http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Central America Caribbean , Nicaragua , Isla de Ometepe , Santo Domingo en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:45:54 BST Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:45:54 BST We had all heard raving reviews of Isla de Ometepe so a few of us made the journey to the island after a couple of nights in San Juan Del Sur. A very easy journey in all although the 2 english girls I was travelling with were very concious of their bags thus wanting to take a taxi everywhere rather than the local buses which made it quite expensive in total but a little quicker. Upon arriving in http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-303725.html Thursday morning Mo joined us for breakfast at Betty's. Again Betty cooked a traditional Latinoamerican breakfast with lots of fruit avocado tomato salad fried plantains and rice beans. At 9am we left for San Jorge where we boarded a onehour ferry to the island. The island is made from the eruptions of two volcanoes. The lava from both volcanoes has connected to form one island. The n http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-295882.html The next morning we went to Granada Nicaragua after waking up early to catch the bus in Managua. What a great thing to have Michelle by my side now to do all of the things I was accustomed to doing solo for so long waiting for buses looking for places to stay discovering a new city etc. Michelle got her first taste of Latin America unpredictability when an old lady about 80 years old in front http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-280561.html isla de ometepe island constituated of two active volcanoes that have joined. a little piece of paradise very relaxed very calm hammock life a little too calm for natasha. we stayed in a farm where we had to autostop a pick up truck an american kid on a christianisation mission on the island really colonialism then walk for 30 minutes with our huge backpacks up a steep hill to finally ar http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-272341.html Hello again everyoneI hope you're all feeling suitably festive and are not having to return to work for a few days. The sun is beating down fiercely here and I've never felt less Christmassy But in a good way.We had a lovely second week at La Mariposa with more Spanish grammarbased fun and a host of other afternoon activities including a trip to the Pacific coast swimming in a lagoon in the http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-229174.html Estamos de vuelta en Espaa y no me lo puedo creer. Qu rpidos que han pasado los ltimos 4 meses. Pues la ultima Blog era por all en Costa Rica. Despidiendo mis amigos fue algo extrao. Nunca he hecho uno de estas despedidas grandes desde una parada de bus. Donde estaban los aviones las largas colas los oficiales de aduana la puerta de facturacin Ninguno a la vista y as mientras que http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-201583.html Deciding to come to Nicaragua was a literallly a coin toss. After the girls left for home and me alone to travel in San Jose I couldnt decide on going to the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica or coming up to another country. The border crossing between Nicaragua and Costa Rica is famous for being confusing and after the Panama fiasco I was kind of hoping the coin would land heads for the Osa. Tails http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-180521.html I left Granada and headed to Rivas to take the bus the next day into Costa Rica to reup my time. I was told that I would have to be there for 72 hours and made some plans of things to do there. When I got into Costa Rica they told me I didn't need to stay so I had breakfast and went back to Nicaragua and decided to go to Isla De Ometepe. It is an island in Lago Nicaragua the largest lake in Cen http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-157407.html We have lived the past couple of weeks very Americanized living in Best Westerns Marriotts Four Seasons eating fast food and best of all being visited by Americans. Neil Grahams brother joined us in Panama. Have you ever wondered how the Panama Canal functions Well we know so if you want to know too then ask us. We hiked in a national park outside of Panama City not the one beside Des http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-141351.html So from what i had read ometepe was supposed to be an amazing island. If you can picture 2 volcanoes in your mind that had created an island and smack inbetween them was where we were staying. Sure the island was full of crazy birds that attacked your food at the table and monkeys that would swing around you trying to take you food and anorexic cows and horses. But it was super hot and dusty http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-132728.html HolaKom just fran stranden dar jag avslutade en bok. Det blir mycket lasande pa den har resan. Det ar bra eftersom man inte hinner med det nar man ar hemma. I gar hade jag magen sjuk och ingen energi. Men nu ar jag ok. Maten har i centralamerika har inte varit nagon otrolig gourmetupplevelse. Det mesta ar stekt i rikligt med olja. Oftast kan man valja mellan hona och fisk. Pa en del stallen finns http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-124417.html Sorry for denna onodiga kommentar men det finns ingen horbarhet pa den har on och internet ar javligt langsamt. Man kommer ihag hur det var i borjan av nittiotalet... Sa for alla oroliga foraldrar Vi kan inte svara pa naga viestin. Ta det lugnt allting ar perfektI morgon skall vi upp 430 och vulkanbestiga ena vulkanen den har on ar bildad av.Vi har inte ennu sett nagra sotvattenshajar sa chi http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-122910.html today i am relaxing. i just spent two hours on the beach...reading swimming listening to my IPOD watching the birds listening to the howler monkeys and just chilling. my knees are a little sore today from yesterdays climb up volcan maderas.it took us 7 hours round trip to climb the volcano. johan and i started at 1130 and the weather at the bottom of the volcano was hot and humid. but a http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-84389.html i created this travel blog as a way to share my travel experiences with my friends and family...those people who know me well and know my personal nuances and ways of expressing myself. since this travel blog is public others are able to view it...others who do not know me and some have taken offense to some of the things i have written.so i would like to make a few disclaimers for those strange http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-83895.html We managed to check our of our dungeon room and into the much nicer Villa Paraiso in the morning. It was about 1000 times better and only 21 vs 20 next door.We borrowed some bikes and went for a ride along the smashed up rocky dirt road. The people on the island and Nicaragua in general are very poor and live in very basic conditions. They wash their clothes on rocks either in the creek or th http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-80827.html We woke up at 5am to a dog yowling and barking. After investigating it turned out the the dog was just in his kennel and wanted to get out. Since we were already awake we decided to try catching the early bus out of town. Since it was a public holiday noone could tell us whether or not the buses might be running but fortunately one turned up at 6am. We changed buses at Liberia and got to Pea http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-80825.html I got on the bus in San Jose last Wednesday at 715 in the morning not really having any idea as to what I was in for. I had this bad feeling that it was going to be a free for all at the border then chaos trying to get to the island...and for the most part I was right. The border crossing from Costa Rica into Nicaragua at Penas Blancas is an absolute circus show. I have never been bombarded by http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-54663.html Na 4 weken in Costa Rica had ik het wel gezien. Prijzen als thuis en mensen die spontaal Engels tegen je lullen. Even waande ik me in de nieuwste vereenigde staat. De dag volgend op deze nare ervaring heb ik mn reis naar de grens ingezet. 150 km afgelegd in 7 uur tsja het bussysteem is niet zo goed.Er zijn directe bussen van Costa Rica naar Nicaragua maar die gaan voornamelijk van hoofdstad naar http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-48236.html The drive across the border from Monteverde to Nicaragua took 4 hours. We made a journey from Rivas then taxi to San Jorge and then a ferry across the lake to the Island of Ometepe. Ometepe is dominated by an impressive volcano on its horizon a Hollywood looking Volcano The ferry wasn't an official one and was an experience We were all crammed in to the lower deck us and many locals an http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Santo-Domingo/blog-47087.html