In the bosom of two volcanoes

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Granada was somewhat wet while we were there. Although we've been on a holiday for near enough four months now, we took the opportunity to have a bit of down time in a lovely hostel to unpack our bags and do our laundry (which to be honest was well overdue). Granada has so much to offer in history, architecture and general atmosphere but with the rain teeming and a need to fix some lingering illness we didn't actually do that much.

Visa concerns meant that we've pushed on to Omepete, which is dubbed 'the land where fairytales are made'. It's a small island in the centre of Lake Nicaragua which has been made by two volcanoes. During the ferry ride (which was quite comfy) you can see one of the volcanoes appearing on the horizon showing scars of lava flow surrounded by lush, tropical jungle.

The one thing that stands out it how safe the island feels. People are very friendly, living in 'typical' Latin American housing, riding on horses or chicken buses but have the most up to date mobile phones. Funny when you're on a bus, with a stranger's bum in your face and a girl is playing the bangles on her Sony Ericson. The music here is brilliant, it stuck in the 80's, playing George Michael/Bangles/Blondie. It takes great restraint not to sing along at every opportunity.

At night, the sounds are something out of Bear Grylls. It's the closest either of us has come to staying in the jungle. Just having a beer or something to eat is an adventure with every flying and creeping insect around. You can also having a chat with a centipede whilst on the loo. Why not, eh? The frogs, however, are the main backdrop to any night here. Their chorus is a loud, hauntingly low sound that makes them feel a 1000 times the size they actually are.

Well, as mentioned, our visa is running out. We've got to leave in a few days, off to Costa Rica. Both of us agree that Nicaragua is a very special country and possibly one of our favourites so far. We're going to be quite sad to leave.

Muchos quesos y amor

S&S&W

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Photos

Old house.
The town is made up of beautiful old Spanish colonial buildings.

Town square
With the federal building in the background. There's a restaurant in those arches where you'll get someone passing every two minutes trying to sell you something.

Busy Street..
On the way to the supermarket. Our Hospedaje Cocibolca had a kitchen, always a bonus with a hostel. Saves a few pennies.

Kittens!
Soooo cute.

Six week old kittens..
to play with, come free with the hostel.

Very old church
still in use (with microphones!)

Lake Nicaragua
We took a walk down to the dock and the old promenade. It was a bit run down and smelly. There's a guy waist height in the water fishing.

Room with a view
Loved this view. Made you feel like you should be writing a book and living on bread and cheese.

Town Square
The main square had a row of horse and carts. Not being sure of how well they're being looked after we didn't take a ride.

Colourful houses
The colours were so cool, a bit like being in Madrid with the colours of Dartmouth.

The dock in Granada.
It was a four hour trip to Ometepe from Granada. Pretty cool. They played Titanic on the tv (in spanish). Still, who needs English when you know most of the words anyway (hangs head in shame).

Nicaraguan Flag
On our ferry.

Steve in Huw's t-shirt..
Sorry Huw, but you left it in Utila - shame to let it go to waste. You can have it back in 8 months :O)

Sign on the ferry.
Two out of three ain't bad. :O)

Volcan Concepcion
This is one of the volcanoes that make up Ometepe. The island has been formed by two volcanoes. Quite an awesome sight.

Volcan Mederas
Taken from our beach behind our hospedaje Buena Vista in Santa Domingo.

Moonlight over Lake Nicaragua
It's difficult to capture in a photo just how lovely the view was. Combine it with the sound of the jungle, it was beautiful.

Comments

[M&D]

Well it looks as though you've had a spell of civilisation for a few days!! Yes, we remember the noise the frogs used to make in Malawi. 'ittle Willy is certainly going to be the most widely travelled lemur on the planet that's for sure. Hope the next leg of the trip is as enjoyable as the last. Keep safe. lots of love. xxxx

[Sheryl and Steve]

Frogs
The noise was quite scary until we figured out what they were. :O) Thanks for the message, hope all is well at home. Lots of love xxx

[Sheryl and Steve]

Hi Joan
He he, what a surprise. Bet you're pleased he's home safe and sound. I wonder if he's missing his t-shirt. Lots of love xxx

[Johaan CA USA]

Future Traveler
Very nice blog and pics! I will be visiting Ometepe next week. Am I correct that your hostel was Buena Vista? Do you recommend it? Super excited about the trip. Safe travels!

[Sheryl and Steve]

Hi Johaan
Yeah, Buena Vista in Santa Domingo was lovely. Very quiet and peaceful (apart from the frogs). We stayed in a cool backpackery type hostel called Hostal Central in Moyogalpa too. Happy travels!