Racing for the Border

Great friend Tey arrived last week from her home in the Yucatan peninsula for a ten-day visit, her first to Nicaragua. She is an enthusiastic world traveler; last November, she spent a month exploring Cuba just prior to the beginning of the thaw in that island's relationship with the U.S. The recent brouhaha on the Costa Rican border with Nicaragua, as Cuban emigres sought to enter the U.S. via Central America, was on her mind upon arrival. The Nica government wasn't having it, and got all up in Costa Rica's face and brought in army troops to deal with those Cubans who got through the border crossing.

Naturally, we were curious to see where all this was happening, so we drove southeast toward Peñas Blancas, the border town site of the troubles. En route, we stopped at San Jorge, where two weeks ago Bob and I caught the ferry to Ometepe. Tey just wanted to take a gander at Vulcanes Concepción and Maderas from the port, and then we continued on to the border. Peñas Blancas turned out to be little more than an outpost, with facilities to serve the truckers who pass back and forth between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. There is a small hostel with an inauspicious restaurant, where we had some lunch.

We did not immediately return whence we had come, but continued along the southern edge of Lake Nicaragua to Cardenas, where we found a modest park along the shore, populated by a number of white storks or cranes, wading among the marsh grasses. Also a happy piggy, munching the lush greenery in a watery culvert.

From there, we retraced our route, and were stopped twice at military checkpoints set up to nab Cuban illegals, which was actually a bit of a tickle. One soldier checked the trunk just to make sure we weren't trafficking in Cuban humans.

A lovely day, with much driving through Nicaragua's spectacular scenery.