Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
From El Castillo, collective boats leave for San Carlos (US$3.50, three hours) via Boca de
Sábalos (US$0.50, 30 minutes) at 5am, 6am, 7am and 2pm. On Sunday there are only two
services at 5am and 2pm.
Fast
pangas
to San Carlos (US$5.70, 1½ hours) via Boca de Sábalos (US$1, 15
minutes) leave at 6am and 10am.
Reserva Biológica Indio-Maíz & the River Eastward
About 15 minutes downriver from El Castillo, after Costa Rica's border tumbles down to
the edge of the river's southern bank, you'll notice a smaller river flow into the jungle to
the north. That's the
Río Bartola
, which marks the boundary of Nicaragua's second-largest
tract of intact primary forest, the 2606-sq-km
Reserva Biológica Indio-Maíz
. For years 85%
of the reserve's landmass belonged to Somoza. Thanks to geographic isolation and inac-
cessibility, followed by more than a decade of war, it was spared the chainsaw. Once the
Sandinistas took power it was legislated as a reserve and for the next several years it was
the domain of scientists and remained off-limits to tourists.
While the vast majority of the reserve remains restricted, it is now possible to visit
some small designated sections of the reserve where you can hike among 50m-tall,
500-year-old cathedral trees, search for fingernail-sized tree frogs and watch monkeys
perform death-defying leaps through the canopy.
At the confluence of Río Bartola and Río San Juan the park ranger´s office administers
a 3km walking trail that winds through the reserve's towering trees. In order to really ex-
perience the amazing rainforest ecosystem, a local guide is essential and most visitors
come on a package from El Castillo. Another 20 minutes downriver by boat is a military
post and reserve entrance at
Aguas Frescas
. While the plant life is virtually identical, it
feels even more pristine here than the Bartola section, because it is less visited by tour
groups from El Castillo, although the trail is gaining in popularity.
About an hour further along from the mouth of the Río Sarapiquí, the San Juan Delta
begins to weave through the wetlands, meeting up with the almost-as-enormous Río Col-
orado. Birding becomes increasingly interesting, and fishing even better - but note that
you have officially entered the bull sharks' territory, so no swimming.
When you finally enter the expansive Bahía de San Juan del Norte, you'll notice the
rusted old dredger owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt's Transit Company, which kept the
shipping lanes open for would-be gold prospectors en route to San Francisco. The dilapid-
ated dock to the south marks the entrance to what's left of Greytown, founded on what
