Jeepers.

Added text in blue.

This was me, way the hell back on the 12th (or so) of May.

Orlando Zelaya, and wife Yonai Salgado.
I spent 5 days with this couple, and their daughter, Elgin.

The story:
So, as it would be, I was happily riding by on my way to San Rafael del Norte, when I happened upon a large, well-kept outdoor bar and restaraunt. The name of the place was Los Encuentros. After riding the moderately-harrowing 18km from Yali, I felt I was well-deserving a cold beer and some tastey bread (the bread I had with me.) So, I cruised into the place on my bike...

My relationship with these people was a very good one. They not only accepted me into their home, but accepted me into their family aswell.. They provided me with a room and a bed, that was currently not in use, and provided me with food the entire time I was there. I didnt know what to think.. Im still unsure of my feelings towards this. Purely because I feel like Im not appreciateing how generous they were to me. There have been many experiences of this nature, but these were the only people who actually told me to stay. They told me that I should stay because Orlando had friends that I needed to meet, and they had things planned for me to do. I said okay.
At first, I accepted the food they gave me, because I had become somewhat acustomed to people being generous with food. I asked if there was any thing I could do to help, they said no. I asked if there was anything I could buy for them, they answered with a no once again. After the second day, I ended up looking for work to do there.. I swept, I helped them set up and take down the restaraunt, I helped prepare food, I helped was dishes. I didnt ask, I just did. And they didnt stop me.. I felt better about the situation. Modesty is an interesting thing, I felt uneasy when they were giving me these meals of food, and a place to sleep, while asking nothing in return, and not taking advantage of it when I asked to help them. I felt much better once I started atleast partially earning what I was recieveing.

Anyways.. that being said, Orlando is a great man, and his wife is very gracioius. Their daughter is adorable. She helped me with studying spanish.

This is Orlando´s best friend (and family), Señor Giovanny Blandon. I was introduced to him the second day I was there. What an awesome guy. Giovanny is who talked to me most about the war, he was the one who showed me a nice scar from a mortar. Giovanny and Orlando, along with Orlando´s daughter and Giovanny´s son, took me hiking into the mountains. This is where I met the self sufficient families, saw the tucan, and road in the back of a big dumptruck.

Giovanny´s son.

Dumptruck!!
Waterfall!



Elgin.
This tractor is having its water tank filled up by the women-with-buckets technique. The tractor is used to water down the roads, to keep the dust down... I think. Maybe to water crops, I dont know. Didnt ask.

Orlando and Elgin, in San Rafael del Norte, the morning before the hike.
Helz yeah they´re eating tortillas. These parrots were at the nice house I stayed at for 5 days, in San Rafael.

I hate you sun. And I hate you too, road. Ive seen enough of you for today.
Today was another long day, 100 plus kms.


After I left San Rafael, I road, I guess.. 30km? I left really late. That place is so hard to leave, especially with how great the people were.

Things Ive come to realize:
I realize, more now, that this isnt so fun and games kinda trip.. Yesterday, after putting some more serious kilometers under my.. tires, I found my self thinking, "Wow... I wasnt kidding. I actually am going to ride all of Central America." Same sort of epiphany today, even right now... holy crap. Is this my life, where all this crazy shit (sorry parents) is happening? Is this me thats riding a bicycle solo through mulitple countries of a different language, covering eventually a couple thousand kilometres, finding friends and a safe place night after night in towns of people I have absolutly no connection to? I guess so, I find me telling myself, "Who else could it be?"

Right now Im in the city of Masaya, some 12kms from the city of Granada, on Lago de Nicaragua. Supposedly its the centre of all sorts of beautiful Nicaraguan traditional articles and trinkits, which would be cool to see, but I havent yet. Granada, is again the place I would catch a boat from.. but I still havent decided if Im going to ride north to Leon before I go. Ive had serious conflicting feelings.
Leon is the place of Quetzal Trekkers, Nicaraguan chapter. It would be cool to check them out, say hi, apologise that Im doing different things other than volunteering with them. Also, apparently Leon is quite a pretty city, but the surrouding environment is somewhat.. brown and dry.
On the other hand, I could stay in this area where I am now, and catch that boat to San Carlos and Costa Rica next monday.