Road trip to San Ramon

Nanette:

We managed to tear Ricky away from his video games to accompany us to San Ramon on Monday.  The plan was to take the bus at 8:30 and to climb up to Las Cascadas when we got there.  Luckily it doesn't bother either of us too much when plans change. Oh, we did take the early bus and it turned out to be a brutal 4 and a half hour ride to San Ramon. Even with my short little legs there was not near enough leg room.  Add to that  the fact that I had my backpack on my lap to allow room for someone else to squeeze in. Did I mention the deplorable state of the roads on the other part of the island?  Bouncing and swaying through potholes big enough to swallow a whole car.  Fun!  At some points I was surprised to note that the road was actually on the beach, only a few metres from the water.  The rainy season is just recently finished so the lake is still quite high.   

Anyway, by the time we got there we were tired and the guy at the gate said it was about a 5 hour hike so in our wisdom we decided to check in to a hotel and to spend the afternoon swinging lazily in hammocks... a very good decision it was, too! 

Bright and early on Tuesday morning we were up and fortifying ourselves with a typical Nicaraguan breakfast of beans and rice, eggs, bread, and cheese.  Up, up, up we hiked on a steep but not too difficult trail.  Why is it that they always save the most difficult part of the climb for last?  We had to clamber over huge rocks in a dry stream bed and skirt around under overhangs, hoping all the while that the loose rocks advertised on the warning down below would  stay put till we passed.  Obviously, those rocks did behave and we eventually got to the top.  The waterfall is very high but we were a bit disappointed that there wasn't  more water coming over.  The pool at the bottom looked very refreshing and I did soak my aching feet for a bit ( Eileen soaked her head).

Eileen

Nanette

Ricky and Eileen

We finished this hike in well under the 5 hours we were told it would take so we spent a few more hours in the hammocks until the bus passed by at 3:00pm. Thank goodness that Ricky was with us.  He has been great about making sure we don't end up paying extra for our bus fares and in making sure we get off when we are supposed to.  He got us off the bus at Santa Cruz and we walked to an Eco Farm called Zipilote.  We thought we would climb to the top of Volcan Merida the next day but I backed out because I kind of know what I am capable of and I knew I would only hold the others back.  Eileen decided that she couldn't do it either because her knee was a bit out of whack.  Ricky breathed a sigh of relief because he found out that is at least an 8 hour climb and it would have meant staying another night.  I'm kind of getting the feeling that he would rather be at home with his video games...go figure!

Pizza oven

We were lucky in that Tuesday is pizza night when they fire up a big stone oven in which to cook whatever kind of pizza you want (for a price)  Enjoyed our pizza with a couple from Canada, or maybe they were from Wisconsin, and a girl from the UK.

Going potty at Zipilote was an experience!  Number one was supposed to be done in this little squatter.  stinky at best!  The only protection from prying eyes is the none too thick row of tall grass around the urinal.

squatter/urinal

Number two happened in the dry compost toilets- 3 stalls complete with a boxed in toilet with toilet seat and a huge bag of rice husks.

The directions for using the toilet were posted on the door to ensure we did things properly.  Well worth a read!

Arrived back in Moyogalpa on Wednesday and were not too surprised to find that Christopher is still here.  He's been planning to leave for days but just keeps putting it off. It's great for us because he's lots of fun and a good dorm mate. 

Eileen
I thought I'd had enough of Blue Bird buses out of Ontario until I saw these- retired school buses from North America in a rather dubious state of repair.  It was a surprise to see the tread, or lack thereof, of the tire, and the wires worn through.  On our way to San Ramon we heard the explosion of, and experienced 2 flat tires and then one more on the way back. Luckily the rear tires are double. Drivers must get loads of  experience because they shoved that small jack under the bus and had us back on the road in no time! The spare looks no better than what it replaces but at least doesn't expend air.

Note the bulge in this tire

Every morning I awake early and wander to the bano, half asleep. One day, as I was piddling, I was surprised to hear plopping from whence I knew not. I flushed, peeked into the toilet bowl and wished for the FROG to have enough strength to fight the downward swirl! I'm hoping Nanette was wrong and the guy from reception did not plunge him to his death.

Petroglyphs at Zipilote

More petroglyphs



Our dorm at Zipilote