We left León in a gang of 6 riders... this is our high number so far on this trip (besides some urban riding in Columbia Falls, MT with some friends we made there). We headed out of León and immediately found some great dirt roads, taking us in the direction of some gorgeous volcanoes and crater lakes, among other things...
taking over the road! Volcán Las Pilas in the background
rural Nicaraguan public transport
Mike tops out a decent climb, followed by the others
rural Nicaraguan traffic jam
Sonia enjoys the riding with Volcán Momotombo in the background, Las Pilas in the foreground
Sonia chatting with a local
Laguna Asososca, our destination. A flat crater lake.
cooling off after the ride
we settled in and had some campfires, played music, and relaxed
scorpion seen near the fire area
egrets are common at Asososca
these guys came down to drink water in mid-morning
From Laguna Asososca, Mike, Craig and Rochelle returned to León, and Jeff, Jason and Sonia continued riding east...
Volcán Momotombo in the midground, Momotombito in the background. Climbing Momotombo is our next project
to fuel up, we got this fish lunch in the town of Momotombo on the edge of Lake Managua
Momotombo was the original location of the city of León in the 16th century. This plaque is celebrating Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, who is considered the founder of Nicaragua. He died and was buried in Old León.
this statue commemorates an Indian uprising against colonial troops
getting closer to Volcán Momotombo
The volcano is accessed from a geothermal plant at the base of the volcano. Here we had to bribe the guards to let us in, as we didn´t have the permission which we unknowingly were supposed to obtain in Managua. Then we switched our gear from bikes to backpacks and started up on foot...
up through the lower slopes
sunset over Lake Managua
Jason with Momotombo's summit behind, near where we camped
we began the climb at 3 am; this was sunrise from a shoulder most of the way up
Sonia with the peak ever closer
Jason makes his way up through steep unstable slopes--
-- with these shoes
Jeff and Jason at the summit (1297 m)
the summit is very active, with lots of fumaroles and sulfurous growth everywhere
the Nicaraguan chain of volcanoes stretching off to the west-northwest, looking back towards Las Pilas, El Hoyo, Telica, and San Cristobal
the huge smoking crater of Momotombo. The last major eruption was in 1905.
to see a video of a walk around the summit of Momotombo, click on the following You Tube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-XyixFBelY
to see a video of a walk around the summit of Momotombo, click on the following You Tube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-XyixFBelY
lava flows seen from the summit on the lower slopes of Momotombo
descending on a picture-perfect morning
the forests of the lower slopes
this guy was seen on Jason´s chain at the guard station. Moments earlier, we saw a much bigger lizard - a 4.5 meter crocodile - in the shallow waters on the edge of Lake Managua, where we had been bathing only 15 minutes before!
we returned to Momotombo town after our descent, for another fish lunch, and this was our view as we ate
Great Kiskadee seen while eating on the edge of Lake Managua
Sonia after fighting a local
this road, with hand-placed stones, stretched about 20 km going south from Momotombo
in Nagarote we were pointed to a library for map information, and the super-friendly librarian Jose Palacios sorted us out
bike usage in Nicaragua reminds us at times of Cuba; here in Nagarote bike-taxis are quite common
from Nagarote we found a great dirt road leading us south towards the coast
the dry season is very dusty here
this is one reason we choose dirt roads whenever possible: low traffic and quiet locals
this is another reason: fun riding
we had a lot of fun on this road
a local´s home along the route
this day of great riding ended with this sunset
the next morning we continued towards the coast, still following great roads
at Playa San Diego, Jason manages a shave
local boy watching us strange gringoes
reunited with English Tom (last seen in El Tunco, El Salvador), who has been working at a surf lodge here at Los Cardones.
Tom, besides being an arctic sled dog trainer, a surfer, a hangglider, and a ukelele player, among other things, is also a talented fire dancer
from Los Cardones, we headed for Granada; here asking locals for directions, trying to find the good dirt roads
Sonia stopping to swim in a river crossing
there were some local boys here with us
some Tarzan-style swinging
more incredible riding
back on a paved stretch before Diriamba, huge rainbow arcing across
camped near San Marcos in a coffee plantation
political propaganda for Ortega seen in San Marcos
this banner says: "Welcome, Jesus Christ's girlfriend". we still haven't figured out what was going on here
getting close to Masaya, we found some descending single track that was a helluva ride
... by now, Sonia has adapted to the dirt nicely...
early morning in Masaya, we found a street food gem: beignets made of yuca, and drizzled with honey
entering Granada now, this is propaganda for Ortega. The striking part of this billboard is that it celebrates Nicaragua as a Christian Socialist nation of solidarity.
colonial style architecture in Granada
In Granada we stayed at El Chelero hostel, with high ceilings. This is Jeff's gear while doing some bike maintenance in the room
Iglesia de la Merced, Granada
this is how beer is sold in Granada, at the corner liquor store
We walked down to the edge of Lake Nicaragua about 2km from the center of Granada, and talked with a local hotdog vendor for awhile. The vendor's name was Ana Rosa, and she invited us the following day to a fish lunch at her home...
this is 15 y.o. Laura setting the table...
and here we are eating
...Maria Fernanda, the animated 6 y.o. daughter...
... before leaving Granada, we managed to sneak in a baseball game. Granada vs. Chinandega. The lady above is selling fried plantain chips in the bleacher seats
with Tom, and some Canadian and Australian friends
... as in León, Granada has numerous graffiti and images celebrating the leftist organization the Sandinistas. The above is commemorating some Sandinistas who were killed in Granada in a 1982 uprising
this flyer labels Washington, D.C. as the terrorist center of the world. Nicaraguans seem duly aware of illegal US operations in their country over the last century, from the CIA to various military operations (including the notorious Contras from the Reagan era).
Jason, Sonia and Jeff on the way to Ometepe Island, via ferry from San Jorge
approaching Ometepe, Volcán Concepción dominates the scene
