I
T IS JUST BEFORE SUNRISE ON
the San Juan River, and the sounds
of the jungle stir like an orchestra
tuning up. There is the percussive
rattle of cicadas and the staccato
putter of a motorboat, setting the reflection
of the moon on the water trembling as it
departs. There are the whoops of howler
monkeys invisible in the high canopy, and
the deep bass gulps of caimans, wallowing
in the reed-strewn shallows by the banks.
The real maestro, however, is the river itself
- foaming over rapids, making the timbers of
riverside stilt houses groan mournfully with
the quickening of the current.
What the Amazon is to Brazil, the San
Juan is to Nicaragua – a 119-mile stretch of
water journeying east from Lake Nicaragua
to the coastal lagoons of the Caribbean Sea,
forming the border with Costa Rica for its
final leagues. And midway along is the Indio
Maíz Biological Reserve – an area of virgin
rainforest more than 1,500 miles square, in
whose remoter reaches the paw prints of
jaguars, ocelots and pumas can be found.
Taking a guided trek through its muddy
footpaths in the half light of early morning,
it seems everything is constructed on a
superlative scale. Giant cobwebs cling to
towering almond trees, which might have
been saplings when conquistadors first set
foot in the New World. Minuscule poison-
dart frogs hop about the ferns, their backs
coloured luminous reds and yellows. It is
a place with a dense profusion of life in
whichever direction you happen to look:
capuchin monkeys swing from the creepers,
- San Juan
River
Follow the route of pirates
and Gold Rush pioneers
into the heart of the jungle
wild orchids burst through the leaf litter, the
rustle of displaced foliage hints at some
unseen creature escaping the attention of
approaching people. Only occasionally does
the rumble of river traffic on the San Juan
rise above the clamour of the jungle.
Without any surfaced roads nearby, the
San Juan remains an important connection
between Nicaragua’s Spanish-speaking west
and its Creole-speaking Caribbean coast –
but long ago this was the only route into
Nicaragua. In the 19th century – when the
Wild West was still wild and Panama was
canal-less – steamboats carried Gold Rush
prospectors travelling from New York to
California via the San Juan River. In the
more distant past, pirates from the Atlantic
rowed upstream through the jungle to
plunder Nicaragua’s Spanish cities.
‘I am so used to the river, I don’t even hear
the sound of it,’ says Rosa Amelia Herrera,
swinging in her rocking chair and watching
cargo boats slip past. Aged 84, she is one of
the oldest residents of the riverside village
of El Castillo, and has lived in the same stilt
house – built by her husband Cristóbal –
since she was 22. ‘All of my children were
born above the current. When I don’t hear
the sound of the river, I miss it.’A cormorant rests on the
banks of the San JuanRosa Amelia Herrera lives
with her husband Cristóbal
on the banks of the San JuanFrom San Carlos, it’s a six-hour bus trip to the
capital Managua, from which there are regular
flights to Great Corn Island. From there, it's a
half-hour boat ride to Little Corn.Luna del Rio in El Castillo has five simple
timber-panelled rooms, the best of which have
balconies looking out over the San Juan River.
Guests can eat excellent fish dishes on the terrace
(from US$56; [email protected]).
The main point of access for El Castillo is the
town of San Carlos at the source of the San Juan
River. From here, two daily panga boats take
around 90 minutes (US$6, departing 6.30am and
10am). It’s possible to arrange half-day guided
tours of the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve from
the tourist office in El Castillo (from US$56).Essentials