Nicaragua: Riding into the unknown - Page 8

Stillupright · 05-18-2008, 10:15 AM

Hi Salcar

Yes, you have taken an amazing ride in an amazing country. Often times, politicians in countries like the U.S. can make life hell for citizens in places like Nicaragua. Nicaraguans have a strong sense of independence and love for their country. The infrastructure has been really damaged by events such as Iran-Contra, and major hurricane strikes. There is a need for stability, and one thing that helps stability is good healthcare, so I really applaude your mission to get basic care to people who don't have access. I spent 3 weeks there with a family living in Managua and saw many parts of the country reachable by roads. I'll PM you with a possible colaboration that is already in place in Nicaragua and has government approval.

salcar · 05-18-2008, 10:38 AM

After crossing the river the bike wouldn't start. The river bank was made of deep sand and the boat had left me with one wheel on the water. It was hot outside and I had 3 hours left of light. I kept trying to kick start the bike when two teenagers came by and asked me if i needed help. They helped me push the bike out of the water and after several kicks the bike started again.

The two teenagers confirmed that the road was a bit dangerous and there were a couple of trails that went to other communities. I asked them if they knew someone with a bike that could show me the road to Makantaka. They did but they had to go look for him on the other side of the river - i figure that would take the reminder of the day light. Instead I offered to pay on the guys to ride two up with me and show me the road to Makantaka.

I moved the bags to make room for other guy. I was surprise how well the little bike did with two passangers plus all my gear. By this time i had been on the road for 8+ hours, i was tired of riding on bumpy dirt roads, the sun was starting to come down, i was all dusty and i just had bread and water for lunch and no breakfast.

Not once in my life I have ever imagined that I would find a barbed wire across the road neck high while riding. I was going approximately 40 km per hour when I saw it. My first reaction was to let the gas go and to break but i knew i wouldn't have time to stop the bike. I saw the barbed wire coming straight at me. My first thought was of death, I would break my neck or the barbed wire would cut my carotid artery and I would bleed to death. I closed my eyes and told to myself "Let the will of God to be done".

The wire hit the helmet, then it slid under my chin making a deep cut and then wraped around my neck making several cuts. It was a miracle that the barbed wire made out of metal broke instead of my neck! Everything happen in a matter of seconds but it seem for ever. I felt every single one of the cuts and then we crashed. I was in panic but the crash was like a slap in the face that brought me back to reality. I was trapped under the bike and I couldn't move. I was scared as I felt the blood dripping down my neck. The guy with me was screaming that his leg was hurting and to let him out. I managed to free myself and I saw an old man with a kid standing right there watching us in awe. I yelled at the old man to come help us but he was in shock and wouldn't move. he later thought that i was dead when i crashed.

After i freed myself, I helped the guy get off underneath the bike and i started to take all my cloth off. I was dripping blood and i was sure i would bleed to death.

I realized this would be the last minutes of my life. My safety kit was in the big duffle bag so i figure i could use my t-shirt to put pressure on the cuts. But the t-shirt was soaking in sweat, it was dirty and i it wouldn't do any good. Time was passing and everywhere i move i would leave a trail of blood. The size of the blood drops were huge and i was sure the barbed wire had cut my artery.

The whole experience was intense. I was in the middle of nowhere and i had no cell phone reception. No oportunity to make one last call. I though of my family and my friends. I was in survival mode and fighting to keep all my thoughts on staying a life. I knew i had to put pressure on the cuts! Like a mad man i started taking off the bags of the bike until I reached the safety kit where I had a absorbent sponge.

I opened it and put it agains my neck. There was absolute silence. The guy, the old man and the kid were just staring at me. The world as I knew had stopped.

While I didn't see my whole life replay in front of me. A wave of strong emotions ran through my body. From sadness of leaving love ones behind, anger that the old man didn't stop me before hitting the wire, of scareness not knowing what how long it would take before bleeding to death. And a lot more... Overall I've had a good run with my life. A family that has always supported me, a lot of friends around the world, a lot of achivements academically, in sports and with my career, a lot of travelling and many many adventures and experiences. I've truly lived a full life and thank God for it.

While holding the sponge against my neck I talked with God. I'm not a religious person and don't like talking about it but i do have Faith in a greater being. I was raise catholic but consider myself more cristian. I don't go to church. I belive in Karma and in Buddha and believe there are other ways of getting to God in addition to Jesus. I belive that there are other ways of calling God such as Love or Universe. I believe that everything happens for a reason no matter if it is good or bad. I belive that hard experiences are the ones that transform us the most the most. I made a promise to God that if i would survive this accident I would keep working on increasing healthcare access to rural communties and while doing so I removed the sponge. Like in a miracle, when i removed the sponge the bleeding had stopped completely.

I gave thanks to God and realized that time was running out. Soon it would be dark and I should be driving on this road at night. I put some sterile gloves and started cleaning the cuts with iodide wipes. Then i put antibiotic cream and covered the cuts so they wouldn't get any more dirt.

The old man assured me i would find a doctor in Makantaka and a store where i could by purify water. After cleaning the knee of the guy that was riding two-up with me I asked him if he still wanted to show me the way. He said "let's go". I had a couple words with the old man and asked him why he didn't stopped me, i re-packed and off we where. But before i had to take a picture of the old man with the barbed wire.

I was riding into the unknown wounded. Destiny had given a second chance. I was riding into one of the worst road of the whole trip. Every bump my neck would hurt and i could feel the cuts. i couldn't tie my helmet because the strap when over the cut under my chin. It was a painful ride, it was on a bandit trail and i had no clue where i would spend the night.

grass and trees had grown where once use to be a road.... the bridges where falling apart

It was a loooong day.... until i finally reached Makantaka. A very small, very poor community where there was no doctor, no nurse and no purify water. I was filthy and thought of an infection on the cuts crossed my mind.

I needed to find clean water to clean the wounds and get to civilization in case I was more hurt than i thought. We dropped the bike at one of the houses in town where my "guide" knew the family and we went to look for information on boats to Pearl Lagoon.

kids in Makantaka

No boats come to Makantaka - maybe one boat every week. The best chance to get a boat was to take a single track trail to where the Makantaka river branch meets with the Rio Grande de Matagalpa. The guy that had guided me so far didn't know the trail so we looked for another guide. I picked up the bike and gave $25 to the guy had been in the accident with me so he could buy a pair of pants and we departed. We needed to move fast bc it was getting dark.

I rode two-up on the single tracks with many stops where i had to push te bike through the hard parts.

going up was hard because there was just enough room for the bike to go through. I was very tired by now, thirsty with no water, my cuts where very sweat and itching. I've been on the road more than 10 hours and emotionally exhausted.

the trail was very nice and technical... but no time to take pictures and to tired to enjoy it.

With the sunset we finally reached the last house on the trail where the Makantaka river branch meets the Rio Grande the Matagalpa. Limi my new guide introduce me to the family there and we talked about boats. There might be one going through tomorrow but it wouldn't stop there. So Leonardo offer me to take me to the Quintanilla family that had a house on the Rio Grande but i wouldn't be able to take my bike bc Leonardo didn't Have a big enough boat. So i just took my bags, gave $5 to Limi and off we went to the Quintanilla family house... Leonardo fixing my seat.

Finally when it was dark outside and after a good 20 minutes we made it to the Quintanilla family who welcomed me like a family member. Gave some soda and some bread. They filled up my water bottle with rain water and i added chlorine tablets. We talked but i was mostly facing in and out the conversation. I was exhausted. After the 30 minutes the water was ready and i drank almost all of it at once. after relaxing a little bit i took the bandages off and with the flash light and kem wipes i tried to clean the blood off my body. clean the cuts again with the kem wipes, the iodide wipes and added more antibiotic cream. The Quintanilla family set-up a hammock for me to sleep but I couldn't sleep. To many things in my head. I laid in the hammock to tired to sleep. I just heard the radio playing and the Quintanilla family talk with Leonardo. I had found a home where I felt relaxed.... until i passed out.

salcar · 05-18-2008, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stillupright

Hi Salcar

Yes, you have taken an amazing ride in an amazing country. Often times, politicians in countries like the U.S. can make life hell for citizens in places like Nicaragua. Nicaraguans have a strong sense of independence and love for their country. The infrastructure has been really damaged by events such as Iran-Contra, and major hurricane strikes. There is a need for stability, and one thing that helps stability is good healthcare, so I really applaude your mission to get basic care to people who don't have access. I spent 3 weeks there with a family living in Managua and saw many parts of the country reachable by roads. I'll PM you with a possible colaboration that is already in place in Nicaragua and has government approval.

Awesome! thank you for the PM and the information. As soon as i have time i'll look at the links you sent me. It would be great if you can make another trip to Nicaragua. We could organize a healthcare expedition to one of this poor communities in the Atlantic. Combine great riding with a great cause

i still looking for funding to purchase more bikes so we can take a 4-6 people group. the ideal group would be an MD, ND, Vet, Lab person and maybe a couple specialty doctors. I spent a few days in a Hospital Boat in the Amazon where they reach poor communities. A very interesting model that i'm using to get ideas.

All the best,
S.

GSdiablo · 05-18-2008, 05:11 PM

your crash stirred up some feelings I had when some teenager t-boned me in a cage. Thanks for sharing

Poke it w/ a stick · 05-18-2008, 07:51 PM

Salvador,

That's crazy! Glad to see you made it through that in one piece.

I love that you still had the sense to take a photo of the crash site.

dustjunkie · 05-19-2008, 10:42 AM

Salvadore,

You would be sorely missed be me and I am sure many others. Please be careful and take care of yourself.

I am glad to hear that you are ok!

Take care!

Jake

salcar · 05-19-2008, 05:14 PM

the same knee that i hurt before the departure

The night was rough. I woke up numerous times. My knee had swollen up and the scratch was starting to dry up. everytime i move my neck i felt the cuts. other parts of my body were also hurting such as leg and shoulder where i had bruises. I spent the night phasing in and out of sleep combining wierd dreams and seeing cockroaches crawling on the floor.
Finally the sun started to come out. A new day and a new begining. The Quintanilla family woke up with the first rays of sun. when there is no electricity sun light becomes even more precious.

The sunrise was spectacular! I sat on the porch drinking coffee and eating a piece of sweet bread. I was happy that the accident hadn't been worse and I would be able to continue the trip. The goal for the day was to try to catch a boat to Pearl Lagoon and Don Justo had confirm that a boat would stop by to pick him up and all the crops that he was taking to Bluefield. The only thing left to do was to relax and enjoy the conversations with the locals that came to the little store that the Quintanilla family runs and the nice conversation with the wife of Don Justo.

The Quintanilla family has been living in this lands for over 100 years. Don Justo Uncle the old man in the picture defended his land during the revolution. He stayed there during the war and when the contras came to kick him out he refused and got shot. With no medicines, no doctor or no other habitants he dragged himself home and laid in bed. "When you live out here you live under the mercy of God" told me the wife of Don Justo. "After the war my husband returned to help his uncle cultivate the land and I came with him. we have very little and we slept under a small palapa. we didn't have this house back then"

"We are very fornutate to have 3 big containers to collect rain water. the majority of the people here have to drink water from the river. do you know that when you cook the rice with it it turns yellow?". I was thinking forget the yellow how about all the diseases the children drink!!!! "the family here are big and the houses don't have floors. so during the rainy season they have to were boots in the house because the floors get all muddy". "The nurse that use to come hasn't come in a while and the school teacher left Kansas City because got a position elsewhere. there is no teacher and thus no school... during the rainy season many children can't go to school bc the river current is to strong to row to school... the children have to skip school during the harvest of the crops."..... "My daughter that is 15 years old got married and left the house. Many girls here have kids very young. when they are 15 yo".... "there is a lady that has malaria right now and she is pregnant. she can't take the malaria medication bc of the pregnancy and doesn't want to go to Rio Grande la Cruz bc she doesn't have money. She doesn't understand that the longer she gets the more expensive it will be bc they will have to take her to Bluefields"...."the kids here have never seen toys. During La Purisima (religous holiday for the Virgin Mary) i spend a lot of money and try to buy small toys for the children. the whole yard get's full"... "we used to have a small generator and tv. it was our joy to be able to watch movies at night but we had to sell it to fix the 9hp motor of the boat"... "i had 9 childre and 5 of them die. Only God knows why."... nobody comes here to visit us. we don't get donations. no NGOs come here. they all stay in Rio Grande la Cruz and there are a lot of communities there. Most of the times we try to go there we don't get anything because there are so many people and it is expensivo to go there. so is not worth the risk of going.... i can't see, my daughter can't see and Don Justo uncle can't see but we cannot afford the trip and the cost of buying glasses".... every winter/rainy season there are plagues of Malaria and Dengue.... there are a lot of cases... we close all the doors and window of the house early in the afternoon so less mosquitos can get in"... "the only medicines the goverment give us are anti-malarial and acetominophen... there are no medicines here. my legs hurt and sometimes i can't get out of bed. no one has anything for it"... "there is an old man that can't walk straight bc he has arthritis. he is always leaning down and can't work. it is sad to see him. his only wish is to be able to stand straight so he can work"

while we talked Don Justo was cutting water melons and plantains that he was taking to Bluefield. Neightbors where also bringing their crops so that Don Justo could take them and sell them. The river was a life with boats and cayukos coming and going.
this boat had just returned from Bluefield/Pearl Lagoon.

while we were talking a fast boat approached the dock of Don Justo to buy plantains. Don Justo asked them where they were going and it turned out that they were going to pick up a City Consul and then heading back to Bluefield. After a bit of negotiation they agree to take me with the bike for half the price of the normal boat. Also, instead of 15 hours on the slow boat it would take less than three hours. Luck was on my side. I'll soon would be able to take a shower, buy cold purified water and sleep on a bed.

the boat was fast and it had no roof so I got a good sun tan. I ended up sitting next to one of the City Counsil and was able to questioned him on why Kansas City didn't have a teacher or a doctor.. why people where living under those condition. of couse he blamed it on other people you could see that i made it think - for me that was good enough. I couldn't have asked for more.

the river was gorgeus and reaching Pearl Lagoon was spectacular. white sand beaches with light blue water!

The culture also changed... i was in the reggae land! after a shower and a nap i headed out for a couple cold beers to the rything of reggae

It is good to be alive!

salcar · 05-19-2008, 05:40 PM

The night of Day 8 i went to bed early and forgot to lock the room door. the hotel was expensive ($12) for the quality of it but it had a private shower and toilet. Early in the morning while sleeping i heard some noices on the hall way which woke me up. I laid in bed trying to fall a sleep again when someone opened my door very quietly. My first reaction was to yell at the person and they close the door and left. I think it was someone trying to break in the room and steal something. the next morning i woke up annoyed by the incident of the previous night. I didn't said anything but made my mind to leave that day eventhough i could use a day to recover.

After many attempts that morning i finally was able to take a picture of the cuts on my neck. You can see the deeper cut under my chin, the white one on the side was also a bit deep. very similar cuts where also on the other side of my neck.

Pearl Lagoon the city in itself is ok - the sorrounding beaches are spectacular. I didn't have money to pay for a boat tour so instead I decided to do a short day and find a small town with a cheaper hotel. The road leaving town was bumpy but had an awesome scenary.

this road was donated by the goverment of Japan. They gave enough money to put asphalt on it..... but some how the money was not enough!?!?

After 205 km (84 dirt) i reached Santo Tomas, had lunch/dinner and looked for a hotel. I found the Hotel Aleman with private bathroom and clean rooms for $3.5!!!! I walked into town for a little bit and went to bed early. I was back in "civilization" or close enough to Managua that I felt safe again. The adventure was coming to an end and I was looking for it. The pants on the knee hurt and it hurt to turn the neck around while riding.

Sahuite · 05-19-2008, 06:53 PM

I'm loving this - great pics and commentary.

salcar · 05-20-2008, 06:54 PM

I woke up still hurting and the bad road to San Carlos required multiple breaks from the saddle. While riding I decided that if I could find a boat the next day to San Juan de Nicaragua and I would take it. Otherwise the next day I would return to Managua.

Road to San Carlos

Reaching San Carlos in my head was the end of the trip. The ride to Managua would be done on roads that had ridden before. So I was very happy to be at the end!

San Carlos - I made it!

It was a GREAT day and I was rewarded with an amazing sunset!

I went to bed around 8pm and woke-up at 5 am to pack and catch the boat at 6am.

Rio San Juan is Nicaragua!

getting to San Juan de Nicaragua was an adventure of it's own

and it cannot be an adventure without some effort and some aligator risk!

and at the end of a great adventure.....

you realize that you know little bit more about yourself and you feel happy to have new & old friends with whom to share some beers and experiences.

Thank you for coming along!

One day I hope to see you in Nicaragua and hear your stories about your rides in Nicaragua!

Sincerely,
Salvador

P.S. If you would like to see more pictures click here

sandiegoland · 05-21-2008, 04:32 PM

Salcar I am so glad you made it through that. Barb-wire is real hit and miss. I got tangled in some out in the desert (USA) and I was pretty thankful to just lose some riding gear and a suffer some very shallow gashes. When I was "in the crash" I wasn't sure if I would be bringing "everything" through the fence if you know what I mean. Your injuries were far more serious than mine and I can only imagine the emotion you faced.

Hopefully that guy was really in the process of making a gate and not up to something more sinister. I can see that it looks like he had the stick poles there.

Below you can see a finished barb-wire gate in Guanacaste. It's more visible because it's wide enough to require sticks for intermediate support. On narrower gates (without the extra sticks) or at night (or bad weather or high speed) they could be hard to see:

Quote:

Originally Posted by salcar

Not once in my life I have ever imagined that I would find a barbed wire across the road neck high while riding.

First off, I don't want to imply this is limited to Central America, because incidents like this (rare as they are, intentional or not) can happen anywhere. But when I did some riding for work in Costa Rica (off the beaten path) I was advised to let a local ride in front for this very reason. Honestly I thought it was common knowledge down there to look out at every fence crossing or property line for that "legendary but elusive" trip wire. Maybe they just wanted to make me a temper my speed and be a tad paranoid for my own good?

Anyway, great experience to share and I hope people keep a special eye out when they see a fence line or people hanging out by a road. The risk is low, but the consequences are severe!

marior97 · 05-22-2008, 04:52 AM

Great report Salcar, I hope to do at least part of Nicaraguas atlantic soon !!!!

BeachBusker · 05-22-2008, 12:31 PM

Simply awesome!

Quote:

Originally Posted by salcar

DAY 6

Bismuna........Who was the guy with money? they spoke broken Spanish....... "Why do you foreigners come here to mess with us???" There was complete silence..........

I had passed the old man test.

I am also relieved that you are mending from your take-down. I hope you have 100% recovery.

Bismuna is now on my map. Do they have any beer? Ice? What was your lunch like?

Thanks for the Quintanilla family history. Any beer in Makantaca?

And, thanks for the map sandiegoland. I found Wisconsin, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago. But, Kansas City?

http://www.cityofnanaimo.com/CAmeric...icaraguaRd.pdf

sandiegoland · 05-22-2008, 01:20 PM

Quote: