{"id":698,"date":"2018-01-29T06:33:44","date_gmt":"2018-01-29T06:33:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/proantimaterie.com\/?p=698"},"modified":"2018-03-03T00:22:32","modified_gmt":"2018-03-03T00:22:32","slug":"stage-4-san-pedro-sula-san-salvador-el-zonte-la-esperanza-esteli-managua-san-jose-caribbean-feelings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fire-n-ice.de\/?p=698&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Stage 4: San Pedro Sula \u2013 San Salvador \u2013 El Zonte \u2013 La Esperanza \u2013 Estel\u00ed \u2013 Managua \u2013 San Jos\u00e9: Caribbean feelings"},"content":{"rendered":"

So far on my Panamericana-trip I was mostly traveling alone, although I never felt lonely as you always meet people to chat with on the street like other travelers or curious locals. But now switching within a stage from traveling by two to one feels strange. We got used to each other so easily. When you start spending longer time with someone for the first time, you never know how this works out. There\u2019s always the possibility for heavy discussions or even fights\u2026 but not even close in this case. Amazing conversations every day and support for each other when the other one needed it. So, it\u2019s a change of scene\u2026literally.<\/p>\n


\nAs it is heavy raining in northern Honduras for days now without a sign of change, I decide to head south to El Salvador and catch some sun. A few days at a beach also doesn\u2019t sound too bad and the Beast also needs some attention and this is better done in dry weather.
\nThe way I chose from San Pedro Sula towards El Salvador leads over some nice mountains. The further I go, the less traffic is on the street\u2026especially when you also subtract all the cows who are more often seen than cars in the mountain area here. No surprise that a so less frequented street doesn\u2019t get much attention for maintenance. It\u2019s like in Mexico in the mountains when the street lost its pavement: It gets dirty and rocky. But during daylight it\u2019s a way of fun to drive it. I can wash down the dust by driving through the creeks as the bridges are only in preparation to get build. It reminds me on my way through Mongolia\u2026although the rivers there were wider, rougher and hided some surprises beneath the water line. This day-trip feels like a small smooth adventure.<\/p>\n


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For the border crossing to El Salvador I\u2019m prepared for everything after the experiences the days ago but beside it takes long and it\u2019s not structured, there aren\u2019t big surprises. My favorites of this border crossing were the paid waiting persons (they queue in the lines and take money from real travelers to exchange their line position) and the check-point pass-through ID, which was a post-it paper with my license-plate-number hand-written on it by one of the officers plus his signature. But it worked: The check-point a few hundred meters after the border control asked for the post-it and let me go after handing it over. One of my few border-crossings before sun-set. Nice\u2026<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s Friday night and I feel to get out. San Salvador is on my way and as the biggest city of El Salvador I expect some great night-life. Off the bike, under the cold shower (warm water is uncommon in El Salvador), put on my nice clothes and out\u2026on the empty streets. Strange. I head to the fancy quarter of San Salvador. Silence. I search for the recommended bars, find them and be often the only guest. What is going on!? It\u2019s Friday night! It reminds me of Mexico City at Christmas\u2026but at this day there\u2019s no holiday or something. I just don\u2019t get it, head back and go to bed early and start early to the beach the next day. It\u2019s a short drive to the coast. El Zonte is the place where I build up my tent close to the beach. Nice beach, nice water, a few surfers, enough beach bars and a lot of time to recapitulate all the experiences of this trip so far. It sounds funny but I need a vacation of the vacation. Too many impressions in a short time. Watching the waves and the surfers (El Zonte is a paradise for beginners) really helps.<\/p>\n


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For a short time I imagine myself trying to start learning to surf but after talking to a french couple who stayed at the beach already for a month trying to learn to surf and not really succeeding, I decide to skip it this time but just to enjoy the time. Additional I need to look after the Beast. New sparks, new oil, new filters and some tender loving care. Although I intensely investigated for the reasons why the Beast has some issues when I try to accelerate hard, I cannot find anything. Finally I will end up handing the bike over to BMW Motorrad at San Jos\u00e9 in Costa Rica at the end of this stage. When I\u2019m writing this section, the mechanics also couldn\u2019t find the reason of the issues yet. I hope it\u2019s nothing serious.<\/p>\n

Back to El Salvador: After spending some time at this nice coast, I drive the \u201cRuta de las Flores\u201c (road of flowers), which I was looking forward really hard. Well, it was nice. The small markets at the towns along the road are also interesting but nothing special in comparison to what I saw before in Mexico, Guatemala or El Salvador. Coincidently I drove in Honduras the \u201cRuta de las Flores\u201c and liked it far more than the more famous edition in El Salvador. Don\u2019t get me wrong: It\u2019s good, but if you could chose between the road in Honduras and in El Salvador, take the more northern one. Nonetheless, what is good at those small markets: You can get fruits cut in small portions for a penny. A whole pineapple or papaya is a bit difficult on a motorcycle. But cut pieces are nice for supplies on the road. A completely over-sugared coffee and my market-breakfast is close to be perfect.<\/p>\n


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In Honduras I drive as mentioned the \u201cRuta de las Flores\u201c and pass La Esperanza, which is sometimes called the capital of coffee. No idea who wrote that, I cannot approve that. As a coffee lover, I look forward to get there and try different versions of coffee. But where ever I go, the coffee shops only offer \u201ecoffee\u201c. What kind of coffee? Coffee. Black or with milk. Is the coffee from this area? Could be. ..long story short: I planned to stay here for a day or so but I leave after two hours having seen everything. Time for a new country: Nicaragua! No idea what to expect by this country, so let\u2019s have a look. Unfortunately the responsible officer for immigration needs some extra money and this lack tortures him that much that he even forgets the laws and rules. He insists that I have to announce one week ahead when I want to get into Nicaragua. Never heard of this rule before. He smiles. I open the web browser and show him the travel-guidelines to Nicaraguas on the website of the embassy. Nope. No announcement needed. His smile fades a bit. Mine too\u2026after several hours of waiting. He requests the confirmation by the ministry. Sure. Let\u2019s talk to the president next. One tourist couple has enough of the waiting and hand over a big dollar-note. Five minutes later the approval by the ministry arrived\u2026just for them. All other tourists including me have to wait further. I have enough and search for the phone number of the German Embassy, which I tell the officer as he asked what I\u2019m doing. With eyes wide open he runs into the office and immediately comes out again with the response that the ministry just approved my entry. Lucky him. I should have searched for the phone number a bit earlier. Whatsoever, I\u2019m not able to reach Granada on that day as planned but will stop in Estel\u00ed. This city, well known by it\u2019s revolutionary movements in the past, attracts me. I didn\u2019t plan to even stop here but as I have to spend a night here, I get a closer look to it. It\u2019s fascinating, pulsing and alive. In comparison the La Esperanza, which I had on my list, I prefer this free-spirited city. As it is located in the mountains the day starts quite cool. I put on my warm motor-cycle suite layer. Within half an hour drive the temperature raises from 50\u00b0F (10\u00b0C) to 90\u00b0F (32\u00b0C). My destination is the city-triangle Managua-Granada-Masaya. I cannot decide which one to visit first and chose to hang my hammock in the volcano Apoyo. As this volcano is filled with water it\u2019s called Laguna de Apoyo and it\u2019s always warm by it\u2019s natural heat. The volcano-minerals in the lake help me look younger\u2026at least a day or two younger.<\/p>\n

At the edge of the lake are several hostels and resorts but I chose an animal protection organization as this is the only place who accepts hanging my hammock in their garden. Different kind of wild monkeys are climbing up on the trees over my head and I only hope that they don\u2019t drop any kind of coconuts or so down on me. It\u2019s funny to watch them playing and searching for food. All the different noises in the jungle are also quite interesting. While I\u2019m unpacking my stuff I hear a noise quite close by and I see a sloth in a cage. Not really sure how this fits with the aim of the animal protection organization, one employee tells me that the sloth was rescued after it was caught and mistreated by some people. Because of the mistreatment they had to remove one eye and amputate one leg of the sloth. To protect the sloth from other animals, it will stay in the cage. I feel horrible when I hear that story but I have to accept that I do not only hear good and nice stories on a trip like this. As the appearance of any human is frightening the sloth, I chose to have my dinner at a different place. Nothing fancy, just something to eat. The neighbor hostel seems to offer some good meals and I get surprised as I immediately got chosen to join a team for the weekly trivia game. Trivia in the jungle? Why not? At the end our team wins a bottle of rum which we empty while playing p\u00e9tanque\u2026just for better aiming. For whatever reason it\u2019s quite hard to get out of the hammock the next morning. Better change the location and have a closer look at Granada. <\/p>\n


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The change is quite enormous: Nearly no tourists at Laguna de Apoyo and masses of tourists in Granada. That\u2019s too much for me right now and I drive further to Managua where I dance through the whole night. It seems I ate something weird the day before why I get a little sick. A few pills from the pharmacy help me to be ok again two days later. Before I say good bye to Nicaragua, I have a closer look to Masaya.<\/p>\n


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I head directly to San Jos\u00e9, the capital of Costa Rica, as there are many open questions about the planned storage of my motorcycle in Costa Rica. The border crossing is the worst experience I had on my trip so far. Some officers of the emigration don\u2019t even start looking in my passport without some additional motivation. Others send me back to long waiting lines just for fun. I have to fill out forms, which aren\u2019t needed. \u2026and always the hint, that if you leave some money on the desk, everything will be easier. Thank you for nothing.<\/p>\n

As the Beast has more and more issues while acceleration, I had directly to BMW Motorrad. Here I meet a motorcycle group from Brazil with who I exchange stories, information and contacts. In the evening I meet Marcio and Guy of the group again for dinner and interesting stories. They are interested in my Alaska trip and I\u2019m interested in their South America experience. As the evening was too short for all the stories we probably will meet again\u2026somewhere on this planet.<\/p>\n

While the mechanics are working on my motorcycle, I use the time for some sight seeing in San Jos\u00e9.<\/p>\n


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Finally the mechanics couldn\u2019t find the root cause before my departure, why I leave the bike at the shop. As long as it is fixed until my return, I\u2019m good.<\/p>\n

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From summer-warm San Jos\u00e9 I head back to rainy Seattle via the winterly Atlanta. A huge delay in Atlanta cools me down to the temperatures I\u2019m not really used to any more. I\u2019m curious when the next stage will take place.
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So far on my Panamericana-trip I was mostly traveling alone, although I never felt lonely as you always meet people to chat with on the street like other travelers or curious locals. But now switching within a stage from traveling by two to one feels strange. We got used to each other so easily. When … <\/p>\n

\u201eStage 4: San Pedro Sula \u2013 San Salvador \u2013 El Zonte \u2013 La Esperanza \u2013 Estel\u00ed \u2013 Managua \u2013 San Jos\u00e9: Caribbean feelings\u201c<\/span> weiterlesen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-panamericana-en"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fire-n-ice.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/El-Zonte-2.jpg?fit=3006%2C2138&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p946QT-bg","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fire-n-ice.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fire-n-ice.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fire-n-ice.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fire-n-ice.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fire-n-ice.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=698"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/fire-n-ice.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":731,"href":"https:\/\/fire-n-ice.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698\/revisions\/731"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fire-n-ice.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fire-n-ice.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fire-n-ice.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fire-n-ice.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}