La Joya

99km of riding today but virtually all on paved roads. We started following the shores of lake Nicaragua. There were houses initially and then there were shacks - barely walls and a roof with mud floors and no running water or electricity. Clothes hang from the wire fences to dry and there is usually a few hens, a pig etc. the people are mostly friendly and smile and wave. We pass through rice fields where the surrounding countryside is as flat as a pancake. Amongst all this poverty it is noticeable how many churches there are - just wooden constructions, sometimes with no roof. Jehovah Witnesses, Mormon, Pentecostal etc
We stopped at a tiny cafe roadside after 40km and Catharine was allowed to go have a look in the fridge to find drink of choice so started serving the other riders from behind the bar. A bottle of coke is about 15 Cordobas - ie 30p.
Lunchstop is an eclectic mix and very early at about 10.40am - an outside cafe that is taken over by TDA just below the most amazing looking peak. There are tinny sounding Christmas tunes playing on repeat like you get on a doorbell ring. The toilet is behind a curtain and you flush it using a bucket of water. We buy a massive bottle of red Fanta - total sugar and chemicals but it is now our drink of choice at the cafes as it’s cold and helps replenish the sugars with the profuse sweating.
Some climbing in the second half of the day but we arrive about 1.30pm into Boaca which is a bustling town but probably the poorest conurbation that we have seen. Very dirty but has a surprisingly nice hotel given the surroundings - air conditioning works and room is bright, though no hot water and an interesting shower that is powerful but gets water everywhere. Manage to wash clothes in sink and then head out to explore. We pass a man with plenty of blood on his face, chest and hands, with a couple of police following behind. Assume he has been in a fight. John heads back to hotel and I buy the biggest avocado ever and some other fruits. Then head to supermarket which is just but really grimy. Some unwelcome attention from men which was never a thing in Costa Rica. I pass a women sleeping / passed out at the side of the road who I look back and see she hasn’t even got her bottom covered. Very sad.
Dinner is in a restaurant which looks clean enough. Food is basic but the chicken is quite tasty - 2 enormous pieces which most of us cannot manage to finish. I share the large avocado with our table and it triples the veg content of the meal. We are in bed by 9.15pmRead more