Kayaking Down To Indio Maiz Reserve With Miguel
Trip Start
Sep 29, 2007
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42
221
Trip End
Ongoing
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El Castillo, Indio Maiz Reserve,
Nicaragua
Saturday, November 24, 2007
I had woken last night to a river filled with eery fog then this morning a clear day and perfect, primo conditions for kayaking. Miguel had the paddles, life jackets and kayaks all ready. We rented gumboots for $1 as the reserve is very muddy. The day was special as we had already seen a double rainbow form over the river and jungle landscape. We had noticed a child earlier wearing a few empty one litre coke bottles strung together to make floaties to swim in the river.
The kayaks were tandem and Miguel was my partner with Taz and Nadia paddling behind us. We went straight through the rapids and on down the Rio san Juan. We saw river turtles lazing on rocks and logs in the sun. We were hoping to spot a caymen crocodile creature. Miguel told us of his life and of the history surrounding the river, he spoke of his family losing their farm to the government and of wars on the river. A lot of blood has spilled in this river. There was a minor war in 2000 with Nicaragua not happy with Costa Ricans carrying arms on the river. We passed small houses and thatched huts. The mode of transport here is dugout canoe or motorboat. We really enjoyed the paddling and found it relaxing.
We travelled a long way until we reached the entrance to the reserve where there are military stationed all the time. They have a pet jaguar. Miguel promised me they would rescue the toucan and bring it to the reserve to care for it and let it have more space. He also promised me he would try to get the monkeys released from the dock at Rivas too. These guys gave us a guide to hike with us and we took off trekking through thick mud into a lush, dense environment. The floor was littered with decomposing matter and a carpet of leaves making the soil nutrient rich. Miguel turned out to be a good guide and knew how to survive in the jungle. He showed us medicinal plants, animal tracks, how to find water inside vines, stomped on a leaf cutter ant nest to stir them up, gave us leaves and seeds to try, found us little frogs and pointed out trees. He also showed us some soft stones that you crush to make face and body paint, iŽll be saving that one for Universo Parallelo festival next month. Miguel gave me a stone that looks like amber. Howler monkeys were loud here and we saw the white faced monkeys and the spider monkeys, some with young. We paddled around underneath them on the river banks. What a beautiful river. We journeyed back on a motorboat promising to plug MiguelŽs Tours on Thorn Tree Forum.
We watched the full moon over the river and sat in our clean pajamas. Life is grand because of days like this. We ate dinner with a parrot on a swing.
