RTW North to South: San Juan del Sur

CN - Tuesday

Yesterday we rode from Glen and Janna's just outside Managua down to the famous Nica surf town San Juan del Sur. The short 150k ride took us up in elevation past some smoking volcanos and then down past Lago Cocibolca where there were two more impressive volcanos - one out in the middle of the lake. The pictures just don't do the firsthand view justice - quite impressive. We arrived to our hotel, just 2 blocks off the beach, just before sunset - perfect timing! We checked in, walked down to the beach for a Tona still wearing pants and boots riding gear. The sunset was spectacular, the ocean breeze refreshing and the vibe of the town encouraging. While enjoying our second Tona we had already decided we were going to stay a second night.

This morning we got up early for some delicious Nicaraguan coffee and breakfast on the beach (and maybe a Bloody Mary or two. Much cooler here than when we were about 20 miles inland and Glen and Janna's. Speaking of Glen and Janna, I can't say enough how much we enjoyed our two days at their mission compound. They are more than gracious hosts and treated us and fed us like kings! It was great to be off the bikes, relax and get some needed things done - laundry, carb adjustments (again), and research for me on how to deal with my shrinking visa page space. Another cool thing happened just before we left yesterday afternoon - 43 brand new bicycles arrived that were donated by Ken's church back in Virginia. We had the pleasure of helping to unload the bikes from the delivery truck. The bikes will be given to a graduating middle school class - the bikes will be needed to ride to the high school which is much further away from their homes. The mission has been donating bikes for several years now to the school - great mission work being done here!

Back to this morning... After adjusting my carb yet again (the previous adjustments did not fix the pinging I'm still getting) we noticed my front wheel bearings are pretty much shot. So much for spending the day doing nothing but lounging around the beach. We found a motorcycle shop down the street to get some better tools and began the task of replacing the bearings. It's insane the amount of work we have had to do on this bike along the trip. It just never ends. Chris owns the motorcycle rental/repair shop and was great letting us use a shaded area, stand and tools. He's been in Nic for 6 years with his wife and loves it. Thanks for the assist Chris!

It's now "beer o'clock" so time to finish this up, post some pics and get to the reason for a layover day - relax and lime!