In the Footsteps of Che

I rented a motorcycle in Moyogalpa in Ometepe and I toured around the island all day. It was ridiculously fun. This ranks in the top 3 experiences so far in my trip along with Semuc Champey and El Salvador. I was a little skeptical about my ability to ride the dirt bike at first, it was kind of big and I was half tip-toeing when at a standstill. But I said "fuck it" and told myself that I am technically licensed to ride a motorcycle (and I did take that class with John years ago). It took me all of 5 seconds to learn to ride that thing.

I rode around to several scenic attractions that was recommended to me by the hostel staff. I went to a Punta Jesus Maria, I was not impressed, it's supposed to be a good spot for sunsets. Then I went to Chaco Verde, and I was very impressed with the lagoon and smooth hiking trails there. See pics below:

Then I got "lost". The island is so unexpectedly small and the signs are so random that I missed a turnoff and had to circle back for it. I continued passed a spot called The Eye Of The Water, a spring fed pool formed by two dams, that I was going to see but didn't have time for on my way back. I had decided at this point to check out this hostel, Finca Magdalena, I was going to stay at in a village called Balgue. It is an organic farm at the base of Madera volcano. There is a trailhead right at the hostel and it's a farm so you can hike and see and do cool farm stuff and there are supposed to be lots petroglyphs there as well. I was planning on staying there later in the week so I wanted to check it out on this motorcycle trip. What I didn't expect was the smooth paved road turning into an offroad adventure, luckily I opted for the dirtbike instead of the moped. I was rambling through dirt/gravel/boulder roads. I didn't have any problems, was having ridiculous good time in fact, until I almost reached the Finca Magdalena. There was this short but steep boulder strewn hill, that I stalled on half way up. I couldn't push the bike up and was having a hard time rolling it back down. I dropped the bike probably 3 or 4 times. I was stuck at teh bottom until a kind stranger came along, saw my trouble and rode it up for me. Thank god for kind people. besides that, I had no problems with managing the bike.

I arrived at Finca Magdalena and although it was beautiful, I decided I didn't need to stay there. I will be doing plenty of farm stuff in costa rica anyway and i'm not interested in a 5-10 hour hike up the side of the volcano regardless of how nice the view is at the top. So I had a Fresca and rested (motorcycle riding is exhausting, especially when you keep dropping the bike and are trying to push it up a rocky hill). Then started back to Moyogalpa.

On my way back, I saw some monkeys, I think they were howler monkeys. I was super close to them, probably within 10 feet. So, that was another reason I didn't need to do the volcano hikes (the monkeys were something the guides really try to sell you on for the hiking tours). I also stopped a lot and took lots of pictures of the land on my way back. such as:

Locals playing baseball and soccer in the evening.

the monkeys.

Me taking a rest break on a side road. The only thing I remembered from the motorcycle class I took all those years ago was to wear protective clothing and sunscreen and drink lots of water. That and "monster head turns". The road here is so fun for motorcycle riding. its smooth and paved and mostly straightaways and there is virtually no other traffic on the road. You just cruise.



setting sun on an Ometepe field

I had two spiritual epiphanies during my bike ride:

1. I am buying a motorcycle when I get home.

2. My next backpacking trip is going to be a motorcycle tour, maybe in South America a la Che Guevarra.