Mitch was the deadliest and more destructive Hurricane of the last 200 years in central America, and the area around Ocotal the most devastated in Nicaragua. Almost 10 years later, scars of this destruction were still visible in the hillsides of the mountains whose landslides created by the excess of rain and furious rivers had modified the landscape.
Along the way the Nicaraguan flag shared the space of rusty billboards with the flags of the European Union, Canada, Taiwan, Australia, japan, among others. Signals of the innumerable projects of humanitarian corporation created in the years that followed the natural disaster that grounded the already impoverished economy.
Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere after Haiti. In a country where poverty is almost touchable, its inhabitants seem to found the most creative ways to put food on the table at the end of the day.
In the old road that links Sebaco and the Pan American with Leon, potholes proliferate like a slice of Swiss cheese that extends for several dozen kilometers. The local children found a way to collect a few cordobas with the little traffic that pass through. With a shovel they fill up the holes with dirt, and wait on the side of the road, shovel in hand under a blistering sun. They wait for the generosity of any driver, more relived by the trauma of the jolts.
In the end of the afternoon the tropical rain washes away the dirt exposing once again the holes. The following morning they start all over again.
Our arrival in Leon was characterized with a drastic increase of the temperatures. After several weeks cycling through the highlands of Guatemala El Salvador and Honduras where the "not-so-hot" temperatures had provide some excellent days of cycling, we arrived in the torrid plains of Nicaragua.
With at least 10 degrees higher then in the highlands around Jinotega and Matagalpa (where we spent several days before descending to the plains) is not a surprise that the favorite pastime of the Leonese is to rock on the wooden rocking chairs, in the shade of their houses or in the coolness of heir patios and gardens.
Leon is considered the liberal and intellectual capital of Nicaragua. Evidence of those trends can be observed in the many leftist murals found around the city.
Leon also has several universities that gives it a young and Bohemian fell to the city. We lodged our selves in one of the cheapest places in town, "casa Vieja", for only 60 Cordobas (around 2 euros). It was a family run hotel where half of the city`s young craftsmen where lodged too, or so it seemed. Travellers themselves they sold bracelets, necklaces and other crafts in the main square, just enough to keep them on the move. Among them Pacheco from El Salvador and Carlos and Jonas (2 nicas9 from Managua and Rivas. When they weren't busy making bracelets on the guesthouse rocking chairs or selling them in the main square, our new friends showed us around the city's night spots during the 5 days we spent there. Apart from the radical and intellectual trends, Leon meant something else, at least for me. The first anniversary on the pan American highway.
If it wasn't for the computer installed on the bike, I would have lost count to the miles cycled with my "burra" long ago. The Canadian Arctic, the rocky mountains, the desert of "baja" or even the paradisaical islands of Belize, seem to be part of a distant past. another trip. It was a very intense year. Cycling became almost a daily routine.But this routine doesn't have a "day-by-day", but a day and then another...each day presents new challenges and the only routine is to cycle. The movement of my legs that pushes me further and further south over the curvature of the blue planet. 20.000 later cycling seems much more easy, and not even the Andes - where I expect to found the biggest challenges of my journey - seem to worry me. Its further south, at the end of the cordillera, in the island of Tierra del Fuego, that all my worries converge. Ushuaia part from been the most southern town in the planet is also the end of the roads on the American Continent. How it will be the return to my native land, "Lusitania"? Do I ever gonna reintegrate in a society that seems to have so many defects? " You can turn around and continue to cycle north", said Jeff once.
But Ushuaia is not the final goal of this adventure. The goal is the one you impose to yourself. After all the objective of this trip is not to arrive somewhere but to go somewhere. As the Portuguese poet Jose Regal said once:
"I prefer to slide in the muddy alleys
to ride to the winds, as tatters,
to drag the bloodied feet,
than go that way
my life is a gale that is freed and a wave that is raised,
and a atom that is enlivened,
I don't know where to go,
I do not know for where I go,
I just know that I do not go that way"
With our descend to the lowlands we had to readjust our schedules to the rising temperatures, and start to cycle earlier- always a sacrifice for me! Shortly after sunrise we where on our way to Granada.
Granada is the oldest Spanish colonial town in the country. Situated near the Nicaragua lake with monbacho volcano imposing in the back ground to the southeast. the area around the cathedral and plaza Colon is particularly pretty and retains a lot of the colonial character. A piece of Castille in Central America with horse carts and everything. But the SUV`s from the healthy Managua cruising along the cobbled streets with facades of the buildings freshly painted, remove a bit the soul of the city. It lacks the intellectual and radical character of Ruben Dario and his mates characteristic of Leon.
We will be here for a few days waiting for the arrival of Teresa who comes from Lisbon on her 4 week touring of central America. In fact she already arrived in San Jose, but her bike not!
It will be great to be able to speak in Camoes language again, even if only for a few weeks..
Nuno Brilhante
Granada, Nicaragua
