Welcome to the Jungle

I will not be able to describe or explain even remotely how I felt these past few days. You just have to experience it, the tranquility, the connection with nature, and above all, the beauty of the jungle. The diversity of animals, the climate, the plants, it's incredible!

Well, let's quickly go back to Ometepe. After my relaxing day in Balgüe, I went back to Moyogalpa for two more days. But I didn't do much, I had ice cream, went to the hairdresser, planned my route for Costa Rica, and cooked a delicious curry. On Sunday, April 21, 2024, I left Ometepe and went back to Granada. I checked back into the same hostel and took care of a few things. I had to find out what time the bus to San Carlos would leave (11:00 AM), buy some snacks, and withdraw some money.

On Monday, April 22, 2024, I went to San Carlos on the other side of the lake. Surprisingly, it was a pleasant bus ride, not a chicken bus but a proper coach that cost less than 6€ for a 7-hour trip. I arrived in San Carlos around 6 PM.

On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, I took the boat to El Castillo, but before that, I treated myself to some pastries, including a turtle-shaped bun😋 The boat ride was quite wet, but the temperatures are so high that it's not a problem. And then I arrived in El Castillo, checked in, and went straight to a tour operator because I wanted to explore the jungle here. It was a bit disappointing because all the tours are designed for two people, and it's just not affordable to go alone. But the tour operator mentioned that there was another tourist here and that a couple might arrive tomorrow. I have to mention that El Castillo is a small village with a few hundred inhabitants, only accessible by boat, and not well-known to tourists. But that's what makes it an adventure, right? I walked along the street (El Castillo actually has only two streets) and had lunch. I tried to find the other tourist but was unsuccessful, so I hoped to get more information about the couple from the tour operator.

On April 24, 2024, around noon, I was walking along the street again, and Paola approached me, the only other tourist here in town. She is Italian but speaks both fluent German and fluent Spanish, jackpot. She had a similar problem and thought that organizing a tour into the jungle would be easier together. She had already asked around and found something for herself. When we talked a bit, she asked her contact if it would be possible for me to join as well. Yes. So, as 'volunteers,' we headed into the jungle the next morning. Being volunteers implies doing some work and helping around the house. For a price of only 110€ for 4 days/3 nights, a jungle tour, and a night boat ride, it was super cheap! What a great deal. We had no idea what to expect, where it was, or what our tasks would be, but we were promised food, a toilet, a covered place to sleep, and towels. For the jungle, that sounded good.

The first day in the jungle...we met at 8 AM, Denis (the guide) arrived, and we went to the boat. His daughter Priscilla was already there, he bought some gasoline, and off we went. On the way to the accommodation, we made a few stops to observe animals. In the big Rio San Juan, we saw two crocodiles, and as we turned into Rio Bartola, we entered the jungle more and more. There, we saw a basilisk and many birds. After about 2 hours, we arrived at the accommodation, or more precisely, at their home. The accommodation is located before the actual jungle on a hill, so the view is fantastic, and the climate is much more pleasant. Their home is very simple, two huts, one with the kitchen, the other with the dining area, and above that, the bedroom for everyone. We set up our tents a bit further ahead on a plateau with a roof. They only had electricity from a small solar panel to power three light bulbs and one socket. The water came from stored rainwater. But it's the essentials, what else do you need? There was no reception there either. The family is super warm and kind. We were greeted with a fruit shake and shortly after that with spaghetti. Paola and I were already amazed by the place, and when we saw two beautiful red parrots, we were overjoyed. At around 2:30 PM, we went into the jungle with Denis and Priscilla. It was simply wow. Denis first explained a few basic things and advised us not to touch too much. Either it has thorns, ants walking along it (and onto you), or it might not even be a branch but a snake...well, alright. As a greeting, I had a few large ants on my boots, and one of them bit me, luckily not poisonous😅 So we went in, and Denis tried to show us and explain as much as possible, and there is a lot! About medicinal plants, different trees, and of course, all the animals. We saw the red Poison dart frog, green poison dart frogs, crabs, a bullet ant (a bite from which causes 24 hours of excruciating pain), and dozens of birds. In between, Denis showed us a plant used for anesthesia, we touched it with our tongues, and boom, we were anesthetized, unbelievable. Among the huge, sometimes 600-year-old mammoth trees were the 'Walking Trees'. They can actually move up to 1 meter per year to always have the best access to the sun. They simply produce new roots and let others die off to move from one place to another. It was getting more and more humid, and we were just soaking wet. We came to a small river where we could dip our feet. There we also saw a snake, although it was very high up in the trees. Then we continued towards the exit, but taking a different path than the one we came from, and I had to admit to myself that I had absolutely no sense of direction anymore. Up until the river, I at least still knew how to get back (probably an exaggeration of my navigational skills), but then I realized that we were completely dependent on Denis. It was already starting to get dark, and all the impressions and constant alertness were very exhausting. However, we still saw a few more birds, insects, and a coati. A beautiful excursion! Back at the accommodation, we were greeted with a lime juice with rum, and dinner was almost ready. By the way, due to the location, most families living there are self-sufficient. They grow everything themselves, from rice and beans to fruits/vegetables, coconuts, and spices. So everything is super fresh and from their own garden. The grandma, a few meters up the hill, makes fresh cheese and tortillas every day. This is how we all ate together, and by 8 PM, it was almost time to go to sleep.

The second day in the jungle started with a wonderful coffee and breakfast from the grandma. Around 9 AM, Priscilla and André (the son) took me to Sector 2, another community where André's school and a church are located. We passed by the houses of various aunts, the grandparents, and friends of the family. The school is a simple wooden hut, but all the children are really excited about going to school. The church was already decorated because today, 5 children were going to be baptized. Even though the people here are very poor and in the middle of nowhere, they dressed up nicely for this day. Okay, many of them wore rubber boots, but we're still in the jungle here, and it rains every day. Even though the pastor was 1.5 hours late, it was a very interesting service. After sitting in the church for a total of 3 hours, we headed back. The grandma had cooked for us again since Rosario and Denis were in El Castillo, they had something to do there. We rested for a bit, and around 3 PM, André's cousins came by and asked if we wanted to play in the river with them. Of course. So a few minutes later, we were in the middle of the jungle in a river playing tag with some children. And then it started pouring rain like crazy. I can't describe how I felt at that moment...it was pure adventure, authentic, magical, and simply incredible. Surrounded by beautiful animals and plants in a river with local children in heavy rain, absolutely amazing. We completely lost track of time, and after 5 PM, we climbed back up, all exhausted and at least Paola and I were extremely happy. Rosario had already prepared a delicious fresh meal for us, and we could recharge. Since the rain didn't stop, we had to forget about our night tour, so we had a Coco-Loco instead. A coconut with rum😋 But then I was super tired, and it was time to return to the tent. By the way, the temperature there was very pleasant, we always had a breeze, and overall, it was a good temperature.

The third day in the jungle was going to be our last full day. There was a French girl at the grandma's house who was doing the same thing as us; she had also been in the river with us the previous day. She had the idea of making pizza on Saturday. So Paola, Rosario, and I went up to the grandma's house, André went fishing with his cousins, and Denis was at school (every Saturday, he has to teach at the 'high school,' and the walk there takes 2 hours one way!). Everything was already in full swing there, the last cheese was being made in the kitchen, tortillas were being prepared, and the 'oven' outside was heating up. The 'oven' consisted of a fire pit with a large pot on top, and then a sheet of metal was laid on top of it. Paola and I were first shown how to make tortillas in the kitchen and then tried it ourselves. Afterwards, we could eat the ones with cheese, they were really tasty! Outside, we had already started to top the first pizza. The toppings consisted mostly of vegetables from the garden, and we rolled the pizzas with a beer bottle, and instead of baking paper, we used banana leaves. So we made lots of pizzas for the whole family, which took almost 4 hours but was a lot of fun. The grandma wasn't convinced at first that a meal without rice would be satisfying, but she was ultimately happy with the pizza. Afterwards, we went back down, and the kids convinced me to play baseball with them (the national sport here in Guatemala). Then I showed them my sport, and we did pull-ups, push-ups, and squats😁 At 2 PM, we went back to the river to continue playing. And then we also went to the field in front of the river to play soccer, more and more people joined, just coming from work or washing laundry in the river. It was really nice to see everyone together. After having dinner, it was already dark, and we got on the boat. Rosario and Denis navigated us through the river for almost 2 hours in the dark, most of the time using headlamps but sometimes in complete darkness. They know the river so well that they sometimes don't need light to maneuver. This time was very impressive, seeing all the stars above and hearing only insects around us. During the tour, we saw a snake, sleeping basilisks, a few spiders, toads, and a larger animal, but it was too far away. But it was the entire journey that was simply unique.

The next morning was calm, we said goodbye to everyone, and at 10 AM, I took the boat back to San Carlos. However, I ran into Denis again, who needed to go to a different place. He was supposed to take the boat at 6:30 AM, but it was full, and he had to wait. That's already a problem because there are about 5 boats per day, but they always have a different amount of space, yet everyone depends on these boats...Luckily, I managed to secure one of the last seats, and this time, Denis did too. I got off a few kilometers before San Carlos because I want to cross the border to Costa Rica. I originally wanted to take a bus, but I decided to take a taxi, so I went to the border. Everything went smoothly, I asked the bus driver where I had to change, and he told me the place where I had to get off (there was no information about this route on the internet). Well, and then I stood there in the city, but no bus came. I tried hitchhiking for over an hour, but somehow nobody wanted to pick me up. But a taxi driver gave me a ride for a few kilometers, and it was even free! Then I was only 8 km away from La Fortuna, and I got a ride from someone who ordered an Uber. Easy. Now I'm in Costa Rica...very Americanized, touristy, and expensive, quite beautiful, but the tour operators here have such expensive cabins...wow. La Fortuna is really not a big town, but you can tell that they make a lot of money from tourism. It doesn't look like any place I've been to before. And 200g of pasta costs 1.50€, and it's not even Barilla! Even though the nature here is beautiful, you can't do anything without a tour or guide, and unfortunately, that's not in my budget, so I will travel through Costa Rica fairly quickly.

The last few days in the jungle were simply beautiful and an absolute highlight of this trip! There was so much to see and learn, but above all, to experience how it is to live there. You can't just go to the supermarket or have a yogurt snack, they have to cook three times a day, otherwise, the family simply has nothing to eat! I found it really great how friendly and open the children were towards us tourists. And despite everything, the children are allowed to go to school every day, and I've seen other things in some cities. Oh, it was just a great time, thanks to Paola, who translated things for me from time to time, but with whom I could also share all these experiences.