April 11, 2017
10:15 p.m.
I met the cooolest couple today. We are on the island of Ometepe. We arrived mid-day after taking a 90 minute boat ride from San Jorge (has a nice ring to it, doesn't it). After lunch, we ventured out for a 20 mile ride, around Volcano Conception. Much of the ride was up steep, challenging hills. At one point, we stopped for a sorely needed respite in the little town of Altagracia. Parked just next to us was an old Volkswagen camper van and inside were Michael and Sarah, a twenty something year old couple from Colorado. The were more than seven months into their drive down to Tierra Del Fuego, the southern most tip of Patagonia.
I was only able to talk to them for about ten minutes but was awestruck. They are living my lifelong dream. The camper is in great shape, with a pop up roof, a fridge, a foldout bed, electrical outlets and more. They do much of their own auto repairs, write a blog (http://www.kruisinkoru.com), enjoy meeting people and clearly are loving their simple, adventurous lifestyle. Incredible. I could have talked to them all day.
Later, I ended the night, after our group dinner, chatting with an older Australian couple. They were in their mid 70's and were on a four month swing through Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Columbia and Belize. They told tales of their younger-year adventures riding the weeklong Great Australian Bike race, trekking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal, touring in India and exploring other continents. They are avid bird watchers, something I didn't really relate to but loved hearing about with their enthusiasm and their rich Aussie accents.
This morning began with an early breakfast. I had oatmeal again. Truth be told, I don't think there has been more than ten days in the last two years where I haven't started the day with oatmeal. Today I prepared it a little differently. I mixed in plantains, star fruit, passion fruit, mango and papaya. It was to die for. I also had fresh pineapple juice, strong black coffee and toast with marmalade. A feast for a king. A great way to start the day.
After breakfast we took a leisurely ride by Lake Nicaragua, before hopping in the van for a 90 minute ride to San Jorge, a village about 10K from Rivas, where we caught a boat to Ometepe Island. It was a choppy ride but surprisingly I didn't get seasick.
There was some excitement however, as a young teen, far from shore, had capsized his row boat. His oars had floated away.
He was tethered to another row boat that had come to his rescue. When we got close, he swam to our boat, pulling with him the rope to his skiff. The poor kid. He was completely wiped when he came aboard. He slouched to the deck, shaking, happy to be alive, or so it seemed. I gave him my Kind bar. It felt like a pathetic gesture but that's all I had to give. He accepted it with a nod and he whispered gracias.
Once on Ometepe we headed to a restaurant for lunch. We sat there for a couple of hours, waiting for the scorching midday sun to wane. At 2:30 we mounted the bikes again and headed east, up the hills and around Volcano Conception.
We arrived at the hotel around 5 p.m. I took a quick dip before the 5:30 sunset and headed back to my room for a shower and some quiet time. In the meantime, the rest of the group met for drinks and snacks. They were still there when I arrived for the 7 p.m. dinner reservation.
It was another challenging but rewarding day. As usual the best part was pushing myself on the cycle and meeting new people, young and old alike. I hope I can do this for many more years.
We mount the bikes at 6 a.m. tomorrow. We need to consume the miles before it gets too hot and to be at the ferry in plenty of time for the 3:30 departure.
So fun!
George
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Location:Ometepe, Nicaragua
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