In El Castillo on Rio San Juan

Dunno of this will go through as we have a bad connection. Not poss to add photos.

We spent a few days in the exceptional Solentiname Archipelago.

Now we’re in an extraordinary place called El Castillo – halfway down the Rio San Juan. Look it up on Google maps.

It’s a tiny riverside pueblo (village) below a small Spanish fortification (built in 1675). We’re 3 hrs boat-ride from the closest road (no cars here).

Nica became independent in 1821. Prior to that, this town used to protect the river, i.e. when a Spanish Colony, enemies (British pirates) would sail from the Caribbean, up the Rio San Juan in steamships. There are 5 sets of rapids downstream from here. The ships would be emptied, and teams of slaves (from Africa) would haul the boat up the rapids and then reload. The journey would continue to San Carlos, then across Lago de Nicaragua (which is a volcanic and muddy reprise of Lake Malawi), and the sail NW to sack Granada. They’d live with their booty on Isla Ometepe, evetually shedding pirate status.

We’re just above the border with Costa Rica. We’re in a wooden stilted hostel on the edge of an orange-brown river. There is a crocodile under the floorboards as I write this. We’re about to eat a fish for super that Bea caught about 2 hrs ago. Everyone very happy. We’re going fishing again tomorrow again at sunrise, and in the afternoon doing a boat trip and hike in the Indo-Maiz National Park a la Mosquito Coast.

Lots of new birds: 30+ that we’ve never seen before. Tomorrow night we plan to go on a night caiman trip. Very much like the Okavango – we’ll find them by spotlight and catch small ones to examine and then release.

Love of moving

Lisa: It’s three hours on a long low ferry from San Carlos down the Rio San Juan to El Castillo.

Ralph and I love the physical moving from place to place. We first realised this common passion on honeymoon in Japan, and that was also the last time I drew fellow travelers. I have to draw people from the back, or extremely side on, to avoid myself being seen. Amazing how much expression you can get without a nose, eyes or mouth – really!

New Film: Isla Ometepe/Solentiname Archipelago/El Castillo

Islas Solentiname

Beautiful island hopping and non-stop playing with Italian twins Aliza and Jonathan. Our first sighting of Howler monkeys, a huge cocodrilo in the middle of the lake (apparently a very rare sighting) and orange chinned parakeets.

In San Carlos

We’re in San Carlos. This is Mila (8 for another month only!) in Ralph’s hat killing hours in San Carlos port.

Dog days Ometepe

Lisa: The weather has been overcast adding to a feeling of heaviness as we head south on Lake Nicaragua, towards the Rio San Juan. We arrived by overnight ferry in San Carlos at 6am and get next ferry to Isla Solentiname at midday. It’s a traveling kind of heaviness we are all feeling and not unpleasant.

I have being reading three books all written in the mid/late 80’s, a radical time in Nica, in the balance between at last forging a democratic, autonomous, socially accountable future under the Sandinistas, whilst being attacked by opposing interests in the US.
The Jaguar’s Smile, Salmon Rushdie – his travels in Nica at that time, clear and sympathetic account
The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen. – Pre-Freedom but the human condition interminable!
London Fields, Martin Amis. – in the middle – god help me – I can see why I have been avoiding Martin Amis books all my life.
Crazy trio!

On Ometepe yesterday we walked a few kms, mostly glumly, followed by mangy dogs, to the consolation Finca Magdelena’s hammocks and incredible views. At least we know which direction to run if the volcano goes!

Rooms at Compestre, early morning rain.

We loved staying at Compestre. It suited our mood and made us feel part of the local island life, playing Yatzhee, chatting, playing, reading, dog-watching, eating curry.

Bea’s Yesterday

Bea: Yesterday we biked along a road on Isla Ometepe. It was tiled and covered in sand. It was so hot my face went beetroot red and when we finally got to the ‘natural’ pool, Ocho de Agua, we found out it was more like a giant swimming pool with fresh water and tons of people, and fish. There was a rope swing which was pretty cool but Mila and I couldn’t reach it. Even though there were lots and lots of people it still had a magical feeling. There was a secret spot which no-one else was at and if you opened your eyes underwater it was bright blue which was really awesome, because from the top the water looked grey. Two people who we met in Jiquillilo and were travelling with – Angelina and Tom, pulled chairs into the pool, and we all floated.

Eating breakfast, counting pigs and walking 2km back from Zopilote Lodge to bed.

4 days on Isla Ometepe

Isla de Ometepe

We took a one hour ferry from San Jorge to Ometepe island (pop. 45,000, dogs: 20000 cars:150, tourists per year: 100,000).

Mila: The ferry ride over was very boring except there was wind in our faces. The End.

Lisa: Ometepe has two volcanos, named Conception and Madera, and the island is shaped like a sideways eight, the two circular volcanic landmasses joined by a small strip. Conception last blew 1956, no locals left and no-one was hurt. Madera last erupted around 1100AD and there are thousands of volcanic rocks scattered across the eastern island from then. Ben, owner of Cafe Compestre restaurant and rooms in Balgue, where we are staying, says dealing with all the rocks all the time drives him mad, whilst the western side covet this free building material. Somehow the rocks have not managed to make this short migration in the last 1000 years. It’s all very Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

I bought a copy of Marquez short stories to read to the girls, to share the strangeness and find his magic here.


Tourism is low key but growing exponentially, apparently, as of this year. The key to unlock foreigners visiting here, or not, is one small secret – that it is safe to travel in Nicaragua. By contrast Costa Rica, pretty comparable safety wise, but with a huge tourism marketing effort, is exploding with visitors. Amazing the difference marketing makes and how people are happy to accept received wisdom. The Nicaraguan tourist marketing has only just started so it is likely that the gap between these central american countries will close quickly. The Nicaraguan government has built four airstrips on small island locations in the last few months, including Ometepe. The prefix eco- has begun to pop up everywhere a gringo may venture, to Ralph’s eternal (Spanish translation:interminable!) annoyance. btw Amor Interminable = Eternal Love, seen carved on the door of a beautiful hippy mountainside lodging yesterday.

Disembarking the ferry we got caught in the rain, and grabbed a taxi to the other side of the island. As we left the port town Moyogalpa, we caught the tail end (so many tails! tail de cerdos, horses, cows, perros, gatos) of a local festival. Everywhere, black volcanic pigs and skinny dogs run about. Amongst many drunk hombres we stopped for a late lunch at an improvised cafe. it took an hour for the food to arrive while the taxi guy waited, we watched the world go by. The girls have endless patience for this traveling.

Amor

Our big chocolate and amor-filled hotel room in Granada.