{"id":370,"date":"2009-02-11T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2009-02-11T08:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jc4ever.co.za\/?p=370"},"modified":"2022-03-15T19:47:02","modified_gmt":"2022-03-15T19:47:02","slug":"central-america-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jc4ever.co.za\/?p=370","title":{"rendered":"Central America Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Granada, Nicaragua<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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11 Februarie 2009<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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\n<\/strong>Ons is in Granada, Niciragua, ‘n pragtige koloniale stad op die oewers van\u00a0die groot Niciragua Meer.\u00a0Dis interesant hoe eenders, maar tog ook baie verskillend die lande van\u00a0mekaar is hier in Sentraal Amerika. Honduras was nice, tropies, groen,\u00a0maar die paaie is vrotterig en die mense ry soos die arabiere, onbeskof.<\/p>\n

Al die Amerikaanse ‘junk-food’ resturante is ook daar.\u00a0Niciragua in die anderkant het sover die beste paaie en ordentlikste
\nbestuurders buite die VSA, huise is netjieser en dorpe so bietjie skoner\u00a0as hul bure in die noorde. Ook omtrent geen Amerikaanse winkels nie. Selfs\u00a0die voertuie is minder Amerikaans, ons sien nou meer Toyota’s en ander\u00a0kleiner voertuie. Langs die pad is ook groot komersiele plase, in plaas\u00a0van die klein ‘ek-doen-my-eie-ding’ landerytjies. Ek sal later meer
\nuitbrei, wou maar net laat weet ons is veilig.<\/p>\n

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12 Februarie 2009<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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\nNicaragua, ‘n land waarvan ek nooit tevore van gehoor het nie, het tot\u00a0dusver die lekkerste paaie in Sentraal Amerika om op te ry, geen\u00a0spoedwalle, ordentliike bestuurders en perfekte padoppervlak.\u00a0 Ons eerste\u00a0stop was Esteli, ‘n netjiese Cowboy dorpie in ‘n bergagtige omgewing. Die\u00a0deel van Sentraal Amerika kry sy reen in die somer, en is tans aan die\u00a0droe kant. Vir die eerste keer in ‘n lang tyd sien ons groot komersiele\u00a0plase, in pleks van die klein een-man landerytjies. In die plateland en\u00a0klein dorpies is daar geen tekens oor van Nicaragua se grusame burger\u00a0oorlog wat so 30 jaar gelede plaasgevind het die. Baie mense het in\u00a0daardie tyd die uit die land gevlug en nie weer terug gekeer nie, daarom\u00a0het dit die minste bevolkings getalle in Sentraal Amerika. Dit beteken ook\u00a0dat daar aansienlik minder voertuie op die pad is wat die bestuur hier ‘n\u00a0plesier maak. Dorpe is ook kleiner as die in die ander lande. Selfs die\u00a0sogenaamde stede soos Matagalpa en Granada, is volgens my mening maar net\u00a0dorpe. So gepraat van Matagalpa, dis die land se koffie-meca, en die\u00a0omliggende heuwels is vol koffie plantasies. Die plant is amper ‘n klein\u00a0boompie, so 1-1.5m hoog met donker groen blare en groen tot bloed rooi\u00a0koffiebone die grote van Tumbels (Daai sjokelade lekkers wat jy by die\u00a0huis kry) aan die boompie. Rooi is die kleur van die boon as hy ryp is en\u00a0reg is vir pluk. Hulle word met die hand gepluk, een vir een en in sulke\u00a0groot ‘veevoer’ sakke op vragmotors, trekkers en perdekarre vervoer. Ten\u00a0spyte van hul koloniale en Spaanse oorsprong, is Nicaragua se dorpe nie so\u00a0indrukwekkend soos die wat ons in Mexico gesien het nie. Nietemin is hulle\u00a0netjies en ‘n ‘work-in-progress’. Granada is die mooste van die lot, en\u00a0ook vol toeriste, wat nie altyd ‘n slegte ding is nie, maar dit stoot die\u00a0verblyf pryse op en maak dat baie locals op toeriste staatmaak vir ‘n\u00a0inkomste, en dus jou nie met rus laat nie, wil altyd iets aan jou verkoop\u00a0of net sommer plein weg bedel. Ek wens toeriste wil besef dat dit eintlik\u00a0skade doen om vir bedelaars net geld te gee. Inteendeel het ek geleer dat\u00a0dit dinge moeilik maak vir toeriste in die toekoms.<\/p>\n

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Gaan toer maar gerus\u00a0deur Afrika en jy sal sien wat ek bedoel, veral Etehopie, waar jy baie\u00a0keer met klippe bestook word as jy nie geld wil gee nie. Granada is darem\u00a0nie so erg nie, en ons is ook al gewoond daaraan en ignoreer die paar\u00a0bedelaars en smouse wat stofvergaderaars aan ons wil verkoop. Dis ook\u00a0bietjie aan die warm kant hier, en vir die eerste keer sedert ons die\u00a0Midde Ooste verlaat het het ons 40 grade C op die meter gesien. Ja, ons\u00a0beweeg al nader aan die ekwator. Vandag is dit wasgoed dag en inhaal met\u00a0die dagboek, so tussen-in sal ons die dorp se interesante koloniale strate\u00a0en mark verken.<\/p>\n

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15 February 2009<\/h2>\n

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We are heading for the Costa Rica border today. It has been fantastic in Nicaragua!<\/p>\n

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Costa Rica<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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17 February 2009<\/h2>\n

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\n<\/strong>We are in San Jose, Costa Rica. Had an awful border crossing yesterday between Nicaragua and Costa Rica, more than 5 hours! Tomorrow we will find out whether we can go to Panama or not, and how we will get to Colombia. We will see.<\/p>\n

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Good News & Bad News<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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19 February 2009<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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We are on the way again.\u00a0Have good news and bad news. Got the Panama visa today! Some bastard stole my compressor and first aid kit off the bike, (It was locked on) behind ‘locked’ doors of the garage of the hostel. The staff doesn’t seemed to be fazed and and just pull up their shoulders. I’ll make sure bikers know not to support this hostel again. Give\u00a0Hostel El Chante in San Jose<\/strong>\u00a0a miss, despite of the ‘secure’ looking garage.<\/p>\n

So we’re not sure where we will be ending up tonight, and should cross into the long awaited Panama tomorrow. Costa Rica is nothing to rave about.\u00a0We made contact with\u00a0Karl in Bogota and they are looking forward to meet up with us, so we have lots to look forward to in Colombia. Bring it on!!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Costa Rica Border<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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21 February 2009<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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\n<\/strong>We have just had a major 900km run around, from one border in the north of Costa Rica to the other one in the south, rode right through the night in soaking rain. All because they would not exit stamp my RSA passport.Eventough I would be using my German passport to enter Panama. We had no problem at the border in the south. Just waiting for clearance for the GS. Praise the Lord we are on our way! We are in David Panama, we have done 1050km since yesterday morning, lots of time wasted at the borders……..going to sleep for two hours and then will go and look for food.<\/p>\n

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Trujillo, Honduras to San Jose, Costa Rica<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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\n22 February 2009<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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We had a relaxing time at Casa Kiwi, Trujillo, Honduras waiting for the rain to stop.\u00a0 It was the first time in a long time that we had real healthy salad and good home cooked food, thanks Chaz.\u00a0 The normally beautiful Caribbean Sea was a nice brown colour from all the muddy rain water coming down all the rivers but at least we could watch the iguanas on the big pile of wood from our bedroom window.\u00a0 The road south was really bad in one section potholes and gravel for over 100 km\u2019s and some of it was first gear stuff.\u00a0 We did a\u00a0‘long’\u00a0short-cut around Lake Yajoa through some of the most amazing mountain roads \u2013-single track stuff\u00a0–\u00a0and eventually found our way to the village of Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

The border crossing from Honduras into Nicaragua was pretty uneventful, it was not long (about an hour and a half) and we were on the road in Nicaragua. There was a noticeable difference in the quality of the road surface, it was smooth with a new tar surface and had no speed bumps!\u00a0 It wound down the mountain through a beautiful valley filled with trees covered in beautiful big orange blossoms.\u00a0 What a gorgeous sight to greet a new guest to a country.\u00a0 We also noted the lack of American franchises that we had seen all over Honduras.\u00a0 The terrain changed to thorn trees, cactus and long grass,\u00a0much dryer conditions and no more humidity.\u00a0 The one section of road before Ginotega was beautiful\u00a0–\u00a0the road surface fantastic with many twist and turns\u00a0–\u00a0\u00a0the GS was in her element and Johan\u00a0was loving it.\u00a0 We then went on the old road to Matagalpa which was also in the beautiful mountains but it was in desperate need of repair.\u00a0 This was the only section of bad road in Nicaragua.\u00a0 The town of Granada reminded us of Alomos in Mexico, beautiful laid out cobbled streets and colourful colonial homes and buildings with courtyards.<\/p>\n

We decided to go to Isla de Ometepe, one of the islands in Lake Nicaragua.\u00a0 While waiting for the ferry in San Jorge we got chatting with another RTW traveler, Peter Maddox an Australian on the 1200GS.\u00a0The ferry was interesting\u00a0–\u00a0it could only hold one truck, four pickups and our two motorbikes!\u00a0 The crossing was a little bumpy as there was a lot of wind\u00a0\u00a0&\u00a0choppy\u00a0\u00a0but we were chatting so much that we hardly noticed it.\u00a0 The first section of the road around the big volcano on Ometepe was brick paving but the other section was one of the worst roads we have ever been on\u00a0–\u00a0rocky, sandy and everything in\u00a0–\u00a0between!\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0We found a nice place to stay in on the wind\u00a0–\u00a0ward side of the island which was a blessing because as soon as you were out of the wind it was very hot!\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0 It was fascinating watching the clouds swirl around the top of the volcanic mountain, as if the water particles were attracted to the top like a magnet!\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0We had a wonderful time on Ometepe with Peter and ate the biggest Tilapia we have ever had. Thank you Jesus.<\/p>\n

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We had our worst border crossing ever from Nicaragua to Costa Rica\u00a0–\u00a0\u00a0five and a half hours!<\/strong>\u00a0 Every time we thought we had everything done to get out of Nicaragua, the guy at the final gate would send us back saying that we had to get another stamp on our little piece of paper…..\u00a0what to do!\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0And the queues, they were miles long!\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0 It looked like every tourist bus in the country was there,\u00a0\u00a0there were people everywhere,\u00a0\u00a0some arriving and others leaving. Then on the Costa Rica side it was the same thing,\u00a0\u00a0queues a mile long and lots of paper work.\u00a0 At the final checkpoint we were told that we still had to go to the main customs office which was half way back to the first customs office we were at…. yet another queue and then eventually we had all the paper work, phew\u00a0–\u00a0it was quite tiring.\u00a0 The north of Costa Rica is dry and hot and reminds us of South Africa; even the houses have burglar bars and security gates!\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0 For such a developed country the roads are pretty bad\u00a0–\u00a0\u00a0single lane traffic mountain passes which is quite silly seeing that it is the main Pan\u00a0–\u00a0American Highway.\u00a0 The trucks caused huge tail backs and we had to sit at first gear speeds until there was a clear straight to power past the trucks.\u00a0 We were surprised how much cooler it was in San Jose and it has been very windy,\u00a0\u00a0just like Somerset West and the Strand in Cape Town. \u00a0The city is developed and quite modern, a lot like South African cities.\u00a0 We are now waiting for the authorization from Panama to put the already approved visa into the passports.<\/p>\n

Panama<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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22 February 2009<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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\n<\/strong>This might be the last internet or contact that we will have for a\u00a0while. We slept last night in a Hostel on the outskirts of Panama City.\u00a0Today we will be buying tyres and service parts for the bike, fit and\u00a0service it tonight, and\u00a0then\u00a0drive to Carti on the Caribean Coast tomorrow to\u00a0board the sailing boat we will be taken to Colombia. It is a big old\u00a0German boat called Stahlratte, (www.stahlratte.com<\/a>) and is well known for\u00a0this crossing.<\/p>\n

They charge us about $1200, compared to flying that would\u00a0cost aboat $1500. Not much different, but we will arrive in Cartagena\u00a0instead of Bogota, so will be able to see more of Colombia too. We were\u00a0told that the road up to Carti (and the San Blas islands) is through thick\u00a0Jungle, 4×4 stuff. The loading of the bike will also be interesting, from\u00a0the dock to a motorised canoo to the sailing boat, we will see. Crosing\u00a0takes 3 or 4 days, and we will stop over on some little islands on the way\u00a0for snorkeling and swimming. We drove over the big Canal yesterday, what a\u00a0site! Would have loved to see more of Panama, but the boat is not waiting\u00a0for no-one.<\/p>\n

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25 February 2009<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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\n<\/strong>Praise the Lord all is fine. Very rough roads to Carti. One river crossing and then a motorised canoe to the boat anchored off Carti Suitupo.We will stick to the Pan American Highway Cartenena, Medelen, Bogota, Cali, Quito.The boat leaves today for a island, we will snorkel swim and\u00a0have a braai.<\/p>\n

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Columbia<\/h1>\n

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28 February 2009<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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\n<\/strong>Praise the Lord for a safe voyage. Yesterday real rough this morning it is ok. Now we are anchored in Port Cartagena, waiting on board for immigration clearance. Johan and James are busy with customs and I am looking after the bikes in the drizzle, thankfully it is warm. We have heard that the customs could take all day. Thankfully James is good with spanish,so there wont be messing around!<\/p>\n

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Cartagena, Colombia<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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2 March 2009<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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\n<\/strong>We went walk about yesterday, nice but not as pretty and clean as Mexico. James has been here before and says the other towns are nicer than Cartegena.<\/p>\n

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4 March 2009<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Yesterday we drove from Cartegena to Planeta Rica. Today we will ride to Medellin. Talk about slow we only got the bike papers from customs at 5.15pm.<\/p>\n

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San Jose to\u00a0<\/strong>Cartagena<\/h1>\n

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5 March 2009<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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We enjoyed San Jose, and walked around the city centre looking at the beautiful crafts and ate good cheap pizza. For the first time we saw paintings done on bird feathers, which seems to be everywhere for sale in Costa Rica. They really are pretty, but quite expensive, as it must be a fine art to paint it. Eventually, after 3 days in San Jose we got the long awaited visa for Panama, just in time, as we discovered items stolen from the bike in the hostel\u2019s \u2018secure\u2019 locked garage on the third morning.. We were furious and confronted the hostel staff, as it seems that they never locked the gate that night. They just shoved up their shoulders and basically said that it is not their responsibility or problem. So we decided to leave the hostel and city immediately. We drove up the Irazu Volcano, a huge volcanic mountain where the roads leads up to the crater. We spent the night in cold weather at almost 3000m above sea level. The next morning it was cloudy and raining, and we could not see the crater, and drove all the way to the Panamanian border on the Caribbean Coast, in hopes to get out of Costa Rica.<\/p>\n

All day we drove in the rain and could not take any pictures of this beautiful part of the country. We arrived late afternoon, and were turned away by the border officials. They were just plain unfriendly, and not willing to let us through, due to some visa confusion on their side. We were told to come back the next day, with a \u2018tip\u2019 and then they \u2018might\u2019 be able to \u2018fix\u2019 the \u2018problem\u2019. The town was a dump, and everything was deep in the mud, and we did not want to spend a night there, so decided to rather drive to another border. It took us all night long to get to the main border on the Pan American highway. Most of the driving was in heavy rain, with poor visibility, but the concentration required kept us awake. At about 2 in the morning as we came over a clear and cloudless summit we could see the Southern Cross right in front of us. It was about 4-5 years ago when we saw it the last time, and it had a special meaning to us, almost like a home coming, we are almost back in the Southern Hemisphere. We arrived at the border by sunrise, and had to stand in a long queue full of bus tourists.<\/p>\n

There we met Martin, an American on his V-Strom. He told us that everything in the country (Panama) was closed for the week of Carnival, and freight companies will not be able to fly our bike to Colombia. That evening in David I checked the internet for an alternative way to Colombia, and came across the Stahlratte, a German boat that transports passengers and motorcycles between Panama and Colombia. It was quite a bit cheaper than flying, and we booked our place on this boat, a decision we will never regret, as it was a trip of a lifetime, but more about that later. For those who do not know, there are no roads between the two countries, it is thick jungle and is called the Darien Gap.\u00a0Panama is in many ways American, the roads, the towns and even the money. We enjoyed our few days in Panama and briefly saw the biggest engineering marvel in the world, the Panama Canal.<\/p>\n

In Panama City we stayed with a friend of Charmaine\u2019s cousin, Jacx and Nigel, who have been living there for two years. Through Horizons Unlimited\u2019s HUBB we met up with James, who was also booked on the Stahlratte voyage to Colombia. James is an American riding a 250 Honda down to Argentina. We met each other on the outskirts of town at 7 in the morning to ride out together to Carti. The road to Carti is notorious for being very rough, and I was not looking forward in doing it. Just before the turnoff from the main road, we ate our last meal in Panama and set off on the slippery (wet) muddy road. It was slow going and with extremely steep inclines over the mountains. The GS handled it very well, as there is no lack of power in the 1150cc motor, but traction was another thing with the smooth rear tire on the slippery mud.\u00a0There was one river crossing that was not too bad, although a bit deep. The GS\u2019s cylinder heads was under water for a short section, but she made it through without any problems. I\u2019m starting to really like my GS again, as the problems it had in the USA is now in the distant past.<\/p>\n

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