Yesterday we passed 1/3 of the hell today we have to go thru the rest of it into Honduras … More updates to follow once we ae back to paradise …
Going thru Hell
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A tough Cycling Day
Question:
How can you tell that it was a tough and exhausting cycling day?
Answer:
Dinner is finished, it is not even 8pm, there is free WiFi and nobody else is around to eat up the bandwidth.
It is all mine 
Stage 08 – Boaco to Selva Negra
113.7km – 2216m up – 1376m down – 5504kcal – 8:54h
Arrived at the Black Forest (Selva Negra)
When Cristiano says: ‘This is going to be a tough day’ he means it 
And when he says: ‘I can’t promise that this can’t be topped’ then you know, that there will be more surprises to come in the next days 
The started quite easy out of Boaco with rolling hills that added up to just about 600m of climbs until lunch stop at 68km. Then the promised ‘real’ climbs started with the grand final of another 660m to ascent within the last 8km to go.
Having already 103km in your legs you turn right around a corner and you see the ‘wall’ in front of you that you know you have to master to make it to camp. The temperature of around 30°C and the gusty winds did not help either. So, ‘goo up’ and get it done!
The wind was not always a help. At lunch there was a ‘fair tail wind’, which after the first corner turned into a ‘fairytale wind’, so to speak.
The scenic view on the way up gave a little reward for the sweat and pain.
It was said, that the camp will be the nicest of all during the trip, however what does it help when 
after 9 hours on the bike you only want to eat dinner and go to bed to relax for the next days’ cruelties!
Today we had 2200m of climbs on 98% pavement. Tomorrow it will be 1900m of climbing, however with 57% on gravel. 
We will sleep and see when we are back on the road at 6:30.
A friend who cares and listens (in San Ramon)
Nicaragua ‘Ride Thru’ Cafe
A Cyclist’s Sleeping Pill Substitution
Use the following rider approved recipe if you ever happen to run out of sleeping pills and you can’t find sleep: Estie’s ‘triple 3’ rule
Take 3 pairs of used cycling socks, from 3 different riders, that have been used for 3 days and hang them over your bed. Instant sleep (coma) is being guaranteed.
Doctor’s note:
Do not apply an overdose! 3 pairs a night is enough, if from 3 different sources and not used longer than 3 days. You may fall into a too deep coma if one of the 3 limits is exceeded, thus failing to hear the wakeup call at 5:00am and missing to load your bags into the van at 5:40am the next day!
Stage 07 – Granada to Boaco
107.3km – 941m up – 620m down – 4189kcal
What a ride, today! 53% unpaved, 100% head wind, 3 river crossings and a climb at the end of the day. It just gives us a taste what is awaiting us the following days.
The day started good. I did the dog-style of cycling: Running to the head of the bunch, taking photos, letting everyone pass and start over again to pass everyone again for more rider photos. I somehow exceeded the limit of my tires running too fast on the sharp gravel, thus ended up with a flat when everyone was gone. It was in the middle of a little village and I had many spectators to see me quickly changing the tube. However I run out of luck with my pump and couldn’t get a single molecule of air into the tire. Luckily Nicaragua is a cycling country and a young girl (Johanna) went away to return with an old but working floor pump (pump up service included) …
Later on the day I passed into a small settlement and saw something long dangling from a tree, with a boy working on it. Coming closer I identified it as a 2m python that was being skinned. So I stopped to take a photo. The skin was taken for a belt, the body however was dumped in the field – poor snake, killed just for the skin and not to feed the family.
The 3 river crossings were fun and refreshing.
At one point you had to decide whether to stay dry but risk your neck going over an old suspension bridge or get a bit wet. I opted for the wet part, as the bridge looked a bit too fragile and I would have ended in the water anyhow, in a less controlled manner than riding my bike. At another place we could take an old ferry, which broke down trying to carry the final bunch of riders over.
Stay tuned for tomorrows update … it is said to be another challenge for mind and body!
For my Dutch Audience
Ruut is riding strong and constant and always with a smile on his face. A real inspiration for us younger riders.
Because he is always faster than his son Michiel, I don’t have a photo of both together. I’ll talk to him tomorrow, to slow down a bit and wait for Michiel at one time for a family photo
Granada
Spending a rest day in Granada, at the northern shore of Lago Nicaragua. Although there are bike rentals all around I decided to walk the distances.
Find more pictures in my photo gallery.
Detour to San Jorge
In Rivas I decided to take an extra 15km round trip to San Jorge down to Lago de Nicaragua wit
h a fantastic view of the 2 volcanoes Concepcion and Madera which are located on Nicaragua’s largest island. Lake Nicaragua is one of the largest lakes in Central America. The lake has more than 300 islands. The locals call it ‘freshwater sea’, as there are tuna and sharks in that lake, which usually can only survive in salt water. The beach and lake was all mine, as none of my fellow riders took the extra burden of some additional kilometers.
History meets modern!
Stage 06 – San Juan del Sur to Granada
97.3km – 567m up – 505m down – 3936kcal
Today’s stage takes us away from the Pacific Ocean into the heart of Nicaragua. Along a good gravel road we ride through fertile farmland to Rivas, which is 25km east of San Juan del Sur. From there we ride northward bound on the Pan American Highway to Granada.
It was a pleasant ride in the bright sun light, although the wind was blowing into our faces almost all day. The trucks and busses on the Pan Americana are very respectful, usually they give a light horn when they approach from the back and leave enough space between the cyclists when they pass. A final climb around Volcano Mombacho and a nice downhill finally brought us into Granada, a nice and busy town in the old Spanish colonial style.
Lisa is enjoying her ‘Mango delight’ at the lunch stop, whilst most of the other riders are already chilling down at the ‘el Club’ in Granada.
Stage 05 – La Cruz to San Juan del Sur (Nicaragua)
67.5km – 397m up – 688m down – 2476kcal
We left our hotel in La Cruz, above the scenic bay at the Pacific Ocean to get to our 2nd country: Nicaragua.
Monkeys, raccoons and guinea pigs joint us at our breakfast restaurant …
A nice downhill brought us closer to the border. Crossing into Nicaragua was easy: Pay 1$ to leave Costa Rica + pay another 12$ to get the Nicaraguan visa … in we are …
The route led us along the Pan Americana on the western banks of Lake Nicaragua with its two volcanoes ‘Conception’ and ‘Madera’ located on an island in the lake.
At La Virgen we turned left towards San Juan del Sur at the Pacific Ocean. Temperatures were already up into the 30°C when we arrived at our hotel right at the beach.
We let the day finish with a well deserved calpirinha for a sun downer.
Tomorrow we are going to turn back to Lake Nicaragua for our rest day in Granada.