We left our overnight camp at a swimming pool near Cara Sucia early to beat the heat on the climb up to the Ruta de las Flores. Of course, this did not really work, because we had already covered 30 kilometers by the time we reached the turnoff to the mountain road.

Fortified with a delicious second breakfast and fresh coconut water that someone had handed us at the side of the road, we slowly began to pedal uphill towards the Ruta de las Flores. We didn’t really know what to expect on this scenic tourist road with its appealing name, but the cooler air at 1’300 meters alone was inviting. The ascent took us a whole day. Fortunately, it became noticeably less hot on the steepest final section and trees provided shade. As soon as we reached the Ruta de las Flores, we realized that it would be difficult to find a place to camp among the posh fincas and hotels. In the end, we ended up paying a hefty price to camp in the garden of a chic restaurant, where we slept wonderfully in pleasant temperatures.

In the morning, we rode along the panoramic road to the villages of Ataco, Apaneca, and Juayua, which are said to be so picturesque that they are well worth a visit. We found the villages nice, but not particularly charming. We liked the view of the countless coffee plantations better. Unfortunately, we had missed the opportunity to visit a coffee finca in Ataco and to learn about the coffee bean production process. Too bad. It bothered me a lot that I didn’t even try to convince David to go back a few kilometers and many meters of elevation to make up for the visit. Because then the long climb into the mountains would have been really worth it. At least we saw beautiful basketry on the long descent and found a great official campground on the beach in the evening.

The next day, we headed west along the coast, with lots of ups and downs. A soccer field by the side of the road looked really inviting for a place to sleep, and so we asked the man who was sweeping it for permission. Great! He replied without hesitation that we were of course welcome to camp there. As it turned out, Jorge and his wife Alicia were not only responsible for maintaining the soccer field, but also the cemetery. And so, we camped next to the chapel in the cemetery😊. The two proudly showed us their chickens, ducks, baby parrots, dogs, etc., and Alicia treated us to a delicious rice and meat soup and tortillas. Admittedly, we were glad that the chicken soup announced for breakfast that morning wasn’t ready. And I was even less sad that I didn’t have to help Alicia prepare it and that the soup chicken could continue pecking for grains on the cemetery lawn.

Nevertheless, we did not remain hungry: the fresh fried eggs and bread rolls sustained us until we reached Zacatecoluca. There we followed a recommendation (thank you, Corine and Erwin!) and treated ourselves to a really good coffee at Café89, even though the last good one had been less than two weeks ago. The fact that the inconspicuous café was also air-conditioned and had WiFi was very convenient for us. We wanted to catch up on what we had missed and ask a coffee finca in Berlín about the possibility of a tour. Although we didn’t get any response apart from a horrendous price quote, we decided to climb the heights again and pedal along a dusty track to Berlín.

In the village, we were able to entrust our luggage to the nice ladies at a pupuseria, so that we could struggle our way up a steep path to the finca with our bikes unloaded. Since we had never been promised a tour, we simply hoped that our effort in arriving by bike would be rewarded. And it was!
At the entrance gate, we were greeted by the first heavily armed security guard, who called in a heavily armed colleague (for backup😉). Together, they informed their supervisor, who finally called the boss. Since he runs marathons in his spare time, he actually gave permission for us cyclists to be shown around the facility😊. We understood very little of the Spanish explanations, but still found the free tour interesting. We later read about how coffee is processed after harvesting and what “washed,” “natural,” and “honey” actually mean, in this article (in German).

Back in Berlin, we drank a (tasteless) coffee and then enjoyed the beautiful route to Santiago de María. While we searched in the trees of the city park for the iguanas that apparently live here, a man organized a place for us to sleep in front of the community center. Night watchman Freddy was very happy to have company, and the deeply religious man was even more enthusiastic about our biblical names David and Rebecca. Rebecca? Ever since a park ranger at the Acatenango volcano called me that because he couldn’t make sense of Regula (like all non-Swiss people), I often introduce myself by that name for the sake of simplicity. This also has the advantage that, despite my short hair, I am mistaken for a woman. And the name doesn’t sound like “Dracula”😊.

A long, hot day of cycling took us along excellent bike paths and sometimes along potholed roadsides to the Honduran border. We really liked little El Salvador and always felt very safe as tourists everywhere we went.

In the morning, we crossed the border quickly and without any problems. The only question that occupied us for a few minutes was how many Honduran lempiras we would need for our two-day stay and what the actual exchange rate was. Honduras was noticeably less populated than El Salvador and seemed somehow less modern and prosperous than its neighbor. However, the road to Choluteca was in excellent condition, although sadly lined with a lot of trash and few shade trees. It was really hot in Choluteca, with the thermometer showing around 38°C in the shade. We were therefore very grateful for the cool respite in an air-conditioned gas station shop, which we didn’t leave until late afternoon.

As we continued our journey, we decided to take the route through the cooler mountains via San Marcos de Colón. When we stopped for a long lunch break in the city park, there was a sudden crash and an iguana fell out of the trees! David went in search of more and discovered more than ten others. Finally, we got to enjoy watching these giant lizards.

We invested our last lempiras in the purchase of electrolyte powder. Because we sweat so much and the purified drinking water is completely free of minerals, we add electrolytes to it. Completely without any local currency, we cycled a few kilometers to the border with Nicaragua. What a happy surprise when we saw Delaney and Robert from Alaska again at the border post! We had met them on the ferry from La Paz to Mazatlán in Mexico, and here our paths crossed again. However, there was not enough time for a longer chat, as the officials completed the formalities much more quickly and efficiently than we had expected based on previous reports. Nobody was interested in our declared fruit and vegetables either.

Unfortunately, the money changer at the border had already gone home, so we had to find our first place to sleep without any Nicaraguan córdobas. We hoped that we would be allowed to pitch our tent next to a church. A man who had been waiting with his bicycle at the side of the road even asked the pastor for us. When the pastor refused our request, Miguel, who was deeply religious, was so embarrassed that he immediately invited us to spend the night in front of his little house. Miguel’s wife Cristina cooked a delicious dinner for us all, a not-so-everyday birthday meal for David.

The next morning, we first had to find some money in the small town of Somoto, which we managed to do pretty quickly. The road to the city of Estelí, which is famous for its cigar production, was quite hilly. At first, a series of brick manufacturing sites, then bright green tobacco fields lined the road. In a strikingly beautiful wooden barn, we were allowed to watch as tobacco leaves were strung up on a line and hung up to dry. Our lunch break in Estelí was only short, as we wanted to find a cigar factory that we could visit before the end of the working day. It took us a few attempts before the production manager of a company spontaneously gave us a tour of his facilities in good English. The tour was very exciting and we saw how much effort and manual labor goes into sorting, storing, fermenting, processing, and finally rolling the tobacco leaves into cigars. We were also allowed to watch the packaging process, including the manufacture of the wooden boxes. At the end, as non-smokers, we were each given two cigars as a gift😊. Incidentally, smoking is allowed in most areas of the company, and for the production manager, smoking is part of the job description, so to speak, for quality control purposes… imagine that in Switzerland! We ended the exciting and eventful day in style on the terrace of an empty party villa, where we were allowed to spend the night.

Because not every day can be so great, the next one wasn’t. Much noisy and smelly traffic on a narrow road with an abrupt drop required the utmost concentration and strong nerves. The gusty side/headwind made the ride a little cooler but not more pleasant overall. However, this day also came to a good end at a tractor-trailer parking lot restaurant. We were allowed to camp in front of the side entrance, treated ourselves to a drink and slept soundly despite the noise around us.

It wasn’t far from our overnight accommodation to the city of Masaya. As we bumped along the cobbled streets, we watched people making hammocks in their courtyards. How cool! We also really liked the central park, where we spent our long lunch break. The only downside was that David had been suffering from stomach pains since the morning. This prompted us to roll down to the city of Granada after seeing the view of the crater lake Laguna de Apoyo and book an Airbnb there. It turned out to be a wise decision, as David was really knocked out in the evening and slept the whole of the following day. We extended our stay night after night until David had regained his strength. Before continuing our journey, half a day was enough to see the city’s attractions. For a visit to the chocolate museum, where there was more to buy than to see, a few minutes were enough. And we spent them with the cute dachshund, who was feasting on the cocoa beans on display😊.

On the way back to our accommodation, we overheard Swiss German being spoken in a bar and struck up a conversation with two women in their 60s. We sat down at the table with Leit and Pati from Graubünden and spent the whole evening exchanging funny travel anecdotes. A great evening!
After a five-day enforced break in Granada, we set off for the volcanic island of Ometepe. Fortunately, the old ferry coped well with the strong wind and gave us a pleasant crossing. We took two days to circumnavigate the hilly island and enjoyed the relaxed pace of life there. We particularly loved listening to Paolo the parrot, who chattered away in the tree next to our accommodation. Although his vocabulary was limited to “Paolo” and “bueno” in different tones, we could still listen to him for hours😊!

After the ferry took us back to the mainland and we spent a restful night at the harbor, it was a short ride to the Costa Rican border today. We had to wait in line for a while to get through border control, but it went smoothly. Compared to the truck drivers, who were stuck in an 11-kilometer traffic jam on the Costa Rican side, this was a piece of cake. They apparently wait three days to clear customs in Nicaragua. Apart from the line of trucks, we noticed that the forest in Costa Rica was denser and greener. A feast for the eyes! Less than an hour’s bike ride from the border, we spend our first night at a well-kept campsite run by a Swiss couple. Tomorrow, to kick off our trip through Costa Rica, we might treat ourselves to breakfast with homemade bread…