Stage 16 - Somotillo to Puerto Momotombo

 Expect the Unexpected

I got out early enough from the hotel in Somotillo. My goal was to make it to Leon, about 40 miles away according to the map, by noon and be able to tour around the city a bit. Strava had some other plans for me, however.

 

 One of the volcanoes out in the distance that accompanied me for about 15 miles during my ride.

 

My first 25 miles were smooth. I was treated to wide open views of the volcanic range, multiple volcanoes puffing clouds of smoke from their craters came in and out of view as the road twisted around. It was flat and I was cruising at a pretty good clip. It was already 90 degrees by 9:30 and I stopped briefly for some cold water and Gatorade. Only a few miles after I resumed, my route instructed me to turn off the main road and onto a dirt road. This one seemed much smoother than the ones I had taken in Guatemala and I started down that path. Very shortly thereafter I ran into some very deep sand. My bike weighs too much in the back to trudge through something like this - the harder I push down on the pedals, the deeper the wheel digs into the sand. I thought that I might have been just going through a rough patch in what seemed like a dry riverbed. I got off and pushed my bike a little bit, which was an arduous task because of how deep the sand was, both pushing my bike and walking through the sand itself with my rigid bike shoes.

 

 

This picture does not accurately depict the depth of the sand. But I assure you, it was deep. 

I wasn't sure how much longer I could do this for, I was losing a lot of time and it was starting to get very hot. I heard a commotion behind me and a large herd of cattle was coming straight toward me, taking up the entirety of the riverbed, from edge to edge. Two cowboys surged ahead of the herd on horses and told me to get my bike up on the side to make way for the cows. Some herding dogs were behind the cattle as well. The cowboys were pretty confused about what I was doing, and how I got there. "You can't even make it out here with a motorcycle" they said. I told them I was trying to get to Leon, but they told me that the deep sand was pretty much the makeup of the entire road, and there was a very steep section to get over a volcano. They were not optimistic that I would make it, and I was even less convinced at this point. They took me to a junction and showed me how to get back to the main road.

Back at the main road the day was starting to heat up, I rode about 15 more miles and noticed my thermometer was reporting a temperature of 108 degrees Fahrenheit. I stopped off at a roadside stand and downed a couple cold bottles of water, a coke and two "Fresca" juices - tamarind juice with chia seeds. I drank over a gallon of liquid in less than 10 minutes, but I was pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. I checked my map and there was a small village about 7 miles further down the road, I would go there and lay low for the afternoon and figure out my game plan.

 

 

Another great view of farm land and a distant volcano 

The village itself was nondescript, and I was extremely hot at this point. I drank another gallon of water, two more Gatorades and a banana smoothie and sat in the shade inside a marketplace next to a fruit stand. I chatted with some of the shop owners and then dozed off in my chair for about an hour.

As the afternoon wore on, it got slightly cooler (maybe 95 degrees), so I decided to move on. I could either backtrack a little bit and go to Leon, but I wouldn't have a lot of time there - just the evening, minus the time of my arrival and finding accommodation. It would also be more miles than I had expected to ride along with a 55-mile ride the next day to Managua. I decided to go a more conservative route, it was along the way to Managua - an extra 20 miles or so for today, but only 40 for tomorrow, and I spotted a location on the map next to a giant lake. So on a whim I rode to Puerto Momotombo.

 

 

Momotombo Volcano across the lake from where I stayed 

I did encounter one more dirt road, of the type that I had encountered earlier in the day when going out there. I backtracked pretty fast out of that one, since I had seen this story before. Fortunately, there was an alternate route to the port that was covered, surprisingly, in brick pavers. All of the roads that branched off from the main road were unpaved and filled with the same deep, intraversable sand that prevented me from riding. I stayed on the road all the way down to the lake, which sported a beautiful view of the Momotombo volcano as well as the Managua city lights far off in the distance.

 

 

My late afternoon arrival at the lake 

At this point I had ridden 60 miles in some really intense heat and I was cooked. But first I needed to find somewhere to stay. Unfortunately, I did not have any more money and did not pass any ATMs on my way here. There weren't even any in the village where I stopped. I had about $6 in cash. I went to a restaurant located on the lakefront and asked if there were any ATMs.

 

Nope.

The waitress offered to help me find lodging, but I said unless I can pay with a card, I won't be able to pay, and I would rather have dinner than stay in a room. She told me I could use one of the hammocks that were hanging around the restaurant and sleep there. I appreciated that, it meant that I didn't have to go anywhere else for the night. I made my way to the lake, jumped in, and bathed in the warm water. Since tomorrow is my last day of riding, I didn't have to worry about the cleanliness of my bike clothes, I had a clean outfit for my last day.

I got out of the water, went back to the restaurant and had some dinner - chicken with rice and beans, of course. My sleep was a little disturbed by the neighboring restaurants, which seemed to be competitively blasting Mexican Banda and Reggaeton out into the night. But I was also too tired to move out of the hammock. At some point the music cacophony gave way to the usual whistling birds and barking dogs and I slept like a rock.

 

Tired hammock selfie, already half asleep