Our route seems to skip from one volcano to the next …which is not all that surprising I suppose when uou consider that we’re basically following a major fault line between the continental and Pacific tectonic plates (« tectonic » …how about that …not bad after four rum and cokes!)
After Puerto Viejo de Talamanca on the Caribbean coast we drive northwest to La Fortuna, a rather touristy town next to the Arenal volcano. There are many tour agencies selling trips to see waterfalls, volcanoes, lakes, « tree-top » tours, etc, etc… and they all cost a LOT of money. Costa Rica is expensive! So we chose carefully …and visited a couple of small zoos where they have an amazing variety of creatures: giant Hercules flying beetles that can carry up to 80 times their own weight …at least 20 varieties of venomous snakes that live in the area including coral snakes, horned vipers, Fer de Lances, plus quite a few poisonous frogs, tiny and brightly coloured, but covered in a toxic slime. Butterflies of all colours and sizes, including the big (10cm wingspan) Morpho butterfly that has bright blue iridescent wings. There are also many homeopathic plants …and nearly all of them seem to be for treating diarrhoea!
Our campsite is situated at the foot of the Arenal volcano, and one evening when there was no cloud, we could see the red glow of flames coming from the crater.
Racoons …lots of them …you only have to stop your car at the side of the road and whole families of them come running up begging for food. Trees full of Howler monkeys that throw their « poops » at you if they feel threatened …a fascinating form of self-defence that I didn’t try to verify!
We stopped at a roadside café run by some Germans and had two cups of coffee …for 12 dollars! We decided it was time to move on to Nicaragua …
The border crossing was totally chaotic …hundreds of people, cars, buses, trucks all over the place …and none of the offices have any signs on the doors! Fortunately there are lots of small boys who, for a small fee (9dollars), will take care of everything for you, and after about three hours we were through.
We drove to a small village called San Jorge on the shores of Lake Nicaragua, a rather large lake that measures 117km long by 58km wide (so large that for centuries it was used by pirates to attack Granada and other lakeside towns). We took a ferry boat to an island called Ometepe. The boat was just big enough to carry two banana trucks and our car …as long as they didn’t close the ramp at one end …which they didn’t!!
The island of Ometepe was formed by two separate volcanoes (yes, volcanoes again) that rose up through the lake, and vomited out so much lava that they joined up into one island. One of the volcanoes Concepcion) is still active (see picture). We found a little hostel with campsite (called « Pirate’s Treasure ») on the shoreline; very quiet, good resturant, beautiful scenery, and just a few local fishermen.
Nicaragua is the second poorest country in Central America and the Caribbean (after Haiti) and the contrast between the « haves » and the « have-nots » is blatant ……….
A visitor arrives in a big powerboat (twin 200hp engines) to do some fishing (eight rods with lines trawling behind the boat). He doesn’t catch anything, and the lake water is too stormy for him anyway. So he just sits around drinking beer for a couple of days, then moves on …….Just next door lives a Nicaraguan family with several little children, a few hens …and the husband who goes out fishing every morning at 5am in a tiny wooden boat, with a couple of oars and a little handmade sail. The prevailing wind quickly carries him out into the lake, …..but to get back takes several hours of hard rowing against the wind …for a handful of fish. But he has no choice …he has to catch some fish every day, or the family starves!!
There are hardly any cars on the island, but lots of horses and carts pulled by oxen. The local village bus navigates the island road (which is in appalling condition in some areas) each day, and its an interesting sight if you’re following it …it doesn’t travel in a straight line ….but diagonally!! There is obviously something radically out of alignment on the chassis, but as long as it keeps going … who cares!
In spite of everything, the local people are happy, smiling, and very friendly …lessons to be learnt?
Its hard to leave such idyllic places, but tomorrow we move on, northwest towards Honduras and the beginning of the Mayan empire. New horizons, new discoveries.
PS. One item of sad news …our beautiful, adorable dog Alexa died a week ago ….I was hoping she would still be around for our return, but she didn’t make it, …but she had a good life and lived over 14 years, which is very good for a golden retriever, and she was in good hands at the end.
After Puerto Viejo de Talamanca on the Caribbean coast we drive northwest to La Fortuna, a rather touristy town next to the Arenal volcano. There are many tour agencies selling trips to see waterfalls, volcanoes, lakes, « tree-top » tours, etc, etc… and they all cost a LOT of money. Costa Rica is expensive! So we chose carefully …and visited a couple of small zoos where they have an amazing variety of creatures: giant Hercules flying beetles that can carry up to 80 times their own weight …at least 20 varieties of venomous snakes that live in the area including coral snakes, horned vipers, Fer de Lances, plus quite a few poisonous frogs, tiny and brightly coloured, but covered in a toxic slime. Butterflies of all colours and sizes, including the big (10cm wingspan) Morpho butterfly that has bright blue iridescent wings. There are also many homeopathic plants …and nearly all of them seem to be for treating diarrhoea!
Our campsite is situated at the foot of the Arenal volcano, and one evening when there was no cloud, we could see the red glow of flames coming from the crater.
Racoons …lots of them …you only have to stop your car at the side of the road and whole families of them come running up begging for food. Trees full of Howler monkeys that throw their « poops » at you if they feel threatened …a fascinating form of self-defence that I didn’t try to verify!
We stopped at a roadside café run by some Germans and had two cups of coffee …for 12 dollars! We decided it was time to move on to Nicaragua …
The border crossing was totally chaotic …hundreds of people, cars, buses, trucks all over the place …and none of the offices have any signs on the doors! Fortunately there are lots of small boys who, for a small fee (9dollars), will take care of everything for you, and after about three hours we were through.
We drove to a small village called San Jorge on the shores of Lake Nicaragua, a rather large lake that measures 117km long by 58km wide (so large that for centuries it was used by pirates to attack Granada and other lakeside towns). We took a ferry boat to an island called Ometepe. The boat was just big enough to carry two banana trucks and our car …as long as they didn’t close the ramp at one end …which they didn’t!!
The island of Ometepe was formed by two separate volcanoes (yes, volcanoes again) that rose up through the lake, and vomited out so much lava that they joined up into one island. One of the volcanoes Concepcion) is still active (see picture). We found a little hostel with campsite (called « Pirate’s Treasure ») on the shoreline; very quiet, good resturant, beautiful scenery, and just a few local fishermen.
Nicaragua is the second poorest country in Central America and the Caribbean (after Haiti) and the contrast between the « haves » and the « have-nots » is blatant ……….
A visitor arrives in a big powerboat (twin 200hp engines) to do some fishing (eight rods with lines trawling behind the boat). He doesn’t catch anything, and the lake water is too stormy for him anyway. So he just sits around drinking beer for a couple of days, then moves on …….Just next door lives a Nicaraguan family with several little children, a few hens …and the husband who goes out fishing every morning at 5am in a tiny wooden boat, with a couple of oars and a little handmade sail. The prevailing wind quickly carries him out into the lake, …..but to get back takes several hours of hard rowing against the wind …for a handful of fish. But he has no choice …he has to catch some fish every day, or the family starves!!
There are hardly any cars on the island, but lots of horses and carts pulled by oxen. The local village bus navigates the island road (which is in appalling condition in some areas) each day, and its an interesting sight if you’re following it …it doesn’t travel in a straight line ….but diagonally!! There is obviously something radically out of alignment on the chassis, but as long as it keeps going … who cares!
In spite of everything, the local people are happy, smiling, and very friendly …lessons to be learnt?
Its hard to leave such idyllic places, but tomorrow we move on, northwest towards Honduras and the beginning of the Mayan empire. New horizons, new discoveries.
PS. One item of sad news …our beautiful, adorable dog Alexa died a week ago ….I was hoping she would still be around for our return, but she didn’t make it, …but she had a good life and lived over 14 years, which is very good for a golden retriever, and she was in good hands at the end.
