Biking Granada to Ferry to Isla Ometope

– “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” –Henry David Thoreau

23 k

Wonderful day. Fresh fruit and homemade banana muffins for break snack. We earn our individual biking strengths on pavement, gravel and in heat and begin to  form a supportive fun group. Today, as well,  several decide to bring out their biking shorts for the next day's biking! 

Kate and I  and Jocelyne stay with a Nicaraguan couple, farmers. We meet daughter- she looks to be in teens and is currently choosing a college program. She has to take into consideration costs of programs and where and how she can live if she decides to study off- island. A family friend is also a dinner gues. He is a farmer he seems pretty intent on expressing that he'd like to marry me and move to Edmonton as farming is becoming very hard at his age. 

Ferry to Isle Ometope

Supper with Family- Marriage Proposal 

Day One Bike Ride- Granada to Ferry - break at Lake Apoyo

Arrival Managua

– “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”                                        –Robert Louis Stevenson

Many seeming hiccups en-route- from disconcerting leg cramps to no taxi pick-up and wrong hotel name. Friendly, helpful people, at airport, and in wrong hotel and I remember to lean into the wind. All is well.

I meet the 11 people in the group (13 with myself)

• Ben from England --dog sled guide in Norway
• Kate from Calgary --RN
• Mel and Jen from Australia. Sisters; Jen an accountant
• Janette from Zurich, Switzerland - Energy to spare
• Daniel and Angela from Germany- Daniel is between jobs and Angela works in a factory - inventory and ordering and spreadsheets
• Farnez from B.C-- accountant
• Jocylene and Caroline from Montréal. Jocylene is retired from Hydro Quebec and Caroline has a management job
• Carlos Salas M our tour guide  naturalist and white water guide- from La Fortuna, Costa Rica
• Ages 27 to 62. Also solo travelers- sisters have met up for trip.
• We have already bonded and, except for Daniel, we are all a titch nervous about keeping up on long days. We all love biking. Daaa!

* I may have the facts wrong about occupations. 

This is the group.

Today we will bike by 23 k and then ferry to Ometope Island to stay in homestays.  Our hosts won't be able to speak English.

Dinner out in Granada: 

Hotel Chilamates

Departure

Lean into the mystery of the unknown. 

-- Jeanne

Leaning into ...

 I said, “Just goes to show you: there are forces out there that will hold you up when you need them.”

The Tour

 November 11 to 29, 2016

It is November 10 and I leave tomorrow. Today early morning biking, and hot yoga. Preparation for my long 'commute' to Managua, Nicaragua.

Preparation

Preparation began over the last 4 years and gradually picked up during 2016.  In the meantime, I encountered physical challenges: a pulled ligament in leg, lower and upper back issues, etc. Solutions: vary exercise, regular visits to physiotherapist, more stretches, more biking!

Long Edmonton Bike Rides 

Bixi in Montreal 

Yoga Stretches for Back Pain Issues- Physio Visits 

Bi-weekly Hour Spin Classes before Work 

This biking challenge amazes me by giving me a sense of purpose, that integrates intuition, body, and adventure. This purpose has helped me balance professional and non-professional priorities.  

Always, I recognize that that once of having seen 'the pyramids of Egypt' (reference to Alchemist) and stepped through the 'Star Gate/ Porte des Etoiles',  ( completed the tour), I will know that the 'point' was not the bike tour, but the process. 

Offshoots of  this Adventure Choice

I have been able to amalgamate my love for language learning with this adventure. It has spurred me on to continue learning Spanish, a hobby I have had since I first went to the Dominican Republic in 2004.  A hobby I revived for my visits to Mexico, Cuba, Panama, and Costa Rica.  One of my favorite video online teachers is Senior Jordan with his friendly, short, manageable language videos. 

Another offshoot of the the upcoming tour has been the discovery of language learning with a Meet-up group. We bumble along in our beginner Spanish over coffees calientes. Each week a new venue and in the summer I biked across city to new cafes I would not otherwise have visited. 

Several years before the event

The idea for this 'lifetime' challenge came on an Internet holiday search 4 years prior to the 2016 trip. At that point, I booked and paid for the tour but then cancelled. I can no longer remember why.