Ruta Maya

Day 6 - San Juan del Sur to Granada (Nicaragua)

John did the full route by bike. Catharine opted to take the van and start 30k down the road after the “El Chocolate” section of the route ended. This section is off-road and named such because it is brown clay and becomes like chocolate milk after rain. Given the massive thunderstorm the night before it didn’t bode well for easy riding and getting very muddy was a likely outcome ….. plus arms / hands still needed time to recover from previous gravel bashing. Actually the route turned out to be beautiful and not as challenging as expected- though still probably the right decision. As John bumped along his saddlebag popped open and his expensive rain jacket fell out, as did his chamois cream. He wasn’t aware until 2 girls on a motor bike caught him up and asked if it was his - very lucky as wouldn’t have been easy to replace out here - not that we have used them much as it’s too hot to put on when it rains. Usually the rain is just a welcome cooling effect when riding.
Catharine rode with Dutch guy Dick after getting out the van. Riding was on a proper road but there was a reasonable amount of traffic on and off - from oxen pulling carts, people on horseback, peke pekes? And then massive trucks that barely give you any space. Once or twice I had to literally cycle into the undergrowth to get out of the way. No coincidence that the few local road cyclists we saw had an escort vehicle that stuck just behind them with flashing lights. Nicaragua definitely has much more poverty than Costa Rica. We passed so many shacks at the side of the road with barely a roof / walls and clearly no running water or power. There would maybe be a couple of chickens or a cow or horse or pig grazing next to the shack, sometimes tethered sometimes not. We passed people carrying huge loads of bananas and so many roadside stalls selling papaya, bananas and plantain. Definitely don’t feel quite as safe as in Costa Rica - just a little bit more edgy. We stopped for a drink at a small cafe about 20km in and John caught us up there just as we were about to leave. We met him again at lunch which TDA (the tour company) had set up in the outside area of a local restaurant that wasn’t doing much business - on the basis that we riders would buy drinks - which we did. We both had a bottle of a red coloured Fanta drink that tasted of irn bru - pure sugar but very welcome after sweating out so much. Lunch was the usual excellent spread of salads and beans and some strange local stringy cheese.
We arrived in Granada early afternoon. Very reminiscent of Cartagena in Colombia - colourful gated houses in a Moroccan / Spanish style with internal gardens and courtyards. The hotel has a central courtyard with a pool in the middle and the Christmas decorations are already up. We have a super king firm oak bed and functioning air conditioning but the room smells of maybe wood stain? John chooses a restaurant for dinner based on the fact it offers steak. We end up inviting another 5 guys from the tour to join us and when we arrive we find it is pretty upmarket and fully booked but they let us have the private dining area that is set apart from restaurant. Food is very tasty but $6 (US) for a small bottle of fizzy water ! Lovely meal as we are told stories of people being asked to leave other TDA tours - eg the German guy who got annoyed with the way a fellow female tour member was paddling the raft on a rest day in Africa - and threw the women into the crocodile laden Zambeze river ….. she was hauled out and he was kicked off the tour !Read more