Up to the Lake

Balnearo Aguas Termales was only 4km from town and a great way to start the day. A long drive is better when you start off at a natural hot springs.

We had been given a tip by a reader to take a short-cut to the lake from near here, but we asked around in Gracias and they all said it couldn’t be done – we should take the direct western route that actually lead us south a bit. Oh well – can’t argue with advice of the locals.

It wasn’t long before the pavement ended and the road was pretty rough. But, it was scenic and interesting so we really didn’t mind.  It was kind of like a time-machine. How often do you drive past an ox cart? Or ten?

Our final destination for the day was to camp at a brewery on Lago Yojoa. At one point, I turned to Jason and said, “this better be some pretty amazing beer.”

Yep, 6 hours on a bumpy road from Gracias to Lake Jojoa to go to a microbrewery. It took us another hour once we were at the lake to find the small D&D hostel brewery. They let us camp in the parking lot and had the infamous ‘pay at the end of your stay’ rule that is so common around here. Dangerous at a brewery.

Fortunately, the beer is simply great. Bob shipped his gear from Oregon and now makes about 6 tasty brews (and 4 fruity soft drinks) for travelers.

Bode immediately found some cool folks so we joined them and swapped travel stories while the sky unleashed torrential rain and thunder. It is the rainy season.

The best part? Watching Bode learn the art of playing a didgeridoo. And I thought we packed ridiculously large things.

Later, our buddy Joe walked in. We met him in Suchitoto. He’s been on the road for…. 17 years.