a lot of the family from the owners there as well. Loud music, firecrackers and lots of yelling pretty much told me it was going to be a party night. To make a long story and night short, the partying mostly done by locals lasted till 4 or 5 in the morning. I wrote till after midnight knowing I wasn't going to get any sleep anyway. After that I try' d to sleep but  between the fireworks (much louder and powerful then in the U.S.), the blaring music, the kids running all over the yard screaming till 1 am and the adults laughing and shouting all several feet from my room I ended up with no sleep at all. My neighbors the Germans seemed to have retired about the time I did, I had no idea how they could have slept either.

In the morning I asked my neighbor if this was a normal night here, and he kind of said, no, then yes and then well no. I knew with the long drive coming up thru Guatemala and Mexico I needed some rest, and I couldn't take a chance on another night of no sleep, plus I needed to get closer to the border anyway for the morning. So it was settled, I would leave, the surfers could have their hotel back.

I went to the owner to get some water and tell him I was leaving. Between my broken Spanish he understood I got no sleep the previous night, was heading to Guatemala today, and that I wanted a refund for one night. He tried to tell me something but I couldn't understand him. I think he was saying it was a one night celebration. As I looked around at his assembled family ( probably 15 kids and 12 adults) I thought even if they don't decide to party again, it was probably not going to be too peaceful of an evening. The music was already starting to play again. I felt bad in a way and tried to not be angry or rude. The surfers were in their own world, the family and owner in there's. I was the guest coming thru, and I'm not in my 20's anymore wanting to hang out and party. Next time I'll know.

Another set of brilliant flowers along the road to Guatemala.

I know not drinking or partying gives me a little different experience with traveling. Sharing drink is a universal way of relating to each other. Even if you don't speak the language you can share a drink and come to some sort of understanding or feeling of mutual ground. I know Carlos the owner of my home stay house offered to have a drink with me, and I know we would have bonded on some level more quickly if I was a drinker. This sort of social interaction centered around drinking I do miss in ways. I did it for years with my parents and with friends and in my travels. Not the drinking itself as much as the bonds of friendship that often formed thru a shared activity. Drugs for awhile especially back in the seventies were a way to bond thru a shared experience as well. One problem is why it does allow one to have a good time, and make it easier to get know one another and form a bond which on some level as humans we all need anyway, it also for some of us becomes the only way that we end up doing this. It means to express our feelings, and "feel" we begin to ritualize drinking, and partying to a point for some of us it becomes a lifestyle. Also the feeling itself becomes the addiction, and there is only one way to feel that way, and that is to party. There is a certain dependence on the drink or drug itself which is used to let people know who we are, or what we feel. Its very seductive and for many of us can lead to much more serious problems. For some turning into a form of isolation which is not why we started drinking or using drugs to begin with.

That all being said, I do miss it some times, again mainly for the social interaction it often incurs.  But the partying and hanging out lifestyle is not really where I want to be at anymore. I'm not in my twenties and being in a dormitory type situation like the Surfers Hotel reminded me that if I had spoke Spanish and was ready to cut loose for a night I could have had a great time. I guess wanting this is what I miss sometimes. But its also a temporary state that usually comes with a hangover and a not so great feeling about what I may have done or said, and that I don't miss. Again wether in traveling or at work and the business world there is still that part that uses partying or sharing a drink as part of the whole process of living. Some seem to handle it better then others and it does seem to have its place.

I was trying not to judge the situation and not think in terms that it is incredibly rude to rent out a hotel room and have a full blown party going the whole night. But again this is part of life and you run into it everywhere, I left and got a refund, and I don't think was rude. Now I am staying at a hotel close to the Guatemala border where I stay' d the first time thru. Kind of like the night before the Honduras border, I know this one might be the hardest one, and Guatemala itself was a tough country to drive thru the first time. Still even with Mexico being a long tough drive, if I'm in Mexico tomorrow night, I will only have only one last border to cross, and then I'll be back in the states.

While the weather is not an issue here, it is as hot as ever, the forecast for Dallas tomorrow is in the 70's which is good news because I need decent enough weather in Texas to get some things done before I figure out how I'm going to head farther north. After Mexico everything will depend on the weather.

I also need to remember that as difficult as parts of the next part of the trip maybe, I still need to have fun and enjoy this experience as much as I can. Take my time and remember I'm doing something I've always wanted to do. I'm in pretty good shape time wise, the bike has done well and its up to me to enjoy the ride.

The time is now, and now is the time.....Yogi Bajhan

Returning thru Honduras and El Salvador

 

 

High in the mountains at the Nicaragua and Honduras border

The border coming out of Nicaragua went very easy. It must be noted that the route I took coming and going was CA 2, which is at El Espino on the  Nicaraguan side, not the main route of the Pan American Highway, CA 1 which runs thru Managua. Managua, like San Salvador, Mexico City and Guatemala City are all big cities I purposely made sure I missed as to save time, avoid the nightmare traffic, or avoid getting lost or maybe even robbed. Perhaps on another trip I will make them when my Spanish is better and I have more time. Anyway I got to the border early, like before 8 am., and there was absolutely no traffic there and just one handler who approached me. There was also a few kids that wanted to help. I more or less took their directions and the handler told me he would help, I told him I would not pay him, and he said fine, but he still walked me to every window.

It ended up being $3 to punch my Passport out and $3 to cancel my vehicle permit. It all took about 20 minutes and I was on my way. I gave him $2, and one of the kids $1 for basically doing nothing, while another kid was insistent on shining my shoes for $2 (I was wearing tennis shoes, but that wasn't important to him). I laughed and said no, well just give me $2 anyway he said. Right, a sense of humor has to come in sooner or later.... So to check out of Nicaragua, a total of $9, and 20 minutes. Things seemed to be looking up.

At the Honduran side it was a little more expensive. Honduras is known to be the most expensive of all the countries for just the vehicle permit. I have heard $40, and paid that, but again who really knows. I have also heard nothing, but I don't think so. There was no one here either. At this border anyway, at this time of day it was great. There was a lady in the office (for the first time of any of my crossings) who was quite polite and it seemed like it was going to be easy, and it was. No lines, what questions she had the handler answered (of course she didn't speak English), even though I had copies of my passport, title and drivers license already done, she needed another one of something, the handler rushed off to do this also and was back. The whole process with the two borders was about an hour, no waiting and the total came to about $45, the handlers coming to about $12 of that. Things seemed to be improving. Again the two big lessons here if possible. Agree on a fee before the handler takes over, and then follow him to every window to make sure  your actually getting charged for what he says you are. And then of course choose quiet out of the way borders in the morning when ever possible!

I stopped to take this picture of this bike with a hat on it. To me it summed up a part of Central America perfectly. The owner came out and was more then pleased to let me take his picture. Its interesting I have met more people by taking pictures and by having them come up to me. I was worried some might get offended or label me as just another one of those "picture taking gringo's", but in reality just the opposite has been true.

I did not get much sleep the night before with the "threat of scorpions", a rooster who seemed to be guessing all night long when the sun might come up (so thus he cockle doodle dood all night), not to mention an an assortment of other odd noises that I didn't even want to know what they were. So getting thru the border and on my way quickly without too many extra expenses felt good. That coupled with the fact that I exchanged all my Cordoba's for dollars and got a fair price. The handler spoke English, had a calculator and I with my pen and paper made it easy to agree that 19.5 was the going exchange rate, and that's what I got.

There will be different moments that really stand out on this trip. When I first got to El Salvador after a week crossing Mexico and Guatemala. Driving from sun up to sun down over some of the worst roads in some of the hottest weather and in the most terrible traffic. To finally get to a country that took dollars, and to see the Pacific break on to El Salvador's tropical shore and see tourists for the first time, or at least people who might speak English.  Knowing I had just been thru a rough stretch, but I was making it.

Or having Thanksgiving at Intensa with people who really seemed to get along and also care about others. I felt touched in a spiritual way there. And now having gone thru so much, I kind of understand why people are drawn to Latin America, even for all its hardships. Like when a traveler gets back after a six month trip thru Latin America, or a 2 year trip around the world, and regardless of the obstacles, the heat, ridiculous border crossings, the constant threat of being ripped off, or run over if your driving, or the bad roads, or, you get the idea, the person is ready to go do it all again. Its hard to explain unless you've literally risked life and limb to do so in the first place. There is a certain calling to foreign and distant lands that no amount of hardship in the travel itself can ever fully silence. The novelty of it, the life so different then what you were raised in, the exoticness, the need to learn how to travel and not just survive, but enjoy the trip itself. For isn't that what life is all about anyway. Not just surviving, but living a life well lived, as someone once said. I know of nothing that teaches such intangibles in such a way as foreign travel does, and maybe Latin American specifically. Though I know Africa has its own call, as I'm sure China, India, Mongolia, and so many other places all do, I don't know what it is, but I think I may have caught it, or maybe just understand it a little better. Wander lust, restlessness, whatever, I just can see the attraction of learning Spanish better, and then getting more and more out of each subsequent trip I might take in Latin America. Yes I'm very much a novice when it comes to this, but maybe in ways you could do it for years and always be, that's what makes it great, and why it never really gets old.

Every once in awhile a bird will get up from its nesting area and for no apparent reason just up and fly away to a new place. No one knows why, it just does. ......Taken from a quote on Horizons Unlimited web site.

One of my favorite volcano's of the trip, San Miguel dominates the landscape in eastern El Salvador

So all these thoughts are kind of settling in on this morning up in the mountain pass between Honduras and Nicaragua. This is one of those memorable times in the trip. The air is cool this high up in the mountains. The traffic light and the sky is clear. Its just a beautiful morning as I wind my way down thru the twisting turns and the magnificent views. And again I think, its these moments that make everything else worth it, and I understand. I may not come back right away, but I will come back, I hear the call of foreign travel, and certainly of Latin America, its beat both tangible, and intangible, a pull once felt, can never fully be resisted, because maybe it can never fully be understood....

So my morning of rapture and profound thoughts over, its time to get back to the reality's of Central America. Honduras, as I come down from the mountains the heat becomes oven like. The roads filled with the usual traffic stops by police, traffic line ups, and poorly marked roads. If I had not been this way before I surely would have got lost, and even then I did for a minute. Asking for directions to El Salvador when there's probably at least 3 different borders crossings doesn't help much. So I had to go by what I remembered, even with out signs. And In the end I was right, I did remember this part of the trip.

From Nicaragua to El Salvador across Honduras is only about 110 miles. Nicaragua was about 240 miles across, and the Costa Rica border to San Jose about 200 miles (I'm saying this for my own reference so I won't forget, and also maybe it will help others making the same trip).  El Salvador is maybe 150 to 200 miles across depending how many times you get lost (there are spots in El Salvador that you will probably get lost in no matter what you try to do). Guatemala maybe 180 miles across, and then Mexico (the route I took) is maybe 1100 miles across. This is sort of a breakdown of my trip coming and going. And it is the shortest routes that I could find, much of it in Central America was the Pan American Highway. All these countries have many different ways to cross them and the next time I come I will hopefully not be on as tight of schedule time wise as I was this time. This for me was the shortest way distance wise. If one has the time, I would recommend finding other ways across. Less busy roads and border crossings could make for a very different trip in a lot of ways. Plus a lot of site seeing attractions aren't anywhere near the Pan American. Like the Pyramids in Belize, or Guatemala (I believe). Nicaragua has remote areas of Caribbean Coast that are suppose to be beautiful as well. Basically all the countries have two coasts,with a tremendous amount of history, volcano's , wildlife, culture, you name it. There is so much to see, and the Pan American Highway only cuts thru a small section of each country.

A close up of San Miguel, I would like to come back and hike it someday, a night on the mountain top looking at all the surrounding towns and lights would be an experience in itself.

 

So at 110 miles across it did not take me long to cross Honduras and reach the El Salvador border. The border that was so expensive when I was  coming into Honduras from the other way I thought had to better coming this way, after all I was leaving, not coming. Even so I arrived at the border just before lunch and like before the heat was oppressive, if anything it seems like its gotten hotter since the last time I was in these two countries. I stopped right in the middle of chaos and was immediately surrounded by the handlers. Three of them who knew me from our time before. They seemed surprised when I wasn't happy to see them and told them they had cost me over $300 the last time. The one told me it was because it was covering 3 countries. Again you have no idea if what their saying is true or not, just assume its a lie and usually you'll be right. He said that for $20 this time they'll take care of everything, and I just said no. I had no idea how I was going to deal with all this chaos, people everywhere, windows everywhere, shops everywhere and a person is suppose to be able to figure out where to go? I did follow one guy over to one place that was closed for lunch. There was another guy standing there that spoke a little English and pointed me in a direction of migration. Not knowing where that was and that it wasn't labeled didn't help much. But he did say don't give your papers to anyone, and don't pay them. That's all I needed to hear, I told the handler to get lost, I got back on my bike and just got in line not knowing where I was going or how I was going to handle this. One of the other handlers that had helped me before was now undercutting his buddies and said he would do it for $5. I probably would have taken his help but he didn't stick around long. I was in a long line of vehicles not even sure I was going in the right direction. Some one else came up and said they could help me and to pull over out of line. He showed me where immigration was (it was clearly unmarked of course) and I succumbed to his help, and we didn't talk about a fee of course. So we first had to go make copies (for some reason we had to do this three times, after every signature stamp or whatever we would have to go make copies of the change to the document, the only border I had to do this at, again, you don't know what to believe) then he took my license and $10 and ran across the street, (I should have went with him at this point) came back and we went back to immigration, for a change or stamp or something then back to the copier, then back to immigration and then we're clear to proceed to the El Salvador side which is a good five miles away. He jumps in a cab (a 3 wheeled motorcycle) and has me follow him. If I knew what I was doing I would have just taken off with out him. So I follow him to the other border, he makes copies again for no reason that I can see, this is like the 3rd or 4th time now, gives me a bunch that apparently I don't need anymore, and then is ready to get paid. I offer him $5, he wants $20, I tell him I don't have $20, how about $10. He takes it but is not happy. I don't really care for some reason. If it costs me $10 to get thru that mess back at the border and checked out of Honduras then it is worth it. When my Spanish becomes fluent, or it starts snowing down here to drop the heat I'll consider doing it all myself at these hot border crossings. And again its the Pan American Highway ones that seem to be the worst. There are at times lines of trucks a mile long or more waiting at these borders. I don't know how they ever get thru, or even what their doing waiting. I like everyone else that wants to get thru, I just drives past them all. Again if you didn't know this you'd be there at the end of the line waiting all week...

The Pacific Coast of El Salvador

Ok the good thing with El Salvador is they do not charge you anything to get into the country, nada (how's that for throwing my Spanish around). But the bad news is I'm on my own again and not sure where to go or what to do. I'm pointed at some main building and I go to that. No one speaks English and I'm getting a little frustrated because I don't even know if I'm at the right building. They do point me to an office that says Aduanas (customs officer), so I know I'm close but its locked. The guard points to a bench and I sit down and wait. The heat is getting to me. I constantly wear a sweat shirt to guard against the sun and also because I carry a money pouch around my shoulder and it needs to be hid. I pay the price though in this heat. I know a lot of the serious riders that go around the world have full Darien Suits that are part Gortex and also have protective padding for falls etc. At $800 their the best protection you can buy, but I'm told their just as hot. So either way you pay the price. But if your not going to wear that kind of protection then light breathable clothing will work, maybe even loose fitting well made water resistant hiking clothing. and then good light rain gear on top of that when necessary (as long as its fully waterproof). Either way you go, jeans and a sweat shirt aren't the best way to go. Of course I saw a Harley rider Thursday wearing a leather vest, jeans and tennis shoes. He looked like he was heading home to California. Most of the time at home I wear shorts and a tank top when I can get away with it. But if something happens I know I will pay a price. Like when my bike went down in sand this summer and my bare leg had laid against the hot tail pipe, I'm still not completely over that. In the end any experienced rider will tell you, despite the discomfort, and the hundreds of times you wear protective clothing and don't need it, the one time you do and you have it on is worth having to wear all those times you didn't need it.

So without too much of a wait the Aduanas official comes over and between his little English and my little Spanish he is able to stamp my Passport and fill out a vehicle permit for me within a short time. No charge and I'm on my  way. So all four border crossings this day cost me a total of $70, with $25 to $30 of that being handlers fees. Coming the other way leaving El Salvador, going into Honduras, leaving Honduras and entering Nicaragua cost me about $350 to $370. A difference of $280 to $300 or so. When questioned about this the handler that I saw again at the Honduran border and had charged me all that when I came into Honduras the first time kept saying that yes, but it was for all the countries, I heard something similar at the Guatemalan border when they charged me $310, "for all the countries".

These divers a long the coast would fill their netted tubes with their catches, but I was unsure what they were diving for.

 

Before I got my paperwork done to go into El Salvador I tried to cross the border without it. I didn't know where to go to get it done and the guard pointed me to the Aduanas building. As I was turning around I saw that handler there with his buddies waiting for someone to come into Honduras. I don't know if he saw me or not. After I got my paperwork done, and cleared the guard to go into El Salvador I passed him one more time on the side of the road looking up waiting for the next person to come down the road and see how much money they could take him for. I didn't like the idea of laying into him and his buddies like I did. I could have just said no thank you, not this time. But like all the handlers I felt they almost always got what they could, and I was partly to blame for my own naiveness and my willingness to play along if it would just get me thru the heat and the chaos and get me on my way. So whatever, do what you have to do, just get me thru was my attitude as well as part of the problem.

The whole ugliness of it everyday having to, or choosing to make a living that way under those circumstances. Chasing people down, fighting with competitive handlers in the heat, paying officials bribes, and then doing it all the next day and have someone come up like me and basically call you a thief (well he came up to me and asked me why I didn't want him again). I thought of this as I was driving past him on the side of the road. The spiritual damage we do to ourselves by engaging in the insanity of life and the trying to get ahead mentality no matter the cost. The cost for him spiritually is heavy indeed, and for me too by just engaging in it all. Just one more reason to learn Spanish, or choose a different mode of travel, I'm not sure sometimes.

Until we find some spiritual strength and self awareness (a certain amount of self reliance) within ourselves we will find difficulty in using relationships in a liberating way, instead of in binding ways.... Satchakrananda, a spiritual guide.

Surfs up, like Satchakrananda might say, "jump in, embrace the chaos that originates from you, and learn"  (or something like that!)

Anyway I was on my way apparently having saved a lot of money. One of my worst borders was over, and I could enjoy the relative ease of travel in El Salvador, knowing my destination and not having to worry about the exchange rate since we were back to dollars. In fact in basically two days I had done about half of all my border crossings I would need to do on my way back. Guatemala was coming up, but first I was heading for the Pacific Coast of El Salvador to find that Surfers Hotel I had spotted on my way thru. My two days on the beach that I had waited so long for was coming up.

As I drove across El Salvador getting lost immediately and going out of my way, I found myself back on the Pan American where I probably saw 20 or 30 Harley's heading south, usually in packs of 2 or 3. More traveling bikes then I had seen on my whole trip down here. I waved to most of them but few of them waved back. Probably stressed out by the heat and the new experience of Central America riding, I don't know. I don't know if they seemed out of place or not, but when two really loud ones came by, like the unnecessarily loud ones you hear in the states, you wonder what the people here think of them. It just seems sort of out of place to bring your loud bikes and your leather to Central America. Like the Hell's Angels doing a tour down here. After so much solitary riding, and seeing the occasional world wide traveler usually on a dual sport, to now see packs of Harley's was a little disappointing, like I hope they have respect for the culture their riding into, and I hope this isn't habit forming! I would hate to see this become just another  great ride for someone, and nothing else. But in many ways that's what tourism can be about, a way for people to exploit each other, but that's a different story.

I remember when I was on Martha's Vineyard and I was thinking about camping because I was on a motorcycle, they would not allow me in the only campground on the island! They said bikers were to loud and disruptive. Apparently a group came over from the mainland, loud Harley's no doubt, and now no bikes are allowed in the campground. Even though mine isn't loud and I have camped in many campgrounds with it without complaints Anyway I do have a problem with noise.... but that's also another story.

I ended up getting lost my allotted times (which is two) for El Salvador, in fact I was coming from the opposite direction (obviously) and ended up lost in exactly the same way, on the same road as I had 4 weeks ago. In fact I wasn't lost because I knew exactly where I was, miles from where I was suppose to be. Its amazing you can get lost at the exact same spot, leading to the same place, coming from two different directions! In ways the story of my trip, and maybe my life!

Well tomorrow its its the long awaited Surfers Hotel and a swim in the Pacific.

I start the drive back from Costa Rica, with scorpions, walking sticks and howler monkeys.

A roadside gift store and gardens in Costa Rica 

I left San Jose about 12:30 yesterday after having lunch with Carlos the owner of the house and Jeff the student from Taiwan. The weather was nice all morning and then a heavy rain came in. I had looked at the weather report and it said 40% chance of rain almost every day for the next week. Carlos offered to let me stay one more day at no charge, but I knew I had to get going, and it wasn't like the weather the next day was going to be any better then this day.

So we parted with me promising to call him when I got back to Michigan, I knew he was a little worried about me on my return trip. I gave gifts to everyone including Ana and Jolenis the maids (for all the great work they did), and headed out to cross San Jose one last time. Of course it was as busy as ever and it took a good hour to drive the 10 miles (if its that far) across town and finally get going north and towards the Nicaraguan border. Of course I took a wrong turn once, by the airport, but quickly got back on track.

One of many Iguanas they had in a cage at the souvenir shop.

My plan now was to try to get as close to the borders I had to cross the night before, and then try them first thing in the morning, when I'm fresh and hopefully the border people are too. I was also planning on not using handlers this time and stumbling around all day if I had to if thats what it took to save some money. I wanted to reach Santa Rosa National Park up in the Northwest corner of Costa Rica by nightfall. This would put me close to the Nicaraguan border for the morning. I had not done any camping on this whole trip and wanted to do it at least once in Costa Rica before I left. Costa Rica is warm and wet, and is certainly different then camping in the northern U.S. (where I'm used to camping). But it does have a lot of National Parks and places to camp.

I drove in just after dark to the campground. The entrance information booth was closed, and there was no one to pay. It was only two dollars a night anyway. I made my way in and it was pitch black, and really warm and humid. I was soaked with sweat just getting my tent  up and everything unpacked. After I did though I was able to relax and sit on the picnic table and listen to my MP3 player. I hadn't used it at all on the trip and wanted to see if I could pick up any stations. I got one kind of fuzzy one that was playing a song by The Moody Blues of all things. I just sat there in the now cool wind blowing thru the trees in just my underwear with the moon coming out, and it felt so good. Worth the effort to try and camp, and certainly a lot cheaper then a hotel would have been.

Finally I get to camp out, here in Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica

Of course right on schedule a big storm came in and it rained really hard for a good part of the night. The bike and I were covered and we did fine, though I really didn't get much sleep because of the rain, and also because it was so warm. Tropical camping is somewhat different then what I'm use to.

In the morning even though I wanted to sleep in I knew I had the border to deal with, and wanted to get across Nicaragua by night fall. So I was up at 6, still late for the sun, but...My goal was to hopefully get to the El Salvador coast by Friday night after crossing Honduras. This would get roughly half of my border crossing's over within the first two days and then maybe I could spend a day at the beach before heading north and having to deal with Guatemala and Mexico (I remember that long trip across Mexico!). The El Salvador coast was one of the prettiest places on the trip, and I wanted to get back there, having done almost no beach time on this trip.

So as I got up and started breaking camp I met my neighbor Harold from Germany. We talked for a bit about our trips. He was in Costa Rica for 3 weeks and had rented a car and was traveling around camping. The park has two campgrounds, one up by the park offices where we were at, and another one down the road by the ocean, about six miles. There is a warning sign not to use the road because its so rough, he did anyway and got his rental SUV stuck. It cost him $180 to get it towed out! I told him he was lucky he was in a place he could get one. Some of the places I've been on this trip I'm not sure you could have found a tow truck.

My neighbor Harold at the campground, he was from Germany and touring the country for 3 weeks.

He told me a troop of Howler Monkeys had come thru earlier in the morning making their characteristic deep throated grunts and howls. In fact they were still in trees not far away and we could hear them making their howls. Its funny in Michigan we have flocks of crows that come in and make racket and then move on. Here they have groups of monkeys that do that. As we were standing there talking the worlds largest rodent, I forget what its called came walking into the campground. Harold got all excited and told me it was just the right size for eating. I thought that's kind of an odd first thing to think of seeing a new animal for the first time. I don't think Harold was a vegetarian!

For me being down here is like going to a local zoo in Grand Rapids when I was a kid. Every time you turn around there's something you've seen on television or at the zoo. Leaving the park they have a Armadillo crossing sign, and an Iguana crossing sign, later I was to see a snake crossing sign in Nicaragua. I'm not sure there is anything they don't have down here. The nice thing of getting out and going camping or like taking the tour last week is that you don't have to go far, or look very hard to find them. Harold told me the pond down by the ocean has crocodiles in that as well. Ok, I'm ready for a Python or a Jaguar now..

Speaking of sharks, I got to the Costa Rican side of the border, refused help from the handlers and was able to get stamped out of the country and with some questioning and remembering the building that I got my vehicle permit in, was able to take care of that paperwork as well. It helped that the guy spoke some English too, but at least I was the one who found him by myself. I started out at the Nicaraguan border OK, two kids and the immigration guys helped me. The kids were determined to see me thru the whole process. I got my bike spray' d for what I don't know, supposedly mosquito's, that was $3, and then with the kids help I found the place to get my passport stamped, that cost $7. Then who shows up but the guy that helped me get into Costa Rica. I tell him I'm not paying him anything, but the truth is he's asking me questions about my insurance and other things, and I can tell I'm going to have problems if I try this alone.

We discovered this "hitcher" at the border crossing, ironically right after they spray' d my bike with insecticide. A walking stick over a foot long, reportedly its bite is painful and can cause swelling in the throat. A crowd gathered and in typical mob  fashion, stamped it to death (well one guy did, the others were just worried and told me it was poisonous).

The bottom line is he did help me not have to pay insurance, he did get a good rate on my money exchange for Nicaraguan money, (unlike another guy who ripped me off for probably $25 with a bad exchange rate for Colones a short time earlier) and all the paper work he was throwing at me I ended up just letting him do it for me....... Another $10 for the permit (someone else told me that its free for Nicaragua), another $10 for the police to help get me thru faster, (no doubt more money for him) and then a $10 fee for him. So I probably lost $30's with him, and another $25 on the money exchange even though I try' d to stop by a bank before I got to the border to have it exchanged there. They said I would have to do it at the border. I did not agree on the exchange rate before hand and by the time I figured it out it was too late, he had given me a terrible rate.

I did try to find the exchange rate on line, but Nicaragua's currency (the cordoba) wasn't even listed at the site I was at. I also try' d to find a calculator before I started back, but of course their so overpriced in Costa Rica I didn't want to buy one. But those are at least two things you can do ahead of time. One is know what the exchange rate is, and then either figure it out yourself how much your going to change and how much you should get, and either write it down for the exchange guy to read, or better yet, bring a calculator, figure it out, and then show it to him. This works really well as well going into a store, a hotel, or anywhere you don't know the price or can't understand them. Either have them write it down, or give them the calculator. Some people can't even read, but everyone seems to know numbers. Especially when it comes to money. The other thing to do which I didn't do was call each embassy, talk to someone and find out the exact procedure and how much it should cost. Then ask them to fax, or give you the web site that has that information on it. Make a copy and then have that and the embassy of that countries phone number with you when you go to the border, if you have problems, show them the paper, and the phone number of their own embassy. Granted this takes a lot of time to do, but I think in the case of Guatemala and Honduras it maybe the best way to get some insurance against corrupt officials. However this doesn't solve the problem at the borders of the maize of lines and paperwork you try to get thru on your own in the heat and being pummeled by handlers, all without speaking the language. Eventually its like you end up asking one question or accepting their help, and then your in for it, you can't get rid of them. Its hard to understand just how difficult this situation is, and how hard is to deal with it if you've never done it before. And believe me the handlers know....But having said that you can still try to barter a deal, and state it before they start helping you. If they want your business bad enough they will often take a quarter of what some of the other ones are offering. This still does not cover mysterious charges they keep coming up with as they run away with your license and $10 only to return and say, that's over, now we need to do this. The only thing to do in that case is I get guess stay with them every step of the way.. You get the idea again how hard this is. All these suggestions help, but still don't solve the problem of using handlers, corrupt border officials and not speaking the language.

One of the many volcano's in Central America. This one in Nicaragua.

So for the border it came to $40, $30 of it I'm sure went to the handler, and I probably lost $25 in the exchange rate, but I did reduce the damage in a lot of ways, and I had done almost three quarters of the crossing alone. I should have stuck with it, or simply not given him anything for his help, considering what he did to me the last time. I wasn't sure how he would take that, the thing is his service is worth something, just not what he thinks it is. Actually its the governments themselves that allow it to go on. They could seal off the area from non-authorized personnel and also have instructions printed up in different languages and mark things to make it easier so people could find their way around. Like that's going to happen. ( I know, I just need to learn to be the tough gringo!).

I drove all day after getting thru the Nicaraguan border, stopped to eat once and though I spent maybe two hours at the  border I still was only able to put in about 250 miles today. While the roads are pretty good, its the traffic, slow vehicles and a lot of towns that end up slowing you down. I got as close to the Honduras border as I could before dark, now tomorrow I'll have to deal with it and the money exchangers, first thing.

More of the Nicaraguan country side.

The prices in Nicaragua are probably the lowest of anywhere. Gas is under $3 a gallon. I had a lunch of 3 taco's, coleslaw, beans and a drink, and it came to $2. And this was at a gas station restaurant, not a roadside stand. My hotel, while no television or hot water, or screens for that matter, is about $10. As I was unloading my bike a scorpion came walking in the front door (my first sighting in my life of one of those too). A dark brown one, about 4 inches long. I literally kicked it out. I was so ready to just leave after that, like how am I going to sleep thinking its going to come in under the door again. The thing is, where am I going to go? Its dark, I'm at the border, I'd have to drive back 30 miles to find a place. No, people all over the world live with scorpions, and all these other creatures I'm running into. I'm just banking on them not being able to climb! I also sprinkled baby powder all around the door, hoping that would detour it. My gringoness coming out again I guess,

It should be an interesting night as well as an interesting morning at the border tomorrow....