Ometepe

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ok, so, i think when i left you, i was on my way to ometepe?

i received my first proposal on the taxi drive to the ferry dock in ometepe. as a white woman traveling alone, the latino men circle like sharks. this is where not knowning spanish has actually come in handy. the conversation usually goes something like this:

hombre: are you traveling alone?
yo: yes
hombre: are you married?
yo: no
hombre: do you have any children?
yo: no
hombre: do you have a boyfriend?
yo: no
hombre: how old are you?
yo: sorry, i don't know numbers in spanish
hombre: you and me, we can get married?
yo: no
hombre: why not? don´t you want to get married?

this is where the conversation stops as i can´t answer in either yes or no or numbers. my reply is usually something like: sorry, i don´t understand you, my spanish is very bad.

this conversation has been repeated countless times.

anyway, i catch the ferry. on the way over, a nice man offers to marry me. i politely decline but accept his offer of a ride on his ´moto´. he also suggests a place to stay. when the ferry arrives into port, i learn what a moto really is. (mom, it´s probably best that you stop
reading now) moto isn´t the nica word for car. it is a motorbike! i really need to learn spanish! Thank goodness for convertable luggage. I quickly convert my suitcase into a backpack and hop on board. he drops me off at a lovely place called charco largo. he´s working but wants to come back in the afternoon and take me on a tour of the
island. i decline the tour but invite him back for dinner to pay him for the ride.

i check in and arrange to go horseback riding. it was a lovely but uneventful 2 hour ride with a cute, flirty guide who spoke no english. when i return, i take a quick dip in lake nicaragua and make some new friends of the only other group of travelers staying at the hotel. we
sit outside and watch the sunset drinking rum and cokes. i watch several little boys that had been fishing in the nearby lagoon walk along the beach with their catch. the hotel manager runs out to them and quickly negotiates their catch away. i know what i´m having for dinner tonight! oh, dinner! yikes! i´m supposed to meet that man!

i head over to the resturaunt and he is there waiting! we sit down to eat but since he speaks absolutely no english, and i speak so little spanish, there isn´t much deep conversation. i also have a hard time understanding his accent. he keeps asking a question over and over and over and i keep saying ´no entiendo´ (i don´t understand). but, he keeps asking so i call the young waiter over who speaks a little english and ask him to translate. the man repeats his question and the waiter looks at me and says ´he wants to know if he can come your room tonight´. ´No´, i say´! ´she said no´, the waiter helpfully translates back to the man. which i thought was funny because ´no´ in english and spanish are the same word. anyway, dinner ends quickly after that and he goes on his way.

i return to my new friends and tell them the story which they think is very funny. i think they had been drinking too much rum and coke as i didn´t find it funny.

i retire for the night very tired and wondering what adventure tomorrow will bring.

the next day, i find out you can rent motorbikes at the hotel. a quick discussion with one of the hotel guys indicates seeing the island by motorbike is actually a great idea! not much traffic. bad, dirt roads. all i have to do is avoid dogs, horses, cows, and the occasional truck and bus. i´ll be fine! i request the motorbike. it is actually in another town and someone has to deliver it to the hotel. it will take about 30 minutes. no problem.

my motorbike arrives. the guy delivering it is really cute! and, he speaks really good english! name´s johann. i decide to rent both the bike and the boy for the day! ahhh, life doesn´t get better than this! riding around paradise on the back of a bike holding on to a cute, fit latino! johann turns out to be a very entertaining guide. i really could go on about him but, i´ll save you the details. we visit a coffee plantation, ride along the beach (where he lets me drive)! he
takes me to some secret, hidden, adorable ecolodge for lunch, we visit some beautiful, cool springs, go to another hotel for a drink, and end the day watching the sunset from a peak called ´mirador del diablo´ where he tells me the tale of chico lago (or something like that) who originally settled charco verde, the place where i´m staying. legend is he was a witch doctor who made deals with the devil on this peak. he also had a secret city under the lagoon by the hotel where he would capture people and make them work there. after a time, he disappeared. his body was never found. his ghost still haunts the area. great, i´m going to sleep well tonight!

i decline the obligatory proposal and johann drops me at my hotel and we say our goodbyes. no hay nada mejor que esto!

chico lago doesn´t appear that night. the next day, friday, i pack up and go to moyogalpa, the island port town, where i want to get to a bank and maybe make arrangements to climb the volcano on saturday. i check into a motel and arrange for another horse. i love this place. in my broken spanish, i talked to some woman in a gift store about where to rent a horse. she goes outside and talks to some street urchins. 10 minutes later, outside her store, a little boy with his horse shows up. $4.00 an hour! great! i hop on and i´m off! this
was a much better ride than yesterday as i am on my own and the horse is much more lively. i find a lovely, shaded dirt road and enjoy the trip through the country.

when i returned, i went to the bank to get more cash. no such luck, it´s a holiday. bank is closed! yikes! i´m really low on cash! i mean really low! i hadn´t planned on this! if i´m really frugal, and stay only at hotels that take credit cards, i may be able to get back to managua!

i meet a british guy living in granada who insists that i go back with him tomorrow and he´ll show me around and loan me money if i need it. tempting as i did want to check out granada. but, i really didn´t want to be taken care of.

the next morning, with no money to pay for a guide to climb the mountain, and, it is raining besides, my mind is made up. i decided to manefest money and make a decision to go to the beach town of san juan del sur. on the ferry back over to the mainland, i run into a canadian living in ometepe and he says i should be able to get money from his bank in rivas. he´s pretty convinced their atm will work. to make a long story short, it did. now i´m here in beautiful san juan del sur!

i leave you now to go in search of lobster for lunch!

adios!

luanne

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