TRAVEL FEATURE - NICARAGUA
CHAD HORTON
BAD COFFEE AND NO MAN ' S LAND
I
’ m sipping bad instant coffee , watching the sunrise over El Salvador , patiently waiting for the bar to open . With all the good coffee that comes out of Central America , you ’ d think they ’ d save some for themselves .
I ’ m in Playa El Cuco and it ’ s not breakfast , or even a Bloody Mary I ’ m waiting on , but my motorcycle , which is currently locked inside . Wanting to get an early start on the long day ahead , I was sure to ask what time the bar opened the night before . The hotel clerk assured me it would open at 7am for breakfast . It ’ s now after 8am , and aside from surfers and a handful of street dogs , there is no one in sight .
According to Einstein , time is not absolute , but relative as witnessed by the observer . Latin America is living proof of that theory . Normally I wouldn ’ t complain , but today isn ’ t a normal day . I need to be in Nicaragua by nightfall , and I ’ ve got not one , but two international border crossings to contend with . Anyone familiar with travelling overland through Central America can attest to the intestinal fortitude required for such a feat .
Lost in thought , I barely notice a street dog marking his territory on my pile of gear . As I shoo the offending canine away , I hear the bar door open behind me . Already past schedule , I politely decline the complimentary breakfast of fried plantains , smashed beans , and eggs . Loaded in record time , I weave through an obstacle course of topes , open ditches , and street dogs en route to the border with Honduras . Approximately 150 kilometres of the Panamerican Highway crosses the southern tip of Honduras , between El Salvador and Nicaragua , and I intend to ride straight through .
In no time , I start seeing the typical fanfare and chaos that accompanies most border crossings .
TRAVERSE 99