Outdoor Central Oregon January/February 2020 | Page 23

JAN/FEB 2020 On the main roads we found there to be many political roadblocks due to gas or some other political happening in the area. This is a challenge that rarely ever happened when on the not-so-common roads, a challenge we never saw coming with the easy highway riding. GUATEMALA: From the Volcanoes to the lakes to the wonderful ruins, the attractions made for quite a long journey in this small country. Zig-zagging from one side to the other and back again we found amazingly old connecting roads between the small villages. What a country, rich in culture and landscape for such a small geographic area. EL SALVADOR AND HONDURAS: On a time crunch to make it to our sailboat ride from Panama to Colombia (one of few ways to cross the Darien Gap) we flew through these countries due to the news of politi- cal instability. However, looking back and thinking about what came after we could have spent more time in these places; the news rarely ever shows you the beautiful people that make up the majority of these countries. I will have to go back and find out what we missed. NICARAGUA: Surf time and great weather, we treated ourselves to many swimming pools and ocean views here. The tourist infrastructure was huge, but not in use due to the riots that took place a year previous; we had most of this volcanic and jungle like landscape to ourselves due to low tourist numbers. This is where I learned to surf and got one of the worst sun- burns on my back; I most definitely learned the power of a rash and sun guard. EL SALVADOR AND HONDURAS: On a time crunch to make it to our sailboat ride from Panama to Colombia (one of few ways to cross the Darien Gap) we flew through these countries due to the news of politi- cal instability. However, looking back and thinking about what came after we could have spent more time in these places; the news rarely ever shows you the beautiful people that make up the majority of these countries. I will have to go back and find out what we missed. NICARAGUA: Surf time and great weather, we treated ourselves to many swimming pools and ocean views here. The tourist infrastructure was huge, but not in use due to the riots that took place a year previous; we had most of this volcanic and jungle like landscape to ourselves due to low tourist numbers. This is where I learned to surf and got one of the worst sunburns on my back; I most definitely learned the power of a rash and sun guard. 23