Diary & Travel Reports from the saddle

Nicaragua & CostaRica - 26th March 2003

Good morning to you all from the capitol of Costa Rica, a small country which straddles the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, south of Nicaragua and north of Panama. Far richer than the other Central American countries it was taken off the list of developing countries a while ago. Indeed it is a world of difference its northerly neighbours with a standard of living not quite up to USA standards but certainly on a par with many European areas. Accompanying the development come too many cars and the Pan American Highway is congested at rush hour for a good 15km out of the city.

Famous for eco tourism, you know the jungle, rafting and treking thing, live volcanoes like Arenal which has the most impressive show of fireworks in the world (September is the most uncloudy time of year) and great beaches. The latter I hope to sample on my way south to Panana soon. 25% of the land is protected as parks they say, though the map suggests less. I’ve been staying with Greg on the edge of the jungle near Alajuela and many other people around here who have all been so kind. I’m hopefully going mango picking tomorrow and out on a boat Friday. I played as head chef at Greg’s birthday party the other day. Life has, I must admit, been fairly relaxing.

It has not all been listening to waterfalls and other jungle noises. Channel 4 TV have been really good and the newspaper Al Dia made a nice story yesterday. A despatch rider stopped me in the road this morning to donate 2,000 Colonies ($5).

The European School (www.europeanschool.com) nearby in Heredia had me give my presentation throughout one day last week and very kindly donated $500. The Colegio Internacional SOS in Santa Ana, for Latin America’s best student orphans, saw the presentation on the day war broke out. They offered to try and get me a safe passage through Columbia via their contact with SOS Villages-orphanages.

I have met and ridden with the main motorcycle clubs. ACOMORE (Asociacion Costariccense de Motociclismo Recreativo - www.geocities.com/acomore ) became a Corporate Sponsor with $200, offered to help the national health ministry train their 320 motorcycle riding health providor, and expressed strong interest in developing riders rights in the country. Similar interest in integrating into the global motorcycle right community was expressed by the Costa Rican Institute of Sports and Recreation.

Costa Rica has had no army since about 1948 and this is my Costa Rica dream, revealed as juice from my third mango ran through my bearded chin and onto my white T shirt. Somehow make all the people everywhere take responsibility for their governments, so that we wouldn’t have madmen nor dictators in charge. Then find a way to implement and secure a ban on the military everywhere. Then live happily ever after.

I was surprised to learn that even the Costa Rica health ministry has provided no training (safety nor maintenance) for its 320 motorcycle riders and managers responsible for delivering basic health services to rural areas. This afternoon I will meet the Vice Minister of Health to gauge interest in doing precisely that.

NICARAGUA

Riding south from Honduras, Nicaragua instantly felt like the poorest Latin American country I have visited. But I noted in my diary how friendly the people were. But the colonial city of Leon was majestic and less touristy than Antigua in Guatemala. Then I spent a few nights at the nearby Pacific beach, dislocated my shoulder in the surf and learnt about the Sandinista struggle against a dictator and USA funding of the contras.

I was riding around Managua the capitol looking for the centre. At least there is a normally a square of some sort. Managua’s centre lies somewhere west of the bus station and south of the Jesus statue, which seems to be the highest structure in the central area. There are no other landmarks. The city was destroyed in an earthquake in the early seventies and because of the civil war there was no money for rebuilding. I’ve never come across a city like it.

I had to wait around for a day or two for an answer from the health ministry about their motorcycle fleet. In the end no-one knew how many bikes are used in the health sector but were estimated at 100. (If true, they need a lot more.) Needless to say there has been no training or maintenance at all, though the ministry wrote a letter welcoming interest and assistance in carrying this out (see my website for this.)

Further south I stopped in Rivas on the shore of Lake Nicaragua which is home to the world’s only fresh water sharks and a couple of towering volcanoes rising out of the water.

All in all its been thoroughly enjoyable.
Simon

Simon Milward, on the road

A solo fundraising round the world ride on a handmade motorcycle.
Supporting Doctors Without Borders and Health For All.

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