Ometope Ride

– “The rewards of the journey far outweigh the risk of leaving the harbor.” –unknown

I wake up to roosters calling in the very early pre-dawn hours. I am under my mosquito net in the room I am sharing with Kate. My alarm clock sound is indistinguishable from the persistent roosters. The the pet parrot begins to talk.. she sounds like she is is a complaining or gossiping- her words are not clear but the intonation is clear. Later the host says she is copying the sounds of the church community that used to be located next do the property.

After a meager breakfast of a 1/4 cup of the ubiquitous rice and beans and a piece or two of pineapple and watermelon, we are set for our 50+ kilometer bike ride.

We stop in a village and then a pond fed by river; a stray dog bites me as I feed him fresh coconut; we stop by a lake to swim and eat a super delicious lunch; and then home to potluck.

Isidro, our Bike Leader for Nicaragua

The Best Lunch Ever! by Lake 

En-Route: A Fruit Break and a Kids' Soccer Game 

I see that Kate's optimism--"You are doing great! You can do it!"-- gives me energy on long uphills; I see that a tendency to talk about "what if I can't," leads Carlos, always helpful, to support my opting out.  No blaming him then if he believes I want to quit.

I'll see throughout this tour, that my expressing questions about a "Plan B," motivated by fear that I will let the group down, is an ineffective strategy.  I'll begin to try a new strategy: optimism expressed to group and myself, and trust that I will find solutions as needed.  Leaning into the wind... 

Preparing to Leave Ometope

Volcano Concepción