The Coffee Road
This morning we meet a Franco-Bolivian family going up north. It’s once again a pleasure to exchange information about our trip.
We then visit the city in search of " Murals " many of which are badly damaged.
Then we take the coffee road to reach " Matagalpa " the Coffe capital.
The coffee hillsides compete with the cabbage or carrot ones or the rainforest.
We are in the middle of harvest season but it is very difficult for us to stop and take pictures
We spot a bivouac in a coffee finca ... mistake: the access road is a hell especially the last 2 km. We decide not to stay and to keep driving.
The night will not be long now and we find refuge in a gas station that closes from 8 pm to 6 h ...
We are not allowed to leave the camper during this time slot because of a set alarm !!!
Somoto / Estreli
Our guide is called " Francisco ". This is the opportunity for us to learn more about the situation of the country and to know the feeling of the Nicaraguan youth.
We are the only hikers in the canyon.
Since the events of March 2018, tourists are scarce. At this time many camper-drivers crossed the country in 10 to 12 hours without visiting it, and even see avoiding Central America !!!
Today the political situation has improved considerably. We are welcomed with kindness by all the people we meet.
The tour starts with a 2 km walk, then 2.5 km, swimming or walking and with a small jump of 2.5 meters ... mandatory life jackets! We end up in a boat.
We reach " Estelí ". A very pleasant city in a valley surrounded by mountains, tropical forests and savannahs.
It was one of the focal points of the Sandinista movement during the dictatorship of the Somoza family, and then it became the scene of the civil war during the 1980s.
We park in the middle of the city and search for a cybercoffee to put our website online.
Since El Salvador we encounter huge difficulties with internet. In vain… the network is slow ... we will see later.
Somoto
We only travel 25 km to reach the " Somoto Canyon " through a vegetation burnt by the sun.
Out of volcanic origin, the canyon was born 5 to 10 million years ago.
With the erosion, the canyon widens gradually, reaching a height of 150 meters in its narrowest part. It gives birth to the Rio Coco, the longest river in Central America that leads to the Caribbean.
An aquatic hike is organized by alternating walking and swimming .
We book it for the next morning.
Ocotal
Another border crossing today. The access road is pretty good and the scenery is still beautiful.
To access the border we overtake a line of trucks parked on both sides of the road for more than 3 km.
The exit from Honduras is done in 10 minutes.
Entry to Nicaragua in 1 h 50mn ...due to a non organized bureaucracy and the need to find the right person at each step to stamp our documents.
For the first time our camper has to be scanned . This step takes 50 minutes ....Change of team : 20 minutes waiting in front of the gate !!! plus 20 minutes waiting for scanner result !!!
After purchasing insurance, we head to " Ocotal " the first city beyond the border.
" Ocotal " has an historical significance. It is here that General " Augustus Caesar Sandino " defeated the Americans in 1927, and where he adopted for the first time the tactics of the guerrilla. But the Marine Air Force then destroyed the city.
We visited the cultural centre dedicated to the life of the famous general.
He was « the general of the free men ». Patriot and anti-imperialist, " Sandino " dedicated his life to fighting for the sovereignty of Nicaragua, then flouted by dictatorships and by the occupation of the United States. Who could have imagined that this son, born of a relationship between a mixed-race peasant and a landowner, would take the head of an armed popular uprising capable of defeating the American armada?
He died murdered on February 21st 1934, by order of the United States.
ROAD BOOK 085
MAVROS ODYSSEE