to Esteli: Muddy roads then a chicken bus

June 11, 2017

"What have you been doing?" James, a British cyclist, asks looking at our mud covered bikes. He was coming from Esteli and stops to talk as we wait for the bus from San Benito to Esteli. We had just done the last 5 kms through mud into San Benito. We don't have time to chat much. The bus pulls in and the focus shifts to how fast can the bus be loaded and moving again.

We start out along the lake along with a sunrise and on asphalt that shortly turns to a dirt road for about 15 kms then for the next 8 kms pavers, still bumpy, but at least a little faster. We get glimpses of Volcan Masaya The road is relatively flat.

At 24km, we reach the ferry crossing and a little further a town where we stop for a cold drink. Most of the transportation is by bicycle and with some motorcycles, very few cars. We are back to a time the few motor vehicles become taxis, people loaded in the back of trucks. The poverty is evident in the shelters made of corrugated metal and plastic. There is electricity but no satellite dishes on the roofs. It's been awhile being on a road where one has to watch out for livestock.

After the break, turning left at the intersection, we get dirt again. One more break, we buy tacos at a shop. There are so many flies and the tacos disappointing. We now are making our way to another junction and through a smaller town we reach the last 5 km. The locals tell us it's ugly. That is an understatement! Thick black volcanic mud in sections bogs down Rachel's wheels once again. Periodically we can ride sometimes push on a side trail and other times pushing through the mud. It's a struggle. We come in a back way to San Benito and navigate back to the Pan-American highway right at the intersection. There is a bus stop.

We were out of water just before reaching the town around 1pm, so at the bus stop we buy a cold Pepsi. Then Patrick watching where buses have been stopping see a more official looking bus stop across the intersection and we move. As we wait, we see a cyclist riding on the opposite side of the road, calling out, he sees us and comes over for a chat. We don"t have long to talk,the bus to Esteli arrives and mayhem breaks out. The focus is how quickly can the bus be loaded and the bus moving again in the shortest amount of time.

They take Rachel's fully loaded bike to lift up on the roof, she barely has time to take the handlebar bag. Patrick holding his own bike is trying to stop them, but the bike is already up. We focus on getting bags off Patrick's bike, getting the handlebar bag, dry bag and back panniers off before the bike is taken and hauled up with the bags being tossed up. We are on the bus and it's moving all in a matter of a few minutes.

We are not on the express bus. This means many stops along the way. People selling different food items and drinks hop on one stop the bus moves on, then they get off at the next stop. We arrive in Esteli about 4 PM. Reloaded we set off to the historic center where we will be staying. Jeri MacDonald is a Facebook friend that we almost met in Turkey 2 years ago. She was on the Turkey-Syrian border helping Syrian refugees. She has been in Nicaragua for seven months and offered us a place to stay.

The road starts off fine with asphalt and no traffic.

Clouds and mountains across Lake Nicaragua.

Just somebody's front yard and a gringo cycling by to make a picture.

The pull-boat to cross the Rio Tipitapa flowing into Lake Nicaragua.

An old truck engine, gearbox and differential drive the chainwheel that pulls us along the cable.

Nasty speed bumps. These could wipe-out a cyclist.

The final 10 kilometers to San Benito turn into a nightmare. What Google maps shows as route 147 is a road that no-one uses during the wet season.

It is a mudbath. We have to take our wheels out of the frames several times to clear the fenders.

We meet an Englishman on a Dawes bike in San Benito. He came from Esteli today.

Rachel's bike being loaded on the chicken bus.

Today's ride: 77 km (48 miles)
Total: 33,097 km (20,553 miles)

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