Central America Travel

What an awesome region.   Just got back from eight nights in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.  I have been to CR and other countries in the region before, but this was my first time in Nicaragua.  Lost my camera somewhere between the hotel and the airport on the last day and had 150 - 200 pictures on it, but was able to cobble together some pics from my phone and my brother's camera.

We started off with two nights in Brasilito on the Nicoya Pennisula in Costa Rica.  It is where the locals from the interior go to hang on the beach and the Ticos greatly outnumbered the Gringos.  Did an unremarkable dive trip to some nearby islands and some hanging on the beach.   We then headed up to highlands and stayed at the foot of the Arenal Volcano for a night.  Much cooler up there than down at the coast:

While we were in the Arenal area, we checked out some hot springs and a waterfall that closely resembled Columbia Gorge's Horsetail Falls:

After that we headed across the border to Nicaragua for the highlight of the trip - a three night venture down the fabled Rio de San Juan which connects massive Lake Nicaragua to the Caribbean Sea.   Before the creation of the Panama Canal, the river and lake were the main way people like the gold rush prospectors crossed the Central American isthmus traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific:

There are no roads in that part of the country and people and goods get around exclusively on boat, so we began the river trip in the regional capitol of San Carlos, where we boarded a 80 foot by six foot water taxi crammed with 70 people with all their groceries and packages.  We were the only gringos on board and noticed that everyone was wearing life vests.  We were told that it was "por el militar" and as soon as we rounded the first bend in the river, the life jackets came off.  We soon learned that the life jackets were only required when we pulled into or out of towns on the river and were just worn to satisfy the young men standing on the docks in army fatigues and AK-47s ensuring safety on the river.

We rode in the water taxi for three crowded and uncomfortable hours down the river, with the boat stopping at various places to let people and their stuff off, from tiny hamlets to seemingly random spots in the jungle where the folks were met by family members on horseback.   We got off and spent one night in a town called El Castillo, named for a 17th Century Spanish fortress that still dominates the compact and funky riverside town without any cars (all the pics of the fortress were on my AWOL camera):

The next day, we boarded a small open motor boat (panga) to continue further down the river to our ultimate destination - Basecamp Bartola - up a tributary called the Rio Bartola adjacent to the massive Indio-Maiz Biological Reserve.   It was the dry season and the panga could only make it part way up the Rio Bartola, so we had to switch to a shallow dugout canoe for the last hour of the trip.   Even then, the weight of "dos gringos gordos" prevented the boat from making it through shallow rapids in several locations, forcing us to get out and wade through the river.

We camped two nights at the base camp run by the little community of Bartola, made up of around 20 some families of subsistence farmers in a two square mile area of hillside overlooking the biological reserve.  No electric or running water and the people spoke no English and mistook us for Germans.  However, they were happy and healthy and were wonderful hosts, preparing our meals on wood fired stoves and taking us on various trips into the rainforest, around the community on horseback, and even a night canoe trip along the river looking at the various wildlife.  That was the most amazing thing.   The low, guteral calls of all the competing troops howler monkeys sounded surreal and there were more monkeys (three different kinds) than you could shake a stick at. Speaking of which, when were headed back down the river, we ran into a particuarlly excitable band of spider monkeys that threw sticks and branches down at our canoe.   In addition to the scores of monkeys, there were all sorts of toucans, parrots, and other colorful birds, a sloth, a couple big ass snakes, brightly colored poisonous tree frogs, and a host of other critters.  The jungle at night was LOUD.   Wish I hadn't lost my camera, but if you are ever in the region and want to have a really cool all inclusive experience, you have to check out Base Camp Bartola.  

Amazing region and very affordable.   I am sure some of you all have had some good times down there too.