San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, 30 miles and one bumpy boat ride
We woke up after a hot night in our tent and were ready to start our day. Our plan was to take the 12:30 ferry off the island. After several cold water shower to cool us down (which also helps us relieve our mosquito bite itching), we packed up, enjoyed some more gallopinto (a mixture of beans a rice…something I think we better get used to as it seems to be quite the stable further south) for breakfast with eggs and a slice of cheese that resembled the texture of feta, but the smell and taste of funky feet; not pleasant. Unfortunately since we left Guatemala, we haven’t been able to enjoy a nice cup of coffee. Hopefully that changes when we get into Costa Rica!
We attempted to check out a little lookout point before heading to the ferry, but that ended with a dead end road. We arrived at the ferry station at 10:30, which meant we figured we had two hours before being able to board. Mike was told that there actually is a boat that runs about every hour, in which we might be able to get on at 11:30. Sounded great to us! Before we knew it, we paid our fees and were told to come on through to the boat area… I looked around, didn’t see a ferry, there didn’t seem to be anything in the dock except a very small boat with only a platform on top. Well, that was what they eagerly expected us to board with the motorcycles. I was ready to tell Mike to turn around before it’s too late! But, before Mike or Adam could even think, there were men surrounding them and their bikes pushing them to take them over a very small (and moving) plank onto the boat. I just kept envisioning the entire bike, going down, lost forever in the sea full of strange sharks. I was struggling to find a ‘save’ if in fact the bike did go down, but in the end all I could think was to just let it go, as that bike would sink like a pile of bricks! Well, the boys managed to fight through the swarm of Nicas and successfully load their bikes on the small platform of the boat. A couple seconds later and the men had roped up the entire bike. Unfortunately they did quite a hack job in which Mike’s grip will never be the same. During all this heart racing commotion, I was still on the dock and Adam is yelling over to me that I better board the boat! Good timing as seconds later is just took off. Us, our bikes on the platform and about 50 Nicas (including a man in a wheelchair will a lady holding an IV bag over his head who didn’t look so good). I was for sure that the boat had to be overloaded and could easily go down. Still no life vest/saver in sight! We were off, at the speed of a turtle, rocking back and forth and holding on to our jackets and helmet as a railing did not exist, and any white cap in the lake could easy roll anything off. I crunched up under the pannier to keep out of the sun while Mike tried to do his best in Spanish with a guy trying to get even more money off us for ‘import fees’. Don’t see how it is possible to have import fees for both ends of the ferry…but at least it was only a couple dollars.
We arrived, the bikes hadn’t fallen off into the waters, and it was another scene of pure chaos, even worse than when we loaded. All the people scattered off the boat, which wasn’t parked as close to the dock as before. Then there was the guy in the wheelchair, he had about 10 Nicas picking up his wheelchair and all walking over two planks of different heights. In the process I could see the mans face clenching from the pain and the end result was that somewhere along the way he lost his IV; poor soul. Next up was the bikes. They laid the plank down; the boat was quite a bit higher than the dock, so the man lifted the side of the board on the dock up to the height of the boat, just so Adam could get his front tire on it. Mike helped him out and tried to keep the very eager men off the bike for a successful delivery on shore. Well, that was good news, but as we were just focusing on Adam’s bike, we hadn’t noticed the several men beginning to move our bike over! Wholy Moly! I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mike so scared! They definitely underestimated the weight of the bike and as you notice here, they go for it without thinking quite often, and in mass movements. Mike scrambled over just to keep the bike balanced as they jetted it down the plank. After such an event we all just wanted to get the hell out of there and drove off.
I didn’t realize how straining it was on me until I noticed that I had completely sweated through all my cloths and felt quite weak. We stopped at the first gas station to get air in our tires and as soon as we pull up a man (who was either retarded or on drugs) was hooting’ and hollering and touching the bike, getting close to our faces…seems like a common occurrence these days. Our next stop was only 50km away though so I opened my jacket a little for some breeze and held on.
We arrived in San Juan del Sur in no time, and it seems to be a really nice surf town with a little bay full of fishing boats and several restaurants and bars lining the beach front. Before we could even check out any hotels, we ran into Heather Gassman (the couple on a Vstrom riding south who we met in Antigua). She told us about their hotel which seemed like a good deal. We unpacked, paid the extra for the A/C, parked our Vstrom next to theirs in the lobby and set out for a cold beverage on the beach. It was nice to share our stories and adventures since Antigua. We followed Ron’s and beers with dinner at their favorite place in town, Jerry’s. Pizza and lasagna; delicious.
We set up our tent in our room as we discovered quite a few very small lizards walking all over the beds and figured with A/C we won’t have to worry about the heat factor. It was a good thing! Before I even got in the tent, as I sat on the bed, a 4 inch scorpion walked right passed my feet!!! I think I must have stared at it for some time before accepting that it really was a scorpion! Ewww, so gross, thank heavens for our tent! Our savior! Mike hunted it down and we hurryingly got into our tent; where there is one, there usually is more…
We attempted to check out a little lookout point before heading to the ferry, but that ended with a dead end road. We arrived at the ferry station at 10:30, which meant we figured we had two hours before being able to board. Mike was told that there actually is a boat that runs about every hour, in which we might be able to get on at 11:30. Sounded great to us! Before we knew it, we paid our fees and were told to come on through to the boat area… I looked around, didn’t see a ferry, there didn’t seem to be anything in the dock except a very small boat with only a platform on top. Well, that was what they eagerly expected us to board with the motorcycles. I was ready to tell Mike to turn around before it’s too late! But, before Mike or Adam could even think, there were men surrounding them and their bikes pushing them to take them over a very small (and moving) plank onto the boat. I just kept envisioning the entire bike, going down, lost forever in the sea full of strange sharks. I was struggling to find a ‘save’ if in fact the bike did go down, but in the end all I could think was to just let it go, as that bike would sink like a pile of bricks! Well, the boys managed to fight through the swarm of Nicas and successfully load their bikes on the small platform of the boat. A couple seconds later and the men had roped up the entire bike. Unfortunately they did quite a hack job in which Mike’s grip will never be the same. During all this heart racing commotion, I was still on the dock and Adam is yelling over to me that I better board the boat! Good timing as seconds later is just took off. Us, our bikes on the platform and about 50 Nicas (including a man in a wheelchair will a lady holding an IV bag over his head who didn’t look so good). I was for sure that the boat had to be overloaded and could easily go down. Still no life vest/saver in sight! We were off, at the speed of a turtle, rocking back and forth and holding on to our jackets and helmet as a railing did not exist, and any white cap in the lake could easy roll anything off. I crunched up under the pannier to keep out of the sun while Mike tried to do his best in Spanish with a guy trying to get even more money off us for ‘import fees’. Don’t see how it is possible to have import fees for both ends of the ferry…but at least it was only a couple dollars.
We arrived, the bikes hadn’t fallen off into the waters, and it was another scene of pure chaos, even worse than when we loaded. All the people scattered off the boat, which wasn’t parked as close to the dock as before. Then there was the guy in the wheelchair, he had about 10 Nicas picking up his wheelchair and all walking over two planks of different heights. In the process I could see the mans face clenching from the pain and the end result was that somewhere along the way he lost his IV; poor soul. Next up was the bikes. They laid the plank down; the boat was quite a bit higher than the dock, so the man lifted the side of the board on the dock up to the height of the boat, just so Adam could get his front tire on it. Mike helped him out and tried to keep the very eager men off the bike for a successful delivery on shore. Well, that was good news, but as we were just focusing on Adam’s bike, we hadn’t noticed the several men beginning to move our bike over! Wholy Moly! I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mike so scared! They definitely underestimated the weight of the bike and as you notice here, they go for it without thinking quite often, and in mass movements. Mike scrambled over just to keep the bike balanced as they jetted it down the plank. After such an event we all just wanted to get the hell out of there and drove off.
I didn’t realize how straining it was on me until I noticed that I had completely sweated through all my cloths and felt quite weak. We stopped at the first gas station to get air in our tires and as soon as we pull up a man (who was either retarded or on drugs) was hooting’ and hollering and touching the bike, getting close to our faces…seems like a common occurrence these days. Our next stop was only 50km away though so I opened my jacket a little for some breeze and held on.
We arrived in San Juan del Sur in no time, and it seems to be a really nice surf town with a little bay full of fishing boats and several restaurants and bars lining the beach front. Before we could even check out any hotels, we ran into Heather Gassman (the couple on a Vstrom riding south who we met in Antigua). She told us about their hotel which seemed like a good deal. We unpacked, paid the extra for the A/C, parked our Vstrom next to theirs in the lobby and set out for a cold beverage on the beach. It was nice to share our stories and adventures since Antigua. We followed Ron’s and beers with dinner at their favorite place in town, Jerry’s. Pizza and lasagna; delicious.
We set up our tent in our room as we discovered quite a few very small lizards walking all over the beds and figured with A/C we won’t have to worry about the heat factor. It was a good thing! Before I even got in the tent, as I sat on the bed, a 4 inch scorpion walked right passed my feet!!! I think I must have stared at it for some time before accepting that it really was a scorpion! Ewww, so gross, thank heavens for our tent! Our savior! Mike hunted it down and we hurryingly got into our tent; where there is one, there usually is more…
They are all over the island
The island
Loading onto the ferry
Notice there is no railing
Yoshita is a little scared
Amie is a little scared
Mike and Adam are happy to still see their bikes
Dinner with the Gassmans
This is why we pitch a tent in our room!
Another reason
posted by Pedro and Maria at 9:07 AM
3 Comments:
Sounds like an interesting trip. Just wanted to let you know that my cousin lives in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. His name is Andres Marin and he gives surf lessons and also draws for the local Tamarindo Newspaper. Enjoy and be safe! your cousin, Alexander M.
Whew! That story of the ferry ride had me in a panic attack. Good to see that everybody made it, bikes included. Sounds like you guys are having a great time. Have fun, be safe.
B
the boat was in a magical land full of fresh water sharks with laser beams as big as your frickin head. 20k nay 30k were killed a year.. I think all the dead carcass´s made the boat rock.. Its a magical land!"!!!
chepe
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