Choices…

It looms in front of us, a huge, hot, steaming chasm, filled with bureaucratic red tape, a psychological barrier, once across return is more than a drive, home is on the other side of the world, almost literally.  The Darien Gap, a 50 kilometer stretch of land that separates Central and South America, that separates Panama from Colombia.

Boarders are not difficult they are time consuming, we have now crossed 6, but shipping a car, arranging air transport for 2 dogs and us, with no direct flights is a huge undertaking.  I have done the research; I am still doing the research.  I have reached out to people who will be crossing around the same time to see if they want to split a container, but it would mean another month in either Costa Rica or Panama.  I have reached out to people who have done it, to see how they did it, especially those who have dogs.  Some have sailed, 4 days on a boat with 2 dogs sounds traumatic, but less traumatic then the stories of people who flew only to arrive in Colombia and find that their dogs weren’t with them, but had been lost in Panama.  I contact another couple with two dogs now in Ecuador, they shipped from the US to Colombia, they didn’t drive the whole way, and they didn’t do the Darien Gap.  I have reached out to people who are slightly ahead of us, to see how they are going to do it, they have decided to go home for a while, they are storing their trucks in Costa Rica, flying their dogs home and leaving them there when they return. 

Home, a visit, a time to regroup.   Many people who do this trip return to home for a while, they get to a point and store their car. The visit lasts between a few weeks and a few months.  For most it is time to work and save up more money, to be with friends and family, to remember the differences between first world and third world, and to renew the desire to continue the trek.  For us flying home isn’t a solution, it is only a postponement of the current situation, we would return to Costa Rica with the dogs, who now would have flown 2 times, only to have to cross the gap.  But the seed has been planted, there is a way to do this, to get the truck and the dogs to Colombia, but it means retracing our steps and then shipping from the US to Colombia.

We walk down the beach in Tamarindo our home of the last month, we watch a group of surfers and Stand Up Paddle Borders, as one guy on a SUP takes off on a wave Fritz says “I could do that” as he falls off I say “I could do that!”  Kona chases the ball he catches it in midair, he turns and runs full speed into the ocean.  Haole sniffs sand castle built the day before, when he realizes there isn’t food hidden in it, he pees on it instead.  After 20 minutes or so of playing with the dogs and watching the surfers Fritz turns to me and says “Ready to go back?”  I smile and say yes, at the end of the month we turn north, we will re-cross Central America and Mexico, sometime in August we will be back in the US, I am ready, we both are.  As we walk back down the beach Fritz smiles again and says “Tacos Al Pastor”.

Learning something new…

My arms feel like lead, the water is deep, there is a rock right behind me and in front of me there are 20 people.  “Move up on your board, paddle, go, up.”  The wave takes me, I feel the start of the drop and try to stand up, wobbling I do it, I have moved left avoiding the other surfers and someone cheers, I fall into the water, grab my board and start paddling back out.  As I paddle I hear Pedro give the same directions to Fritz and watch him get a wave.  We are out at a point break, about 60 feet from shore, where beginner surfers usually aren’t allowed to go, but because everyone knows Pedro, they let us take a few waves; they know we need the confidence and indulge us.  After three waves Pedro takes one in and waves us to shore. 

I have tried surfing before, when I was 13 my sister’s boyfriend took me out on my “Morey Dole” (yes I just dated myself), but after paddling out, standing up and realizing my bathing suit top was around my waist I gave it up.  Now 30 years later I am trying it again, if my top falls off I don’t care (I have on a rash guard), I only care about feeling of the waves and trying something new. 

I have reclaimed my inner water baby, snorkeling, swimming, SUP and now surfing.  This was one of the reasons we wanted to do this trip, to learn new things and to push ourselves out of the rut we were in.  We have another lesson today, and this afternoon we will practice, unless we are too tired!

Sitting Still… Sort of

We are still in Tamarindo, more than two weeks in the same place, cooking most nights, exploring the area, resting and recharging our batteries. 

The first few days we were here we took the SUP’s out, took a surf lesson and spent the days exploring the calmer areas to the North.  The waves just in Tamarindo aren’t huge but for novice paddle boarders getting outside of the waves is still a challenge.  As our goal is to learn to surf on the boards, we decided to take a couple of surf lessons.  We asked around and were told that Pedro’s surf shop was one of the best.  We signed up for 3 lessons each, the first day the waves we larger than normal, and the sets came in fast.  We were both able to stand up and take a few waves and we both loved it.  Unfortunately Fritz tweaked his back so instead of taking the three lessons back to back, we have only taken one.  His back is doing much better but a huge swell came in and the idea of learning to surf in overhead waves is too much for us.

It hasn’t mattered much as we have spent the days not surfing exploring the other beaches in the area and two days just lounging by the pool reading.  The first few trips out were North, where there are coves scattered around sheltered enough to take the boards out and even get the snorkeling gear out.  On each trip we are happy to be in such a lush area, looking for Coati, birds and lizards, when not playing in the water.

On our third day here we ran into Silli and Roman, two backpackers we had met in El Tunco, they were staying in the same place so we decided we would all load up in our car and go down to a break south of Tamarindo, at Playa Grande.  The waves were huge, too big for Roman to try, but we still had fun with 4 people and two dogs in a car with only two seats! 

The next night we decided to barbeque with Roman and Silli, and two of their friends Cat and Dan.  The night included too much rum and coconut so the next day we couldn’t think about doing anything more energetic but driving them (now 6 people in our car) down to another big break where Roman and Dan rode “the best waves of Costa Rica” so far. 

Being able to “sit still” and really explore the area is exactly what we needed, and having the opportunity to really get to know this group of people and hear about their lives in Austria and their adventures in Central America has been great.  Today we will all load up into the truck again and regardless of surfing, paddling, snorkeling or just lazing around it will be another great day.

Tamarindo… stop right here

After our 4 nights in Playa de Garza, we decided to head back up the coast to Tamarindo Costa Rica, we used airbnb.com to book a little place for a week in Playa Grande.  After driving up and down the same road looking for a big church called the Super Milagro (Miracle) we spotted the sign, it was a liquor store… sometimes my Spanish leads us in the wrong direction! We arrived at the gate drove up the hill and were surprised that our “casita” where we were going to spend the next week was barely the size of our truck and that the bathroom was across the garden (and around the pool), I immediately burst into tears knowing that this wasn’t going to work for us and starting to feel the wear and tear of the last 4 months on the road coming to ahead. 

I was tired, tired and frustrated and seriously considering stopping this adventure right there, driving back to the States.  I mentally started doing the math in my head, we could find a place close to the border to stay for the night, drive straight through, Nicaragua and Honduras to El Salvador the next day (yes in my mental state I was considering 3 borders in one day!) and be through Guatemala in a few days, back to Mexico and then home!  I was on the verge of being done.

Instead of throwing in the towel in a dramatic fashion we found a restaurant with wifi and on booking.com (my favorite hotel site because they have a “pet friendly” option) located a pet friendly 2 bed hotel room with a kitchen that would take our dogs.  Still not sure that I wanted to continue with this trip, I only booked it for 3 days.

After checking in, Fritz, the puppies and I collapsed on our “couch” in the air-conditioned bliss and watched TV in English (our hotel has ABC, NBC and CBS from Florida) for the rest of the afternoon, only leaving to walk the dogs and get take-out food from the Shwarma place across the street.  The next morning we regrouped, the town was great, touristy yes, but also charming.  We walked on the beach and decided maybe we should stay here for a month, it was obvious that I needed a break and as we had passed about a million realtor’s offices with short term listings pasted on the window, we decided to see if we could make it work.  We went in two offices and left our information for the rental agent but in the third she said she had a place she could show us in an hour.  We drove over to the place, it was a cute 2 story, pool, air, REAL kitchen but a bit more than we wanted to spend, she mentioned another one that she could show us later that afternoon or the next morning.  That evening we were treated to a great electrical storm and tropical down pour!  It was then, as we sat on our covered porch (which the apartment didn’t have) that we realized why move, maybe we could rent this place, so the next morning we arranged to stay for a month or maybe two! 

Costa Rica or Cost a Rica still the Pura Vida

The border crossing from Nicaragua to Costa Rica was fairly easy with the exception of getting to the border right behind 2 buses entering Nicaragua and then getting to the Costa Rica side right after 2 buses entering there!  So 3 hours later we were happily on our way.

I understand why people love and rave about Costa Rica, it is green and it is lush, it is beautiful and exotic and yet very familiar (with all of the same stores or at least recognizable imitations on every corner).  Crossing the border the air changed, it was wetter and smelled greener.  Our first stop in the country was the Nicoya Peninsula to a little beach called Garza, the road for the most part was great until we got to the last 20K. 

The Nicoya Peninsula is the “rough part” of the country, here it is “less developed” than other places, but at the same time it is quainter, more country. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the way to our hotel we got a chance to meet some of the locals and Fritz got a chance to use one of his toys that we have been carrying from LA… it helped them out and we learned how to use it, then it started to pour!

After driving up and down the same stretch of road 3 times (stopping 2 times to ask for directions in 40 feet because of the rain), we finally found our hotel/hostal (Hotel Playa Garza) with rooms from $45 a night (which in Costa Rica is a deal), a pool (which I have wanted since we left El Salvador) and right across the street from the beach, oh and they take doggies!  After our road and less than comfortable accommodations in Nicaragua I had booked 4 nights sight unseen and we were very happy about it! Not only was the room great but Juri the owner is from Italy and cooks awesome pizzas and pastas, a feast every night!  This was such a welcome treat because the 7 Kilometers of road between us and the next town was more than we could handle after dark!

Besides being beautiful and green in Costa Rica it is also very rainy in the summer months, it has rained every day from between 30 minutes to 2 hours (we hear it will get worse in June and July) and it is full of Ex-Pats.  Much like Bucerias and Lake Chapala in Mexico and San Pedro in Guatemala we are more likely to be speaking Spanish to someone who a) doesn’t speak Spanish or b) speaks Spanish as a second language (and English better than Spanish) then to someone who is from here.  It is also similar in that the signs are in both English and Spanish (or just English) and there are more Coldwell Banker and Century 21 signs than any other signs on the street.  In case you are interested a 1 bed condo here goes for between $120K and $250K US and a house… well that is in the ½ a million range!

San Juan… Nicer roads and more people

We cruised easily into San Juan taking the main road from Rivas 15 Kilometers (after the hour drive on unpaved roads) to the turn off which took us another 30 Kilometers on paved road back down to the coast.  It might be nice for the Nicaraguan government to put in a coastal road but then again that it just my suggestion.

San Juan is the party place for 20 somethings looking for cheap drinks, marijuana and hostals.  We tried 4 nicer hotels with pools who were booked up or not interested in our mongrels before we found the “Cork Beach Hostal” no pool but a nice courtyard where we and our doggies could rest up for a few days.

We spent the first day getting settled in, eating and drinking liter Tonas, and discussing our next moves.  After 4 days of rough roads and rough accommodations, moving every day and not feeling quite comfortable we needed the down time.  We moved our mattress as well as our fridge into the room so we had access to ice cold beer and could sleep on something that didn’t resemble a lumpy floor, and rested.

We didn’t even move the next day, we drove the short drive down to Playa Hermosa (apparently the actual beach our friend Harry had recommended) but didn’t even look around before driving back, taking a dip in ocean and then curling up with a book for the rest of the day.  Our only venture out was to see if we could find boogie boards, which we did find for the horrific price of $250 EACH!

Feeling rested after a day out of the car and less stressed as I had booked 11 days in Costa Rica at two different spots, we decided to spend our last full day in Nicaragua driving to Managua to visit PriceSmart (it is the Central American version of Costco) to see if we could find some less expensive boards.  We hit the road at 7 a nice early start with the plan of getting there and back by 12:00.  At 10ish we were just outside of Managua when we got stopped at our first police road block (we had been waived through three prior to this).  I reached over to grab my note book with the car paper work and our copies of our driver’s licenses and passports only to realize in horror, it WASN’T there!!!!  Fritz had moved it out of the car to keep it safe and not brought it back!!!  So ½ an hour later (and $20 poorer) we continued onto Managua.

Just into Managua there was another police blockade, they motioned us over, but then we were passed by an Ambulance so Fritz thought that was all and that we could continue on our way… WRONG!  Five minutes later a very frustrated police officer (on what looked like a moped) pulled over next to us and motioned us off to a side street.  I knew we were in hot water this time, not only had we run from the law but we didn’t have any of proper paperwork for the truck.  I immediately got out of the truck and did the only thing I could think of doing, I started to cry.  The poor police officer didn’t understand why I was so upset, and I explained that we were lost, that I hadn’t wanted to come to Managua, I was scared and now we had done something wrong and I didn’t know what it was.  He told me to translate to my husband to ALWAYS STOP when he sees policemen, to ALWAYS CARRY the paperwork, and to take better care of me, he handed him back his license and off we went with no fine paid.

We found the PriceSmart but they didn’t have boogie boards, safely back in our Hostal (now at 2 PM) I had a couple of Mojitos!

The thing about really, really, really bad roads is…

Once when my family and I were on a trip, my mom consulted her map and decided that there was a short cut we could take, I sighed exasperated and said “great another misadventure” knowing that a short cut on the map might take us twice as long as the good road we were avoiding.

Before we left Guatemala we were happy to download street maps of Central America on to Greta, and also to find maps of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica.  The map we had been using is the Automobile Club Central and South America and while it gives you a general idea the level of detail got us lost more than once in Guatemala. In El Salvador our new map worked great and with Greta I could verify that we were where I thought we should be so between the two we zipped along down the coast.

As we moved south from Puerto Sandino to Masachapa we discovered that we had to go back in land before returning to the coast at La Boquita and Huehuete, from there we, according to my map could easily drive through Veracurz and then to Popoyo.  We found out in Hehuete that the road was impassable and would again have to drive the 30 K back to the main road go 10 or so K down the coast and then turn it to get to Popoyo.  We checked this as we left Huehuete with the policeman who stopped us and he confirmed what the map said, his directions matched exactly what I was seeing both on Greta and the map, good paved roads from Jinopete all the way down the coast to Popoyo.

We took the road down to the coast and for the first 20 or so Kilometers it was great and paved, a really nice road, what we didn’t know was that it ended in La Conquista about 30 K short of where we needed to be.  We asked the locals (many of whom were toting shot guns) on the side of the road if this would get us to Veracruz and they all said sure no problem, once in Veracruz though we found a dead end, no people and just a few monkeys.  We continued on the track we were driving on and the road got worse, we stopped for a tree in the road and considered turning around but we were 30 K in and only 10 K from where we needed to be, so Fritz removed the tree and we continued on. 

 

After coming to a locked fence, and back tracking we ran in to some locals who told us to take the “rock road” and that we would be in Popoyo in about 5 K… About 20 minutes later we met up with this truck, they stopped and one guy (who spoke perfect English) asked us if we had stopped at the surf camp in Veracruz (we didn’t see it), gave us his card and told us about a great little break we could surf at the next day!  He was a developer of course and traveled with a guard with a shotgun (but we shouldn’t worry about him because now he knows who we are!)

We got to Popoyo, stayed in the worse place yet, but by that time, neither of us cared they served cold beer and we had great rum!  The next day it was back up to the main road (on a better road this time) and on to San Juan del Sur, thankfully on paved roads (after another 30 K on wonderfully just bad roads).  The best thing about really, really, really bad roads is that they make you appreciate any road all that much more!