Feb 7: El Castillo

5 am lancha to San Carlos with all the local people going to the market to sell or buy stuff. All lanchas to El Castillo are full until noon so we spend the morning online at the Internet cafe. Que gusto!
The lancha for El Castillo is skinny and long, and with the waves it moves a lot in all directions, torsion included, and we are basically seating under water level... This is when i'm grateful that my parents made me learn to swim very well! Along the way a luggage that was on top of the lancha fell in the water but we could turn around in time and pick it up. The interesting thing is that its local owner was really cool about that and he didn't look worry or annoyed at all! My seat neighbor on the lancha was Tina, a nice american woman who is writing a book about the year she spent with her 10 yo daughter with a tribe in Zinbawe. Very audacious I would say.
After 3hrs we are at El Castillo: a cute town built on stilts along Rio San Juan where they ride boats carved in tree trunks, some with engine. There's a fortress built by the spaniards in the 17th century as a defense from pirates.
We take a room literally on the river at Hotel Chinandegano, with private bath: $15 per night. This house is built on stilts directly on the water, shabby chic, as the Lonely Planet says, and their food is excellent! Recommended.
Tomorrow: trip to Indio Maiz, a natural reserve down the river, $13 per person, we are 7 and we have a guide. We rented rubber boots, I loved mine and went for a walk to town with them!