Volcano Island

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Hola all,

Sorry for the long repreve from the computer, but we're finally back into the technology savy areas of Costa Rica that have faster (and cheaper) internet connections. So hgappy reading...

After Granada, we decided to return to CR on a path slightly less followed... i.e. by ferry down Lake Nicaragua. The first portion of this journey took us on a 4 hour boat ride to the Island of Ometepe. We jumped ship here and made plans to catch the next one passing by that left in 3 days, giving us some time to explore this cool island.

The island of Omotepe was formed by 2 volcanos that rose out of the lake side by side and have since joined together as they grew. A very beautiful spot; it still retains Nicragua's traditional rural lifestyle of small cattle ranches and plantain farms (plantains are similar to bananas but larger and starchier - a staple in most Nicaraguan's diets). Omotepe can boast that it has some of the roughest roads ever. For example, the bus ride from our guest house to the ferry took over 2 hours yet it only covered 15km of roads!

We had a great time there. We rented bikes and went up to a cool waterfall one day, another day we climbed 1400 meters up one of the volcanoes to a crater lake (although poor visibility resulted in no views from the top). On our last day there we took it easy and took our time getting back to the ferry for the remainder of our journey back into Costa Rica...

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Photos

Ometepe Island
Two volcanic cones form this island.

Petroglyphs
This is an ancient calander dating back to almost 2000BC!

On the way Up
A short rest break half-way up the 1400m cone of Valcan Meaderas.

Our Sweet Guide
Cool local named Alvaro who spoke no english. We had a blast trying to communicate with him.

El Enconto
A view from the veranda of our guest house. Very relaxed place!

Cows on the Beach?
Only on Ometepe!

Chicken Family
This family loved hanging on this rock. Never seen that before.