#he would swim around and catch a decent sized fish and after a reasonable amount of time passed he'd hook the fish and tug on the line

[chickensoupleg]

2 random aus since I got in a mood.

Eddie living near a lake that had rumours of mermaids living in there. The lake being huge and deep, so deep that Eddie would joke it's just a mini ocean in his own backyard. He and his uncle Wayne would go fishing there all the time, and so it was a very comforting place. Especially with the mermaid rumours. Eddie even would put the 'mermaid lake' into some of his campaigns, just for fun. Sometimes it was an important feature, where he would encourage his players to visit it, or maybe even have the big bad appear there. Then suddenly the rumours come true, when he's just writing and playing songs by the lake and hears singing coming from it. He would look out to the lake and see eyes staring back at him before disappearing into the deep. Of course, nobody believes him, because sure. The rumours are popular, but it doesn't mean people actually believe anyone would actually see them. Eddie is persistent though and keeps visiting. Even if he doesn't see whatever he saw that day, he gets to be by the lake, which is just added perk. Then he sees the mermaid for real, and turns out mermaids know English. He also learns that mermaids can be dudes, even if it's far more popular for them to be female. His mermaid friend finds it hilarious, because if mermaids were only girls than how would they procreate? Like bacteria? Which, when he puts it like that, does sound kind of stupid. Anyways, he learns the mermaid is named Billy, and that he's not actually from here at all. Which, obviously, sounds insane to Eddie, because where else would he have come from? It's a lake, and as far as Eddie is aware, not connected to the ocean in the slightest. It is a sole standing body of water as far as he's aware. Billy, the prick, laughs at him. Apparently it is connected to other bodies of water, it's just not feasible by human standards. There's a hidden underground tunnel apparently, and Billy just sort of... migrated there. Accidentally. The tunnel is somehow a powerful current, and only works one way. So he's been stuck there for years. There are a handful of other mermaids in the lake, but they don't come up since they can breathe underwater just fine despite appearing human. Ergo, they never interact with humans much either. The only reason Billy even showed up was because he liked the music Eddie was playing. Which launches Eddie into a whole plethora of questions, because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Billy only answers some of them freely, and makes Eddie work to get other answers. They grow close, and since then Eddie makes it his mission to continually visit his new friend. Billy isn't much of a nerd as Eddie is, but they connect with their shared appreciation for the metal genre, even if Eddie has to be the one to supply it. In return, Billy gives him cool shells and rocks he finds. And a crab once. Which was weird, because Eddie didn't know the lake had crabs. They get close, and maybe even a little affectionate. Who knows.

Basically just centaur Harringroveson AU. Steve is a cervitaur, Eddie is a centaur, and Billy is a bariaur. They're just vibing honestly. Maybe Eddie gets the fun time of watching Steve and Billy fight by antler/horns. And then help them because they got stuck to each other. Which happens a lot, because something in their hindbrains wants to just slam their antlers/horns against each other. Dominance, or whatever it is supposed to be. Eddie certainly isn't up for the task. Fun times when Steve casually shed his antlers. Or shed his velvet, where Eddie has to go hide because it is a gory sight. He finds it metal, but also his stomach can only take so much. Billy finds it equally as gross, but his stomach is much stronger for this. Eddie is probably like... a black thoroughbred horse. Or a mustang. Just... a runner of a guy. Steve is either a common white-tailed deer or a red deer. Just for the idea of the red deer being huge and the whole King Steve kind of idea. Billy is a rambouillet ram or a rocky mountain bighorn. Just... stocky but also has a sort of glamour to him. Of course just to make it fair everyone gets the fun perk of being centaur hybrid things. Maybe El can be a unicorn centaur, as a psychic treat. (Oh my gosh unicorn Vecna.... Dark crispy unicorn Vecna.... Flesh monster...) Also I don't think cars exist in this universe, because it would be very awkward trying to fit in one, unless they were very specifically built and long to accommodate the rest of them. Oh they'd be so long. So either it is long cars, or everyone walks everywhere. Alternatively, wagons for passengers. Just for extra fun (mostly just for me) Robin is also a cervitaur, and she jokes that she stole Steve's antlers when hers come in when Steve's falls off. She'd be a reindeer, which is why it works. It also means they can put trinkets on their antlers year round. When Steve's falls off they go right on Robin's. Fun fact, sheeps can swim. Billy is not banned from his water. However, sheep can also sink because wool is a thing. Billy has to shave. Extra treat: Demotaurs. Why not.

[demi-shoggoth]

COVID-19 Reading Log

No idea if there’s any interest in this, but putting this out here.

With my vastly increased amount of time stuck at home (that is to say, all of it), it’s given me the opportunity to read more. And although I’m probably never going to catch up completely on my “To Read” pile, I have put a decent dent in it. So I will be periodically chronicling the books I have read. So far, in the last two and a half weeks, I have read...

1. Moths: A complete Guide to Biology and Behavior by David C. Lees and Alberto Zilli. Published by the Smithsonian, this book is lavishly illustrated with color photos depicting moth structures and behaviors. A good overview of the biology of Lepidoptera that aren’t butterflies (which are most of them). The copy came from the library with a neat little insert of errata, mostly for image captions and missing citations. Which suggests that the editorial process wasn’t as tidy as it could have been. The writing style is fluid and light for some decent technical detail. Some types of moths serve as possible inspiration for future monster—moths with tusks, caterpillars that stack their severed head capsules on their heads and use them as bludgeons, giant puss moth caterpillars with venomous hairs.

2. Hackmaster: Hacklopedia: Rustlers of the Night by Jolly R. Blackburn, et. al. A Hackmaster monster book I didn’t know existed until I found it used in a Half Price Books. It is a print on demand product only, and is a compilation of monsters from the back matter of the Knights of the Dinner Table comic book and a few modules. Size more like a trade paperback for a comic than it is for an RPG supplement. Creatures are the usual mix for Hackmaster—some conversions from AD&D, some gag monsters, some original creatures. Some toxic misogyny (the “gargirls”, or female gargoyles, are particularly bad). Lots of fire themed monsters—apparently from a City of Brass themed adventure. High concentration of good critters, especially in the back half. I will be converting plenty of these to Pathfinder.

3. When the Earth Had Two Moons by Erik Asphang. This one was a bit of a chore to get through. It’s about the early history of the solar system and how we know what we know. Some cool concepts and science are here. There are models of collisions between massive (planet sized) objects showing how they can warp, fuse or shear apart. The ideas of what conditions are like on the surface and below the surface of planets (both in our own solar system and outside of it) are captivating and weird. But the writing style is disorganized. Concepts are jumped back and forth between, and there’s no logical flow of ideas from one to the next. There are better books about astrophysics for lay readers out there, but it wasn’t exactly bad. Just not great.

4. What’s Eating You? by Eugene H. Kaplan. I honestly am not sure if I’ve already read this book and just forgotten about it, or if this is the first time. Books about parasites do tend to repeat the same anecdotes (Jewish grandmothers contracting fish tapeworm while preparing gefilte fish, the cycle of infection for Guinea worm, a personal connection to the ubiquitous pinworm). The most striking thing about the book are the illustrations—they are stippled and depict parasites, life history stages, and people infected with parasites. Many of the people are in homage to or parodies of classical art. The author’s attitude towards people living in developing countries seems paternalistic, which is an unpleasant running theme in the background of this book. Maybe skip this one—seek out Parasite Rex or People, Parasites and Plowshares for similar, better books.

5. The Wonders by John Woolf. The topic of the book is on the Victorian era and freak show performers. The main focus on the book is Charles Stratton, who performed under the name General Tom Thumb with PT Barnum. I suspect that the project started as a biography of Stratton, and then changed focus when the author realized he couldn’t find enough verifiable material for a full length book. Other performers who receive biographical information are Chang and Eng Bunker, who are the reason conjoined twins are still referred to as “Siamese Twins” to this day; Daniel Lambert, who influenced the depiction of John Bull as fat; Joice Heth, who was advertised by Barnum as the world’s oldest woman (and cruelly exploited—her chapters are difficult reading); and Julia Pastrana (whose manager was even crueler, and weirder, than Barnum). The writing flows well, and is highly empathetic to the performers. Parts of these stories are ones I’ve read before in other books, but Woolf has a good eye for detail and for connecting the people he writes about to the events of the era. The sexualization of non-normal bodies is covered extensively in the book. The sexualization of “Tom Thumb” when he was a child performer was especially alarming and troubling. Highly recommended—best book I’ve read so far in quarantine.

6. Life in the Dark by Danté Fenolio. This was a pleasant surprise. Specifically, that the book didn’t focus solely on abyssal life, which is what I expected going in. Other creatures adapted to low light environments, such as cave dwelling species, burrowers and even parasites are covered as well. It’s mostly a photo book, with captions describing the animals and their adaptations, but each chapter has a few pages of text introducing it. The photography is uniformly excellent, and the book sent me down a few rabbit holes looking up the interrelatedness of different groups of fish. My only complaint is the final chapter—chapters on the need for conservation work are de rigueur in books about the natural world these days, but the text in this one is somewhat overwrought (and the last photograph, of a sunset over the ocean, doesn’t help matters).

7. Skeleton Keys by Riley Black, writing as Brian Switek. This is a book I’ve been meaning to read for some time. The book is about skeletons—the evolution of the vertebrate skeleton, the structure of the human skeleton and the cultural significance of it. It is heavily informed by the real world events surrounding it. As the header implies, Black came out as trans shortly after writing the book (the second, paperback edition calls Brian Switek her “pen name”). The idea of “osteological sex” correlated with pelvis shape is strongly stressed in the text as not the same thing as either sex or gender, and references exist to gender identity and personal perception when referring to people both ancient and modern. Black is a good writer—I’ve enjoyed all of her books. I would have preferred the book be illustrated, though. The only illustrations in the book are chapter plates borrowed from public domain osteology texts. I understand the practical considerations, but it’s slightly disappointing. Still, definitely recommended.

8. Monster, She Wrote by Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson. This is not exactly the book I was expecting. The subtitle is “the women who pioneered horror and speculative fiction”. I was expecting a series of short biographical sketches of a dozen or so earlier writers in those genres; something more like the approach to the various performers in The Wonders. Instead, it covers a few dozen women, from Margaret Cavendish to the modern day. And while it does give some biographical information, it is much more a recommended reading list than anything else. Fun, but I was hoping for something more substantive.

9. Invasive Plants by Sylvan Ramsey Kaufman and Wallace Kaufman. It’s a field guide. The photographs are nice, but it’s a field guide, so not exactly gripping reading. What struck me the most was how many of the plants covered I recognized from my backyard growing up. The authors are on the East Coast (in Maryland), and the East and South get a bit more attention than other parts of the country. As someone who is intimately familiar with some of the invasive plants of California, some that weren’t in the book (Sahara mustard and ice plant especially) struck me as notable omissions. It was cool to see references to plants I’ve worked on and scientists I’ve worked with in the sources.

10. Life through the Ages II by Mark Witton. This is a loose sequel to Charles Knight’s Life through the Ages; it’s designed to be a look at the state of paleoart and paleontology in the early 21th century, the way Knight’s book was a look at the ideas of the mid-20th century. The paintings in the book are gorgeous and well-informed, as Witton’s work generally is. About half of them have appeared on his blog in various forms previously, but some of the best are debuting here. Some of the paintings that stand out the most to me are a very grand stromatolite; an Atropodenatus howling at a suggestively shaped rock that strikes me as being influenced by Bradbury’s “The Fog Horn” and Harryhausen’s The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms; an Opthamalosaurus swimming by a coastline studded with dead trees that look much like the decaying columns of an ancient civilization; a Georgiacetus mother watching over her calf rolling around on a rocky shore; and a Neanderthal family protecting their curious child from getting too close to a wooly mammoth.  

[sarakuper]

San Rafael; Work Away

Stop #3, December 21-January 7

Our time in San Rafael was very relaxing, thrilling, and interesting. Some days we spent doing little to nothing, which was nice for a few days but too boring for me at some points. Other days Sean and I did some awesome activities pushing us both way out of our comfort zones. Lastly, we experienced authentic Colombian culture first hand. Being there for holidays and festivals meant we were there for some of the most quiet and exciting days of the year.

When we arrived on Saturday we had no idea what to expect. This stop being our first WorkAway, we wondered…what work would we be doing? How many hours were expected of us? Are any meals included? For that first day we hung out and enjoyed the beautiful location at the hostel, which is located on a steep hill, completely open and overlooking the city. It’s totally lush and absolutely beautiful. The view alone is a reason to spend all day in the hostel relaxing. 

There are 3 people who own the hostel, all Colombian, and all in their 20’s. Lili was there when we arrived, Manuel arrived the next day (Sunday), and Laura arrived after spending Christmas with her family in Medellin. Immediately after arriving Sean and I fell in love with their cat Canela, which is “cinnamon” in Spanish. We thought she was a kitten because she isn’t full sized, but it turns out she is an old lady! She lived on the property with the previous owner, who was thought to be not very kind to her. When Lili, Laura, and Manuel bought the place about a year ago, Canela was pregnant with a dead litter. They paid to have them surgically removed, and since then Canela has been their beloved pet. She is so cuddly and sweet. She jumps on your lap for pets or a nap, and she answer to your calls. She’s the kind of cat that acts like a dog. We immediately fell in love with her. It’s not like we are trying to fill a void or anything... :)

When Manuel arrived on Sunday we discussed the work we would be doing; we would redo the kitchen (and it really needed it) and lunch would be provided. We started making plans for this work Monday morning. I was going to repaint the kitchen and organize it differently while Sean would build some cabinet doors and shelves. Our work load was different each day. Sometimes we felt good with the work we were doing that we spent hours doing it. Other days we did little to nothing. Either way, Leidy and Karen came every morning to clean the hostel, and during our first week Leidy cooked us lunch too. And wow did she cook us the most delicious healthy food!!!

Leidy and Karen live in the same building as the hostel/language school in a separate apartment. Leidy is probably in her late 30’s or early 40’s, and Karen is her 10 year old daughter. Neither of them spoke a word of english, but they quickly became a big part of our trip in San Rafael. Since Karen was off from school she came to help her mom cook and clean every morning. One morning I was doing some henna on hands and legs when Karen told me “linda!” which means “cute” or “pretty” in Spanish. I asked her if she wanted one, and when she said yes I told her to ask her mom first. Next thing you know, I was giving henna tattoos to both Karen and Leidy; mandala type flowers on their legs and their names written on their wrists. I wish I took a photo of this, but I didn’t :(. I did however take a picture of my henna, and finally took a picture with Leidy and Karen on our last day.

From then on, Karen and I would hang out together almost every morning. She would help me study Spanish while also helping her mom work. I would pull up a new vocabulary word I wanted to learn from an app on my phone, and she and I would practice using that word in a sentence. She would then correct my awful grammar before moving on to the next new word. Some evenings after that I saw Karen and Leidy hanging out outside or walking into town. We always talked and all made efforts to communicate as much as possible. My broken Spanish was enough to connect with both of them, but what it really highlighted was that you don’t need to speak the same language to express love and kindness.

Over Christmas Eve we joined Lili’s boyfriend, Brandon, at his house where he was hosting a BBQ. And that’s exactly how Colombians celebrate Christmas; they BBQ on the street with beers and loud music. And they were kind enough to grill lots of veggies for me :)

During our time in San Rafael we experienced some epic thunder storms. It rained almost every night, and being in a hostel where the common area is wide open made the storms so fun. Normally when we went into town we did so in the evening and nights, only because the days were so hot, and so walking up and down the hills to the city center was a bit warm… but, every time we went out at night it was like a guessing game if we would get poured on. Every night was cloudy, so there was really no telling. It made it a little more fun :) I love rain in warm weather! 

Another day, after working and panting in the morning, we went to the nearest watering hole for a quick swim. Lili’s mom was in town, so we went together plus Bendzhi, a Chinese girl staying at our hostel long term. The watering hole was amazing for people watching. So many locals go there to cool off and swim. Kids ands dogs run around everywhere while vendors sell snacks from fresh fruit to churros. I wish I had photos, but it was better to bring little to nothing since we were ditching our stuff to go swimming.

Steve was another guy at our hostel, probably in his mid 40’s, and from Canada. We spent a good amount of time with him, especially after hiking to a waterfall with him, and Manuel. The hike was pretty short but beautiful. We walked right by horses and cows/bulls before approaching the waterfall.

Just before NYE Lili left to spend time in San Carlos, another town about an hour west, for the next month or so. Laura and Manuel both went to meet Manuel’s family, and so Sean and I had the hostel to ourselves. We went out in town and hung out at a bar until midnight, when everyone got up to hug and kiss each other. Soon after Sean and I went home to hit the hay. Neither of us were feeling great (my throat was sore and he had an allergy attack), plus we don’t particularly care much for this holiday.  

Something I loved about staying at this hostel was that on most days a group of small monkeys would come looking for food. Of course we bought bananas in preparation of this, and fed them quite often. They are so small and so cute!!! They would call at us until we fed them their beloved bananas.

The most exciting thing we did during our time in San Rafael was a canyoneering trip with Manuel, his sister Julianna, and her husband Freddy. We hiked to a spot along a river, got into wet suits and harnesses, and began our decent in the river. We slid down the rocks, jumped off cliffs, and repelled our way through the river. Sean’s fear of heights kicked in during the last part of the activity. But, there we were.. and there was no turning back! This trip was short, but seriously one of the coolest things we’ve done. We were so high on life from the awesome adventure it was!

Another day Manuel and Laura invited us on a fishing trip again with his sister and brother in law. We fished along a river, and although Sean and I both didn’t catch anything we still enjoyed the experience very much. Colorful birds where flying all around us, calling out to each other, and it was really beautiful to watch. Eventually we made our way to a waterfall where we “parked” our boats to go explore. We climbed to the top of the waterfall where we found a beautiful swimming hole to enjoy all to ourselves. We explored deeper, climbing up the next small waterfall. It was absolutely stunning, and easily the highlight of the fishing trip. We swam and jumped off the rocks (don’t worry- Manuel, a certified guide, checked to see that they were safe first) while enjoying all the beauty around us.

The next day we had the opportunity to visit a Panela farm, watching its production from start to finish. Panela is the natural sweetener widely used here in Colombia, and I think a lot of Latin America. It comes in thick blocks that are chipped at and use as sweeter for many of their drinks, specifically chocolate (the drink) and natural juice. We started by crushing the sugarcane using a machine, followed by a long cleaning process to purify the juice before it crystalizes into a sugar. The colombian family that owns the farm has been making Panela all their lives. The whole operation is run between 4 siblings; 3 brothers and 1 sister, all in their 70’s. The abuela welcomed us into her beautiful home and made us breakfast, and then lunch once it got late enough in the afternoon. I am so grateful to have been welcomed to this family’s farm and home with arms open wide. The love they put into this work, and the history behind it all makes it so special. For so many reasons this day was one I will never forget.

One of the last events that went on while we were gone (and yes, wow, a lot has really happened) was Festivo del Rio, festival of the river. We are not sure how the name is related to the celebrations, but what we do know is that this small town fills up with tons of Colombians from all over the country to come celebrate this festival at San Rafael. Restaurants were packed, the hostel we stayed at was fully booked, and the streets were crowded with happy people. On Friday night we watched part of the parade, where structures of mythical creatures ran the streets breathing fire and pure fun.

At the beginning of this post I wrote that times during this leg of the trip I was bored, yet I didn’t get to writing any of this post until the bus ride out of town. I didn’t realize how many special experiences we had until it was time to write about it. But thats exactly why I do this :)

And now that I am writing this while on the bus leaving San Rafael, it feels bitter sweet to leave. This town is so authentically Colombian. The only other English speakers we met were 3 others from our hostel, one Canadian, one American, and one Chinese who spoke English fluently. Saying goodbye was so sweet, as Laura told me that seeing my face is like getting a dose a diabetes. There’s a bit of a language barrier there.. but what she was saying is that I’m so sweet and she feels that every time she sees my face 😂. As for Leidy and Karen... well Leidy starting to cry. I told her “I miss you” in Spanish because I have no idea how to speak in future tense to say “I will miss you”. Karen, her 10 year old daughter who was my best friend on this leg of the trip, gave me hugs goodbye. I will miss practicing Spanish with her very much. She actually knows how to explain things to me better than the adults!

Anyway, I am so looking forward to Josh’s arrival! This is just the start of what I think will be a very fun month with friends (Sam and Victoria next week) and then my mom and cousin Maria in Cartagena! 

Thanks for reading fam, love you all.

[adventuras-de-nicaragua]

Cabalgando al oeste

After hiking volcano Conception we were pretty tired and didn't feel up to much. Being aware it was Christmas we ventured out to a very colorful bar/cafe and shared a liter of Tona, local beer,  before figuring out our dinner plans. The town is made for tourist, however with it being Christmas not much was open, only a pizza restaurant and Mexican place. We opted for the pizza restaurant. A family of 5 were eating there as well and we noticed they had Christmas crackers, an English tradition. They heard us inquire about how they have them, as they didn't sound Brittish and found out they were Canadian and that in Canada it also is a tradition. The family had a couple spares and gave them to us, a bit of Christmas cheer was a welcomed surprised.

The next morning we woke early to catch the 6 am ferry back to the San Jorge port. We had a long day of cycling ahead, 110km ending at the west coast town of Pocohmil. We booked a resort that backed onto the beach and were excited to get there with some afternoon left to enjoy the ocean. We were a bit dreading waking up so early to catch the early ferry, but were rewarded with a dramatic sunrise over the volcanoes. The night before we bought two cold cappuccino drinks to enjoy on the 1.5 hour ferry and that always improved the ferry experience. Getting the bikes on and off and having to pay for them twice, stil not sure why we needed to do that both ways, is an added complication that was necessary.

The beginning of the ride was on the Pan American Highway, a good black top with a wide shoulder and for the first time while riding bright blue sky. Blue sky always makes everything better. We got to a main junction 2 hours in and I wanted to stop for a coffee and snack. Alex was convinced a decent looking place to stop on the side of the highway was not in the cards, but assured him there would be something. Luckily, right at the end of mini shops was an outdoor cafe with decent looking tables. We happily rolled in and ordered two coffees with eggs and a sandwich.

The next part of the ride was 30km up hill until we got to the town of Diriamba. Once there we would turn left and take a highway 20 km towards the west coast before turning off onto dirt tracks for 30 km. Getting closer to Diriamba and we saw the first real view at local life in Nicaragua away from the tourist centers. The places were decent looking towns with bustling main streets and lots of tuk tuks, horse and buggies, and trucks, mostly every vehicle is either a chicken bus or a truck. We stopped in Diriamba for lunch and were pleasantly surprised to find a Mexican restaurant with eye sight of the center cathedral and park. We both order quesadillas and local drinks, mine a cocoa milk drink and Alex a Pineapple fruit drink; Alex's ended up better.

After lunch was the best cycling part of the trip thus far. We had a honking tail wind and a steady downhill for 20 km! We flew down the good conditioned black top road- even over taking tuk tuk and other slower vehicles. Life was good. Too quickly we reached our turning point onto the dirt roads and things turned sour. Dirt roads sound fun, but in practicality are ten times harder. The jostling of the bikes and every peddle stroke is harder makes your muscles tighten and energy drained. The downhills becomes 'oh shit' moments trying to see the coming potholes with your head pouncing around. The path at times varied from relatively smooth dirt path to rocky slippery surfaces. Near to the end the path degraded even further and eventually forcing us to get off of our bikes. The road to our resort was broken and 45 degree angle downward making the last 5 minutes hell, but then we were on the west coast!

We were feeling quite low when we rolled our bikes into the hotel. The staff looked at us very questionable until I said we had a reservation. Once that was verified they were happy to have us bring our bikes into the gates and find them a home. Our room was nothing too fancy but enough to make staying quite comfy. We quickly showered and found our way through the terrace garden that lead to the beach. The beach was quite with only a handful of people in the distance and the sounds of the waves crashing. We opted for a swim that cooled our sunburn we had been building up.

After some time beers seemed necessary and I lay on the hammock and enjoy this small piece of paradise we have. We had booked this place for two reasons; to see the west coast and secondly to not have to leave this place until we roll out the next day. The hotel served dinner, more at a tourist price, but hey you can see the ocean in the background. I was a bit unlucky and order the fish of the day and did not realize it would come full head en tact. Although it looked like a good size the eatable meat was less so and I ended up stealing some of Alex's beef kaboobs. We treated ourselves with a bottle of wine and chilled on the garden terrace recovering from our long day out and even played cards.

The next morning we woke and once again went to the garden overlooking the beach for breakfast. The serving staff were new and my spanish not adequate enough to answer all their questions and breakfast maybe taking a bit longer than we would have liked. We summed this up as okay since we got a nice fruit cup, fruit juice, two coffees and a plate of eggs with rice and beans. We had to then push our bikes up the two hills to get out of town on the horrible dirt/rocky road until we found a rideable cobbled road. We were excited to see the cobbled road and fast forward half an hour were hating the cobbles. Large cobbles are okay for a small amount of time, but after 10 minutes you get fed up with the bobbling along, taking longer,  and the additional shock to your hands. We had no idea if the cobbles were ever going to go away and afraid if we had 100 km of all cobble that we would be in very bad spirits. After 40 km we joined a different road and could only hope it would be better.

When we saw the turn off for the road my mood plumeted when I saw it was cobbled. We took the road feeling defeated when we saw that it was more of a triangle and our road broke again to join another road, a paved road! Life was good again. We had 60 km on the nice paves roads into Leon and the time seemed to roll along. The views got better in the distance, with sights of many different volcanoes. One thing that is not as nice as in other countries is the options of places to stop and eat are few with most of them not looking so well. We took one out of our books from China and stopped at a gas station, as they always have something to eat and drink. A local came over and tried talking to me about our trip. He was concerned we were trying to go to Leon on the road. Once I explained to him in Spanish that we had already gone 70 km on roads like this he was put at ease that we could handle the last 30 km.

The last 30 km always are a pain. You are anticipating getting there and every km seems longer. Alex got a flat, our first of the journey and took some time to change out. I finally realized I should let Alex on front to get a wind blocker, helping me survive the final run into Leon. Our hotel we booked was called Leo and Pinata and was two blocks from the main cathedral. Immediately we realized Leon is going to be a very different city than Granada was. We found it down the cobbled, why are all the cities have cobbled roads?, road and through my spanglish got us to our room for the next two nights.