Dateline 1246 Marbles
I am not really sure where to begin with this entry. I have been to the end of the world (or close to it) and returned. More importantly I loved it!
After a great start at Pinas de Paz (www.nicanews.org) we travel to the Southeast corner of Nicaragua along the Costa Rican border. We went to the small town of San Carlos. To be honest we did not spend much time in the town, rather we stayed at La Esquina del Lago Jungle River Lodge at the mouth of the San Juan River and the Rio Frio.
The rivers are odd in that they join each other at the mouth of Lake Nicaragua. Rio Frio flows into the lake and the San Juan River Flows southeast to the Caribbean. The San Juan is the larger of the two rivers and is a well-kept secret for some of the best tarpon fishing in the world.
Like I said earlier, we stayed at La Esquina which is owned by a great French expat which put together a custom itinerary for Ruth and me. Some fishing, some nature exploring and as much cultural immersion as we could find. He nailed it.
This place is a tropical fish camp. It could be on Lake Harding, in Alabama or anywhere men gather to fish and tell fish stories. The rooms were clean and but spartan and to Ruth's surprise they have no hot water. That is a theme developing on this trip. There was a great deck where meals and stories were told at the end of each day. Philippe is a great host and is eager to join any conversation.
Our two guides were Christian and Alejandro. They shepherded us on a three day trip down the San Juan River. On the first day down river we fished in some tropical rain, I caught a 30 pound snook which I am told is pretty big. We were so excited and the fish jumped as it got to the boat that we did not take any pictures, so you will have to believe my fish story.
After fishing we stayed at a working farm along the river. The rooms were very primitive and complete with mosquito netting and a bat looking for her baby (according to Ruth) at night. Of course, it goes without saying, no hot water. That night we went caiman hunting. Well, actually, Alejandro went Cayman hunting. It was fun and a great way to finish the day/night.
The cycles of living in Nica are really driven by daylight. The sun rises and sets at 6 everyday all year long. The day starts early. For the faint of sleep, it starts real early. The jungle is the loudest place I have ever been starting around 4-5 in the morning. The roosters, howler monkeys and the dogs let loose to start the day. It really is comical! With that said, it is dark at six. Electricity is a premium so everyone heads to bed around 8 after a good dinner, which always includes rice and beans. Sometimes you have beans and rice.
After waking, I went fishing and Ruth enjoyed the farm. She will post her experience with that.
One, if not the best part, of this trip is the people you meet. Staying at the farm was a young brit and german couple who are hitch hiking from Guatemala to Peru. They were very nice and had great stories to tell. We meet another couple who were living on about $30-50 a day. They were not thrilled about life in London. They too were very good company during our time on the farm.
We left the farm for El Castille - a small town down river. It has less than 2,000 inhabitants and no cars! The only way to get there is by boat. It was a beautiful town and very clean. It gets its name from a Spanish fort built at the top of the hill. The fort was built not to fight the evil British, rather to stop the pirates from attacking Granada on Lake Nicaragua. The fort was well positioned because of the rapids on this portion of the river.
We stayed in a small hospedeja, like step above a hostel but not quite a bed a breakfast. Oh and no hot water. Really though at this point it would not mater. The entire city had no electricity! This is a routine in this remote area. The remarkable thing is the entire town was calm and peaceful. Could you imagine Atlanta or even Lagrange if we went three days without power in the summertime?
I am not really sure where to begin with this entry. I have been to the end of the world (or close to it) and returned. More importantly I loved it!
After a great start at Pinas de Paz (www.nicanews.org) we travel to the Southeast corner of Nicaragua along the Costa Rican border. We went to the small town of San Carlos. To be honest we did not spend much time in the town, rather we stayed at La Esquina del Lago Jungle River Lodge at the mouth of the San Juan River and the Rio Frio.
The rivers are odd in that they join each other at the mouth of Lake Nicaragua. Rio Frio flows into the lake and the San Juan River Flows southeast to the Caribbean. The San Juan is the larger of the two rivers and is a well-kept secret for some of the best tarpon fishing in the world.
Like I said earlier, we stayed at La Esquina which is owned by a great French expat which put together a custom itinerary for Ruth and me. Some fishing, some nature exploring and as much cultural immersion as we could find. He nailed it.
This place is a tropical fish camp. It could be on Lake Harding, in Alabama or anywhere men gather to fish and tell fish stories. The rooms were clean and but spartan and to Ruth's surprise they have no hot water. That is a theme developing on this trip. There was a great deck where meals and stories were told at the end of each day. Philippe is a great host and is eager to join any conversation.
Our two guides were Christian and Alejandro. They shepherded us on a three day trip down the San Juan River. On the first day down river we fished in some tropical rain, I caught a 30 pound snook which I am told is pretty big. We were so excited and the fish jumped as it got to the boat that we did not take any pictures, so you will have to believe my fish story.
After fishing we stayed at a working farm along the river. The rooms were very primitive and complete with mosquito netting and a bat looking for her baby (according to Ruth) at night. Of course, it goes without saying, no hot water. That night we went caiman hunting. Well, actually, Alejandro went Cayman hunting. It was fun and a great way to finish the day/night.
The cycles of living in Nica are really driven by daylight. The sun rises and sets at 6 everyday all year long. The day starts early. For the faint of sleep, it starts real early. The jungle is the loudest place I have ever been starting around 4-5 in the morning. The roosters, howler monkeys and the dogs let loose to start the day. It really is comical! With that said, it is dark at six. Electricity is a premium so everyone heads to bed around 8 after a good dinner, which always includes rice and beans. Sometimes you have beans and rice.
After waking, I went fishing and Ruth enjoyed the farm. She will post her experience with that.
One, if not the best part, of this trip is the people you meet. Staying at the farm was a young brit and german couple who are hitch hiking from Guatemala to Peru. They were very nice and had great stories to tell. We meet another couple who were living on about $30-50 a day. They were not thrilled about life in London. They too were very good company during our time on the farm.
We left the farm for El Castille - a small town down river. It has less than 2,000 inhabitants and no cars! The only way to get there is by boat. It was a beautiful town and very clean. It gets its name from a Spanish fort built at the top of the hill. The fort was built not to fight the evil British, rather to stop the pirates from attacking Granada on Lake Nicaragua. The fort was well positioned because of the rapids on this portion of the river.
We stayed in a small hospedeja, like step above a hostel but not quite a bed a breakfast. Oh and no hot water. Really though at this point it would not mater. The entire city had no electricity! This is a routine in this remote area. The remarkable thing is the entire town was calm and peaceful. Could you imagine Atlanta or even Lagrange if we went three days without power in the summertime?
We kayaked the
rapids and part of the southern portion of the river. All in all it was a very
unique experience.
This ends the tourist
part of this visit. I will post some of
the interesting observations and cultural observations next.
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