24 y 25 de Enero 2011

Mari and I visited La Isla de Ometepe in Lago de Nicaragua, staying two nights in a town called Moyogalpa. This island is quite beautiful, as both halves of the island are composed of volcanoes jetting up in the center, typically hiding their heads in the cloud cover above.


The first night we stayed in a place near the ferry dock named Hotel Ometepetl for $15 USD. It was okay, nothing special except that we had a television for the first time in a long time that recieved fuzzy yet watchable reception. It was more than good enough for us to watch some spanish versioned Family Guy and Simpsons episodes. But after one night, we decided to switch and ended up at a place named Hotel Sinai for $8 USD. Cheaper and actually not too shabby.

The first night on the island we relaxed, ate pizza, drank some beer, and watched a bit of television. The following day after switching hotels, we rented a motorcycle for the day to explore a bit of the island. After a quick refresher on how to change gears, and map in hand, Mari and I set off to circumnavigate the island and take in the little towns dispersed outside the main thoroughfare of Moyogalpa.

View from the ferry as we approached the island.

Look at this little cutie with her pet bird. The children on the trip are literally killing us with their inherent cuteness.

As Mari and I were cruising around on the motorcycle we passed this duo placed in charge of the herd.

We stopped off for a quick swim in Lago de Nicaragua at a little beach called Charco Verde. And I mean little. It was tiny. But I kept hearing that the lake waters are high, so perhaps the beach simply disappeared for a bit beneath the depth of the water. The sand is black, with bits of polished quartz flecked within. Upon leaving the beach, this is the view of Volcan Concepcion we encountered. Nearly rid of its hat cloud and visibly spewing smoke.

The sunset right at the ferry dock, setting over the Lake. I took this pic as trucks full of plantains were boarding the ferry back to San Jorge.

Ometepe was a great stop, and what a unique location in the world. A twin volcanoe island in the middle of a giant lake. How much more picturesque can it get?

24 de Enero 2011

Mari and I left Granada this morning, taking the bus south to Rivas where we caught a taxi headed to the ferries located in a town called San Jorge. The ferries head out to the Islas de Ometepe, two volcanoes that compose an island in the Lago de Nicaragua. The vocanos are Volcan Concepcion and Volcan Maderas. Both exquisite in size and beauty. Stepping off the ferry, we set foot in a town called Moyogalpa, the largest of the towns on the island, and the place we will be staying tonight.

The bus from Granada to Rivas cost us 48 Cordobas, the taxi cost us 45 Cordobas, and the Ferry was 120 Cordobas. Transportation costs put us just under $10 USD for the day. For the last several weeks Mari and I have been traveling on chicken buses, but didnt get the ¨real¨deal until our bus ride today, where people actually had chickens in hand. We shot a small video of a cute little boy and his chicken that I hope to somehow edit and post in the (near??) future.

As for the ferry ride, what a beautiful sight it was this afternoon as we whisked across the water heading towards the island and its two giant volcanoes looming in the distance, each shrouded in cloud cover near the top. The day was slightly windy and the water was quite choppy, making for a bumpy, swaying and rocking boat ride. But....still, nothing compared the boat ride I had a few years back crossing from Morocco to Spain where I thought the boat was actually going to break to pieces and we were all going to drown. This one just imparted the slight feeling of uneasiness that sets your mind thinking out possibilites.

So far... Moyogalpa appears to be a pleasant, small, tranquil island town. The water in the surrounding lake appears to be a muddy, brownish color, reminding Mari of the River Plate that seperates Argentina and Uruguay.

We walked around and checked out 5 places to stay and nothing jumps out as amazing, so I suppose we will just choose one that is on the nicer side and start making more decisions. I decided today we are becoming more picky in our decisions regarding where to stay. I think after traveling as long as I have through several countries, always holing up in hostels, I could create a pretty kick ass hostel that would offer and cater to the desires and whims of travelers. I know this to be true, because we are sometimes quite disappointed in the options of places we have to stay, that offer sometimes nothing spectacular. I wish I could open a hostel consulting firm, where I could help locals create hostels that cater to foreigners. That way travelers could support the local businesses, and it would be a win win situation. Typically, foreigners set up the better hostels, as they know what travelers want and need, thus circumventing the local businesses.

While in Granada we visited another Volcano, named Volcan Masaya. It was located roughly 20 Km outside of Granada, and after two short bus journeys, we were left at the entrance to the park. We paid our entrance and were planning on walking the 6 Km to the top, but after jokingly sticking out my thumb to hitchhike to the top, the car actually stopped and we hopped in for the the short drive to the summit. And what a site it was. A giant smoking crater puffing out throat scraping fumes. Luckily the wind was to our backs and we could enjoy the views without much hinderence. I hope to post some spectacular pics next time I swing by the internet cafe.

Ciao for now.