The idea for this trip came about in 2010 when I heard about Carlos’ annual Volcano Ultimate Frisbee tournament in Costa Rica. With a small business, timing is a big factor and unfortunately I was unable to get away last year. The 2011 stars aligned and in June I found myself preparing for the ~3,000km journey to Costa Rica to play in an Ultimate Frisbee tournamant. I should mention that the trip doubled as a CA-4 visa renewal run. This makes it legit, right?
I was prepared to go at it alone but luckily my sales tactics worked and was able to talk Matt (a fellow Antigua ex-pat) into buying a cheap motorcycle and joining me for the adventure. It all came down to the last minute as we rushed to complete the 500km break-in procedure on the new machine and then to receive Matt’s license plate, registration, and title only a few days before heading South. These documents were essential to the upcoming border crossings and our cash on the table bargaining strategy worked to get them about a week quicker than everyone said was possible.
A few of my final preparations included:
- jotting down a rudimentary route outline, basically a list of cities that we should be passing through if we stayed on the path South.
- making my own version of a sweet-cheeks butt saver. basically a t-shirt laid over my motorcycle seat with two loops on each side to accomodate 1 liter water bottles. the water bottles double the width of the off-road oriented seat and increased my riding time more than I imagined.
- finding a few beer baskets to lash on the back of our motorcycles. As I told Matt, it’s best for us to look as poor as possible. Mission accomplished.
- A day trip into Guatemala City to pay my fine for being over 90 days in the CA-4 [Q10/day]. I hoped this would make my border crossings before Costa Rica much smoother. Had it not been for an overgrown tree blocking the sign on the migracion building, this would have been a much quicker process!
And now the morning has finally arrived after an anxious night of rolling around the bed with anticipation of the open road.
June 28, 2011
Antigua, Guatemala to San Miguel, El Salvador
Day 1: 485 kms
Early start including a “before” picture.
The quick ride to the El Salvador border was a familiar route that I covered back in February, guiding a CATours Coast to Coast tour. The winding downhill road to the Pacific Coast is a perfect way to start this journey. The log-jammed El Salvador border scene was anxiously waiting to initiate us into overland travel in Central America. We went with a method that served us well for most of the trip. Matt stayed with the motorcycles while I took our stack of paperwork to the various windows of officials that would hopefully stamp and wave us to the next stretch of road. Our first border was rough as we were dealing with lines of chicken buses full of Guatemalans crossing in front of us. With blind trust they stuff their passports, national ID cards, and other papers into plastic bags held by what I called Border Mothers. These ladies would take busloads of paperwork to the window at the same time to be processed behind the metal bars of the migration window. After about 3 hours of jockying in line, dealing with questions about my overdue visa, and smiling politely we were waved across the bridge to El Salvador.
This being our first day, we were fresh and happy to keep pushing down the road with our wheels headed as far South as the day would allow. The CA-2 along the Pacific coast took us past amazing views into the blue waters below and through long dark tunnels that challenged Matt’s Yumbo without a working headlight. At the end of the day we stopped in the town of San Miguel, El Salvador. Nothing touristy here to write home about, simply a place to lay our weary heads and recharge for tomorrow’s ride. $6 at Monte Carlo was well spent as I easily drifted asleep with grateful thoughts for the opportunity of this trip and completing day one without incident.
June 29, 2011
San Miguel, El Salvador to Leon, Nicaragua
Day 2: 335 kms
I quickly settled into a new method of navigation in all of this new territory. A combination of keeping the sun on my left shoulder and watching for chicken buses with the next town brightly painted on the front occasionaly assured me that we were headed in the right direction. I’m sure GPS would have been helpful at times but it felt good to keep it basic and it gave us more chances to interact with locals along the way.
As we crossed the border into Nicaragua, we exchanged road, weather, and food conditions with a Brazilian group heading North to Alaska on the big BMW’s. Must be nice. The border was reasonable but we were required to buy temporary insurance for the bikes, $12 each.
We arrive at Leon at the end of the day, check-in at Lazy Bones hostel and are out the door in 30 minutes for a volcano boarding excursion on Cerro Negro! As if we didn’t have enough seat time for the day, we road on the back of our guides motorcycles to the mountain. We hiked the volcano and then jumped on our boards for a crazy quick trip back down. In the words of Jorge, otra nivele!
June 30, 2011
Leon, Nicaragua to San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua
Day 3: 226 kms
We ran into some rough roads and I had one of those moments when I thought “are we really in the right place”. Logic said yes so we pushed on and then stopped at the first roadside comedor to confirm that yes, we’re almost back to the main road South which would smooth out and take us to the beach. San Juan del Sur was a welcoming town and the salt-filled air brought back good memories. We didn’t stick around too long before we took off for Playa Maderas, a local surf spot just to the North. We spent a few hours getting pounded by the surf and I had a few brief moments that made it all worth it.
On the way back to SJS I made a questionable decision; teaching Matt how to wheelie. He would have tried soon anyways, right? We decided on a $7 room at Hotel Joxil with air conditioning, friendly staff, and the cheapest bottles of Flor de Cana we found in the country. We confirmed that indeed we were the boys on the motorcycles and then were promptly invited to next door’s Isreali dinner party. We brought the Flor de Cana and enjoyed a feast of spaghetti, salad, and great bread. Big thanks to our fellow travelers for a great evening.
July 1, 2011
San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua to La Fortuna, Costa Rica
Day 4: 194 kms
With an empty bottle of FDC to blame, we had our latest start so far, 8am. I found myself singing and rapping to myself inside the helmet for the whole morning, don’t ask. Luckily we had a quick run to the border and were there by 9am only to start a lengthy entry process. After almost 3 hours of waiting in various lines, getting stamps, filling out forms, buying more insurance, and even playing taxi, we were finally in Costa Rica! I still don’t understand how the richest country in Central America can have a reputation for the worst roads - we experienced and can confirm this.
We finally arrived in La Fortuna after a few hours under a blanket of oppressing rain. A lucky glance to the left spots the purple sign of Gringo Pete’s Hostel and we happily dismounted to chat with this jolly, pot-bellied propieter. We end up in his second location a few blocks away and are able to continue our routine of exploding gear onto whatever floor will oblige. A walk around La Fortuna revealed the charm of this tiny tourist-centered town. With a beatiful central park and a towering volcano (Arenal) to the South, I felt like I was back in Antigua. After a few chats in the hostel and a spaghetti dinner, we set off for a quick 10km ride to the local hot springs! What could be better than having a HOT river just outside town to go soak in after a night at the bar? The funny part about this area is that there are several resorts built just up the river from us where othere are paying $35 and up to sit in the same flowing water. Okay, maybe they have a waiter coming by every few minutes to offer an umbrella topped treat but I’ll still take my spot alongside the locals any day. After a bit of relaxation we crippled back down the mountain, Matt carefully following my glimmering red tailight as his only guide - the Yumbo headlight still doesn’t work.
July 2, 2011
Day 5: 65 kms
We rise early to get out to the tournament site, Tilajari Hotel, a resort about a half hour outside of La Fortuna. We knew this was going to be good as soon as we turned down the lush driveway with plush soccer fields to our left, manicured landscaping all around, and a jungle lodge-esque reception area just ahead. Our room wasn’t ready but we meet a few fellow players from Panama and quickly were able to drop our gear in their room and join the breakfast buffet. Buffet!? Yes, thank you.
A few notes about the tournament:
- This is the 4th annual Costa Rica Volcano Tournament
- Half of the registration is reserved for Costa Rican/Panamanian players and the other half open to the rest of the world
- Hat tournament format where each player registers individually and then teams are formed onsite to mix players with varying skill levels and in this case languages.
Time to meet our teams, each having its own colored jersey provided in your player packet. Matt heads torward the red crowd while I join in the circle of white jerseys, now known as Snow White. I can tell right away that we’ll be having fun over the next two days - nice smiles, good attitudes, and some field experience go a long way. I have one of those “I’m old moments” when a teammate tells me he is 18 years old and asks how long I’ve been playing. He laughs when he hears that I’ve been playing almost as long as he’s been a live. It’s all good, time to get seven on the line and start having fun!
Snow White works through the tropical heat of Day 1 to go 4-0 against the field. I can’t say enough about my teammates and the positive energy we maintained on and off the field, definitely a nice atmosphere to play in. The good times rolled into the evening with the traditional Saturday night tournament party, only this time we were surrounded by our little tropical utopia. Pool, supersize jacuzzi, DJ, flip cup, dancing, Flor de Cana, and after-party into the wee hours.
July 3, 2011
Day 6: 95 kms
Sunday morning Ultimate always conjures up the sore muscles, the party stories, and the excitement to get at it again. Snow White was ready to work our way up the bracket and found ourselves in the finals against the tough blue team. They had a few standout guys that gave me a chance to work hard and enjoy the personal matchups. We came out ahead in the end and won the tournament, champions!
Eventually, Matt and I made our goodbye rounds and headed back to La Fortuna to hopefully meet up with British Hannah at Gringo Petes. Our cryptic messages and plans worked out perfectly. We met up with Hannah and quickly convinced her it was time to head back to our favorite local hot springs spot to share the secret with our new travel companion. Hannah bussed it down to Costa Rica to renew her visa as well and then continued North as my passenger for the return adventures.
July 4, 2011
La Fortuna, Costa Rica to Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica
Day 7: 191 kms
We rose early for a quick 1km hike out to the local swimming hole, rope swing, waterfall - could there be any better combination! I kept finding myself dreaming that when I returned to Antigua we would have the same swimming hole/hot springs combination so closeby. After a nice swim it was time to hit the road North, now I simply look for the sun on my right shoulder.
We were barely outside of La Fortuna when Matt scared the beegees out of us. Apparently the misspelled zip line tour billboard got the best of him as his laughter blinded him to the left-hander in the road. Luckily Matt has loads of positive karma on his side and missed the concrete ditch, rather spinning off into a overgrown grassy shoulder. Definitely the scariest moment of the trip, as Hannah and I u-turned and saw only a front wheel in the air on the side of the road. Matt came out with a few small knicks and after a few adjustments to the Yumbo we were back on the open road with more attentive eyes.
Our destination for the evening was Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica on the Northwest Pacific coast. We found the Iguana Inn run by ‘Crazy Jerry’ and settled into our July 4th spot. Jerry made up for any and all of the crazy talk by telling us about the closeby sunset viewing hill. Hands down one of the best sunsets I’ve seen in years, the pictures will say more. We finished the night off with some good ol’ American style Apple Pie and ice cream for our July 4th celebration.
July 5, 2011
Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica to Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua
Day 8: 223 kms
Today’s ride is a short ride into Nicaragua to catch a ferry to Isla de Ometepe. Ometepe is an island formed by two volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua, volcan de Concepción and Maderas. After some exploring we found another great swimming hole that is known by locals to miracously reverse the years, why not. Later in the day, we raced to the Northwest corner to soak in another on those sunsets that reminds you how small we are in this universe.
July 6, 2011
Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua to Granada, Nicaragua
Day 9: 93 kms
Our shortest day of the trip brought us into the culturally rich city of Granada. The architecture, street vibe, and layout is what I would imagine as the big brother to Antigua. We wandered around to find the Bearded Monkey hostel and then decided to find another swimming spot, our comfortable routine. Lago de Apoyo was recommended and definitely didn’t disappoint. After a steep climb up the hill, we descended into the volcanic crater lake with beautiful views to a perfectly flat lake waiting for us. We were literally 3 out of 7 people in the whole lake, so nice. With no surprise to Hannah, Matt and I continued our rock throwing/skipping with a perfect glass lake at our disposal.
I can’t forget to recount our only big hassle with the police on this whole trip. Back in Granada we were running around the corner to gas up the bikes on the way to the lake when we were pulled over by a police truck. They kept going on about us not having our helmets on, meanwhile locals speed past us without helmets. They wanted to give us a ticket or get paid off of course but we stayed with our position that we didn’t know we were in the wrong and that we now would abide accordingly. It worked in the end. We went back to grab our helmets and continued on. ** for the concerned audience, I always wear my helmet on large roads, tours, and any trips of significant distance **
July 7, 2011
Granada, Nicaragua to Playa del Cuco, El Salvador
Day 10: 516 kms
One of our longest days on this journey in terms of time on the road and kilometers covered. Throw in a couple border crossings, our first flat tire, a stranded French backpacker, and twisties that went for ages. We ended up in Playa del Cuco, El Salvador hoping we would land a reasonably priced hotel in this “resort” town. We did well; air conditioning, pool, 50 feet from the beach, and the whole place to ourselves - all for about $10/each. A relaxed evening was just what we needed after the long day of pressing on.
July 7, 2011
Playa del Cuco, El Salvador to Antigua, Guatemala
Day 11: 276 kms
As we crossed back into Guatemala, a sense of ‘finally we are home!’ filled my helmet. How much longer is Hannah going to want to adjust my sweet cheeks, cover my face from pouring rain, or put up with my moving around the cockpit for a change in the saddle? Taking in the Guatemala countryside after experiencing its Southern counterparts was refreshing and comfortable all at the same time. No more turns to stop and confirm, simply the familiar road back to Antigua ahead of us. Of course, good old Guatemala is ready to welcome us back with threats of rain that we haven’t seen in what seems like weeks. We rode with anticipation but were able to escape the downpours and make it into Antigua for a quick “we are all in one piece” group shot.
~ 3,000 kilometers through Central America, done.
More pictures here: http://ow.ly/64Vif
