Exploring NICARAGUA!!!

[salcar]

Photographed & posted by "inte" who doesn't have an account yet, but hopes to soon

Ten days of empty coastline, time-warp villages, mountaintop jungles, historic colonial towns, and friendly people …









Teaser pics:

[salcar]

More to come...

[Visian]

fantastic photos, thank you for posting.

ian

[franze]

Great photos!! Thanks.

[salcar]

Great project. Sal it reminds that I still have your face shield for your XD helmet you requested in Patagonia.

REALLY!!!!
i still haven't change it... so you can imagine how bad it is now... driving at night makes it an interesting light show
should i send you an adress in miami

[salcar]

Many of you have heard of Salvadors Journey for Healthcare. After riding all of Latin America he ended up parked in Nicaragua and has since begun gathering rental bikes for people who want to visit & experience the place, but dont have the time/resources to ride an additional 20 countries in the process

Prior to Salcar's departure we were living in the same city in Orange County and had ridden together previously ... surprisingly, he still talked with me afterward While he was doing the healthcare run around S. America we had kicked around the idea of getting bikes down there for people and coming up with safe (as much as adventure riding can be safe...) pre-scouted routes for people who wanted to experience the place. The past few weeks things began to fall into place...

A recent trip was one of the 1st tours, complete with media involvement, which led to this current adventure, a supported ride complete with chase truck. A couple guys would fly in from the frozen north and let the madness begin.

But first there was some pre-running to do

[salcar]

DAY 1

I had heard Managua was pretty crazy with its nameless streets and might makes right rules of the road, but my initial experience after landing was actually quite tame  Salvador had someone pick up up at the airport. So  problem solved of figuring out how to get to his place The driver gave me a bit of history, local knowledge, etc during the drive so the entire experience was really enjoyable. I just sat back & enjoyed the ride  completely oblivious to hazards such as manholes without covers that were whizzing by beneath me.

Arriving at SalcarÔÇÖs place I was immediately greeted by one of the more scenic spots to work on the bikes IÔÇÖve ever seen. View of the auxiliary parking area from the front door:




The rest of that afternoon/evening was spent prepping for our 6AM departure the next day.


DAY 2




In a world of rapidly evaporating frontiers, this day (and the next two weeks) would prove there still is true adventure to be had in the modern world. The moment we rolled away from Cuidad Sandino, within 2km the clock started turning backward as fossil fuels gave way first to bicycles, then to oxcarts and women carrying loads balanced on their heads. Much, if not a majority of society exists in this way. The area we were headed into is about 100km of pretty much nothing right along empty coastline. Bicycles and oxcarts were the only vehicles that would be seen after leaving the only gas stop for the day. I understood it would be unusual for the locals to see us riding through, but the degree of their curiosity had me baffled at first. I was still thinking of their reaction in terms of wow, look at the motorcycle guys going past when I should have been judging it more along the lines of wow, look at the moon men on their hypercycles. Seriously, once Turkish rolled in on his 950 it might as well been as if someone landed the space shuttle in your driveway  more on that later.

Another pleasant discovery was that there are a ridiculous amount of fruits that grow around here and they make all sorts of juices from them. So many to choose, I actually had one that Salcar had never even tried!



Every once in a while weÔÇÖd stop to catch the view.

[Visian]

In a world of rapidly evaporating frontiers, this day (and the next two weeks) would prove there still is true adventure to be had in the modern world

this report is amazing.

ian

[BRADFORDBENN]

Cool stuff!