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Rio San Juan Trip

A week ago Wednesday five courageous men left Granada for the wilderness and the rain forests of the San Juan River to brave the swift currents in search of the great fish Tarpon. These men were a stripe above the ordinary hombres. They even left their womenfolk behind to brave the elements and to rough it up some. Sometimes men just have to be men. At the time we did not know that one of us was already a walking wounded.

We took the gas chariot up North around the tip of the great Lake Cocibolca then headed Southeast through the mysterious Chontales mountains and hills that can be seen from Granada across the waters. The roads and paths rambled through the cattle country and many a critter blocked or slowed down our progress but our spirits never flagged. During the long ride we lauded each other with tales of past adventures of feats and bravado but we knew we were of the few that had made it this far which gave us the strength to persevere and created this band of brothers. With few stops for rest or even for necessity we continued down the eastern lake shores all the way to San Carlos sitting at the mouth of the mighty Rio San Juan. Leaving the womenfolk behind allowed us to make good time, lightened the load and of course, negated the need to ask for directions.

San Carlos is a sleepy little town and the news of the surprise arrival of the five hombres spread quickly. Women rushed to the windows and doors of their homes to see us pass but we were on a mission and had no time even to wave. It would have been cruel to get their hopes up when we all knew the survivors would be returning to our homes and family after the quest for the great fish Tarpon.

We found a safe haven for our gas chariot and looked for a worthy boat to take us on the final leg of our journey. After the usual bartering and blustering, we secured passage, loaded our few possessions and headed down the rushing, meandering river. Many of the people of San Carlos gathered to see us off, wondering when and how many of the brave Yanquis would return. An old man with an even older guitar was already beginning to form the ballad of Los Yanquis Contra El Rio. At that time I wondered if I would ever hear the final verse. It didn’t matter. It was all about the quest. Even if we failed to return, our sons and daughters would hear the stories and perhaps the old man’s song from our grieving widows. A man has gotta do what a man has gotta do!

Even the gods were against us as the heavens opened up to a deluge of rain as we floated down the mighty river. After many hours of huddling together and ensuring the rudder kept us in the middle of the flowing waters, we arrived at the wilderness lodge and found our old friend and guide that still lived there. We gathered around the fire to dry our clothes and plan for the adventure in the morning. While the lodge was rustic, the tiring journey ensured we slept soundly though we could hear the many different animals and creatures of the rain forest around us, kept away only by the roaring fire.

Just before dawn, we awoke and put a kettle on the dying embers and used what little dry coffee we could find. I was rolling a cigarette when we heard a crash in the surrounding darkness  and into our circle jumped a ……………………………………………….

Well, perhaps I exaggerated a little bit but it is easy to get carried away. There really were five of us and we hoped to do some fishing.

With the new road, it takes about four and a half hours to get to San Carlos from Granada. Or you can take the Granada ferry but that takes 15 hours though a fun ride and experience. And you can always fly from Managua to San Carlos. We were staying at the Montecristo River Lodge so they had a boat waiting for us and one and a half hours later we were at the lodge.

All of the details are at http://www.montecristoriverlodge.com/ but the cabins are comfortable with hot water. Try to get the cabin upfront since it has three bedrooms and a porch overlooking the river. Costs differ according to the season but ours was $75 per day per person but included all meals and most of the activities there. The meals are not just good but great and you usually have a choice between three offerings depending on your mood and hunger. There are quite a few activities that are included such as horseback riding, hiking, birding, kayaking, fishing off the dock or my favorite, reading in a hammock.  If you catch some snook or other delicacies, they will cook them for your dinner. Depending on the time of the year, there are giant river shrimp as big as small lobsters. Boat fishing is $150 for a half day per boat. We had five guys so we took two boats. Agustin Llanes will take good care of you and his employees are all friendly and knowledgeable. Yes, even coffee at 5:00 AM which was important to me. The scenery is the best part and it is beautiful but a bit cooler than Granada so take a jacket and something to keep you dry. This is the rain forest, after all!

I won’t bore you with all of the details but suffice it to say we had a good time over the three days. We had quite a few strikes but most of the  time the Tarpon were able to break the line or throw the lure. My goodness, I’m using fishing technical terms! But on the final day and using one of our smallest lures, a monster Tarpon struck and stayed on the line. A characeristic trait of catching a Tarpon is that it immediately jumps straight out of the water, arches itself like a Russian ballerina and splashes back into the water letting you know that the battle now begins. Surprisingly, the Rio San Juan is not very deep and where we were fishing, it was only six-seven feet deep.

Rio San Juan Dec 2013 (40)

Thus began an hour and half of getting the fish to the boat. The battle for supremacy began about a kilometer upriver from the lodge and finished about two kilometers down river. A fish is not considered caught until you can touch the leader part of the line. My other brother, Darrell, was the lucky one having the fish hit his line and it took all of his strength to last the entire time. From the photo you can see how big the fish was.

I should state that Tarpon are “catch and release” but due to difficulties our pilot had in gaffing the Tarpon and the battle to bring it to the boat we were advised to bring the fish in since it would probably die if released. The officials get very upset when they see a Tarpon floating down the river. This is the only reason we were able to get the great photos. They really are not good eating fish so we gave it to some locals who we hear made sausage out of it. We were sorry to see such a great fighter not being released.

Rio San Juan Dec 2013 Group

Soooo……. we had a great time and returned that Saturday. Unfortunately, we did have a little scare at the end. Right after catching the fish our winning fisherman developed some chest pain and was having some difficulty breathing. Immediately upon our return he went straight to the hospital to determine the cause. He ended up spending almost a week at the hospital getting his health back. To us, it seemed like the classic heart problems or clogged arteries. It turned out that he had had a sore on his head prior to the trip that became infected, led to an infection in the blood then the infection spread to the heart and other organs. He is now recuperating though even that didn’t dampen his enthusiasm in catching the mighty Tarpon. So be careful when you have an open wound of any kind due to the possibility of infection. I had had something similar happen to me a couple years ago.

Other than that, we had a great time and recommend the trip to everyone.

Darrell Bushnell

 

 

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