2596 – 1622 miles
400 – 250 miles
San Isidro – El Cua
Total Km ridden: 298 (186 miles)
There is no better feeling than waking up in a “foreign” city after a good night of sleep and knowing that the bike is running great and the weather is just perfect to be on the saddle. Today I will leave the hot weather behind and I will start climbing the mountains of Nueva Segovia and Jinotega.
The first thing was to repack the tent and gear. Packing and unpacking have become a painless routine. You have to do it almost everyday but every time is a little bit different. You need to change maps, stash dirty cloth in a different location and re-adjust the items that you'll need through out the day.
In my travels I have found that having a great breakfast is key to ride many miles in one day. After a big breakfast you can skip lunch and just eat a granola bar or some cookies – you can focus on riding until dinner. Todays breakfast was a great breakfast: eggs, gallopinto (fried beans and rice), sausage, tortillas, cuajada (type of cheese), maduro (fried plantain), tortillas and coffee.
After breakfast I spent some time talking to the bus drivers that were staying in the same hotel. I have found that bus drivers and truck drivers have the best information on roads (distances, road conditions, times). However, these drivers had no information on my route after Ocotal.
I hit the road and stopped in Esteli which was the last town where I could take cash from an ATM. From now on I will not be able to get cash. Figuring out how much money to take was difficult. I had taken out $300 USD in Leon but after the first day ridding where I spent $33 I realized that $300 would not be enough. Of the $33, $22 had been spent on gasoline and two stroke oil. I decided to take out an extra $100 in Esteli. My budget for this trip would be $400. I figured if I could keep on average my cost at around $25 I would be able to travel for 16 days. It would be a tight budget and in case I would need more money I planned for my family to send me more money by Western Union to Bonanza or Puerto Cabeza. Later in the trip there were different methods to receive money in different parts of the country.
The road from San Isidro to Ocotal was all paved and overall a good road. “A good road to kill yourself” like the lady at the hotel told me. It is a two lane road, all twisty, perfect pavement, great scenery and makes you want to drive fast. This can be a problem if you are drunk or have ****ty breaks like many people that have died on this road.
In Ocotal got fuel again and hanged out a little bit to get information from the gas stations workers and other drivers on the road ahead. Then I got some extra fuel in one of the extra cans I was carrying.
Leaving in Ocotal and riding in the mountains was a bit of a surprise and appointment. I was expecting green mountains with big trees. But it was not the case
After Ocotal I hit some cobble stone roads and then finally dirt. I was making good time and I know I could further than original plan. I stopped in Quilali to get gas at a small two-pump gas station. Quilali has a nice hotel and probably a place I would like to go back and visit. Leaving town you hit the river El Jicaro which I found very pretty
From the gas station worker I learn that they plant beans in this mountains
The ride was fun and dusty. I reached the town of Wiwili that is divided by the Rio Coco
and that was the first river crossing on a panga
to cross the river you need to sit on the bike and put your feet on the sides to keep the balance. It was fun!
Crossing the river marked the entrance into Jinotega and soon the enviroment started to turn green
Finally around 4pm I reached El Cua where I would spend the night and meet El Chele. El Chele is a local motorcyclist, hotel owner and part of the city counsil. We had great conversations and insights in the area.
