Here, in this section Travel journal, you can follow the saga of our trip. We promise we will often put our bike aside and ride our computer to recount all our adventures.
We will be two riders but we want you to travel by our sides and share with you all the kilometers we will go through!
Friday January 31. The Unión, El Salvador. Barely have we dismounted that we find ourselves back on the saddle. It is 4 p.m., but the day is not over yet, we still have 40 km to ride before we can set our bikes in standby mode. Why this rush? A few days earlier, we had contacted José via the cycling community warmshowers.org and his answer was really pleasant to read: “Mi casa es vuestra casa!” My house is your house! Such an invitation justifies easily a little extra kilometric. You’ve guessed it, José lives 40 km far from La Unión!
We arrive at our destination under the stars and discover with both surprise and pleasure José’s Quebecois accent. “While the civil war was shaking El Salvador (1979-1992), I emigrated to Montréal. There, the law was on my side”, he explains. “Canada gives asylum to any seeker whose country is so proven in war. I therefore grew up there, I even acquired Canadian nationality, and it was only 20 years later that I decided to reconnect with my roots.”
We stayed 3 days José and his wife, Mary. Our program? Cleaning, loading and unloading bags of corn (corn trade is the “hobby” of our host, a real workaholic 😉 ), climbing the volcano San Miguel, a brief interview for a french radio broadcast, Allô la Panète (online here), and learning how to cook the typical Salvadoran meal, las Pupusas ! We couldn’t dream about better way to start our discovery of El Salvador.
Léo, José and Emerson on the crest of the still smoking crater… A month ago, the volcano exploded and shot out a colossal ash cloud. And actually the crater did not escape unhurt, José (who surely holds the record for the number of ascents of the volcano) is formal: “Before, this stone wasn’t here… and this one either! And…”
Saturday, January 18. We entered Nicaragua with Ulf, a German cycling tourist who we had met about 20 km before the border. Our passport gets stamped, we withdraw a few Colones (the local currency) and grab a map of the country in a car rental agency… (clever!) We do not need anything more; we are ready to hit the roads of Nicaragua!
As we catch sight of the Lake Nicaragua (3rd largest lake in the world!), Ulf tells us about the Omotepe island and its two volcanoes, Concepción and Maderas.
“There, in the middle of the lake, there is this island made of two volcanoes. I’ll surely go there to climb the volcano Concepción, either now or on my way back”
As usual, we have entered the country without any preconceived plan. Saying that we had a vague idea of the shape of the country would have been already a little pretentious 🙂 Then why not starting by a hike ? We had our plan!
“You know, your volcano drew our attention. If you want, we could climb it tomorrow?
– Sounds good! So, tonight we can set up the tent on the beach opposite the island, my guide says it’s easy to camp out there.”
Ulf even has a guide… Some are really more far-sighted than others! So once arrived in Rivas, we leave the panamericana and head towards San Jorge and its beach.
Our first day riding on Costa Rican roads is like a first day on vacation. After having crossed the both stratospheric and arid lands of Southern Bolivia, the tropical atmosphere and vegetation of Costa Rica is an infusion of beatitude. Every mile is one more drop added to our drunkenness, our heart beats to the rhythm of joy… And believe us, the pace is fast, our internal music is allegro : the center of Costa Rica is nothing but a huge roller-coaster! The flat does not exist, the slopes call the shots. The peaks and the troughs. Downhills are only short breaks before the slope reverses and brings us to allegrissimo!
We left San Jose, pedaled West for a few km, went past Alajuela… to finally head North, towards our target: the centre of the country. It is then that we entered into the theme park. A sunny road going up and down. A lush flora and fauna. Our eyes no longer know where to look. The wonder is constant. We forget our sweat, dripping in ambient humidity. Our spirit is lost in the surrounding nature. After an absence of several months, fruits are now everywhere. And tasty ones! The first pineapple explodes on our taste buds and avocados melt under our teeth. We breathe life. It is the return of beautiful days!
Our first bivouac, between banana trees and coffee fields!
Tuesday, December 10. We moved in the “casa de ciclistas” of La Paz : a living room, a bathroom, a kitchen and, upstairs, empty rooms ready to welcome inflatable mattresses and sleeping bags… All this at the disposal of any cycling tourists stopping by, for as little as 20 Bolivianos (about 2 euros) per night. We immediately felt like home… So much that we eventually stayed there 2 weeks! 🙂
Comfort was yet not solely responsible for our settlement. We first had to rest and recover from our 3 last and tiring weeks on the road. We did well at the beginning: high-protein meals (easy: 3/4 of the restaurants in La Paz are “pollerias”, chicken fast-food restaurants!), not too much bustle in the day and sleep in the night. But this diet did not last long. Each day more English cyclotourists moved in the casa de ciclistas, and 4 days after our arrival, a fine team had formed: David, Pete, Sam, Jen (all English) and us. Our nightlife then became way more active… and our physical remission went on in proportion 😉
The team!
Thursday, November 28. 6 am. When our alarm clock rings, our eyes are already wide open. In Bolivia, dawn does not exist. A dazzling light has already flooded our dormitory. Our mind is immediately operational and an hour later, we’re ready…
It is 7 am. We are in front of the refuge. Eyes towards the Laguna Road. The handlebar between our hands. One foot on the ground, the other on the pedal. In a few moments, we will launch ourselves!.. “We will launch ourselves?” Say rather that in a few moments, we will try to set in motion the 65kg which we use as mean of transport. Never before our bikes have been so heavy… and still without battery! (in addition to the two weeks of food, we have now 9 L of water, so 6 more than usual, for 2 days of self-sufficiency) And never before we have riden on such a difficult path as the one that is waiting for us. During the next 10 days, the asphalt will remain the attribute of dreams…
The challenge is electrifying. And especially as we will certainly ride in the most beautiful landscapes we’ve ever seen until then. So beautiful that they will suffice to justify all our efforts? There is no more time to waste, it is only by throwing ourselves in the adventure that we will have the answer…
VAMOS!
The first turns of the pedals are amply rewarded: 2 km away from the shelter, we are greeted by the Laguna Blanca… We are facing THE most beautiful panorama of the trip! And if this is only the beginning, what does the next kilometers hold for us?
