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Published: October 22nd 2008
Twin Towers
The two Volcanos on the same island. A must see. Granada was very much needed. Whatever bug I had I feel much better. The evening was uneventful because I spent most of the night trying to fix my camera. It somehow got a virus on my memory card which prevented me from seeing any photos. Yup that is right you can get your memory card infected with a virus but then again maybe it´s just Nicaragua. None of these computers have virus scans so I feel like I should be putting a condom on my USB cord when I plug it into one of these computers. So with some nifty computer work I showed the virus who was boss and restored it.
That night I stayed at a hostel call Oasis in Granada. This hostel had a lot of amenities but the room were basic and it cost $15 so not very good value. It did not help that this bus full of teenagers from California got dropped off in the evening. They must of been there for some field trip but I hate to say it they were obnoxious in every way teenagers can be. A lot of yelling and running around like a high school dorm. But heck
it´s only for the night and in the morning I booked it out of there. Again Hunters travel guide book you failed me again.... you suck. You are lucky it is 90% humid in Nicaragua and I cannot torch you.
So to get to Ometepe I took a bus to Rivas then a taxi to San Jorge which is a port. There you can either take a ferry or lancha. Lancha are small boats and probably not the best ride as the water is choppy. Ferry only cost $3 and probably is the preferred way to go.
TIPS - Taxi drivers in Nicaragua are the worst. Never believe what they say and always negotiate the price no matter how short the distance. They will do whatever it takes you rip you off and have a very bad reputation.
Along the way I met these two girls traveling from Mexico to Panama and they said so far Nicaragua is probably the worst place in terms of ghettoness and risk of robbery and being ripped off. They said surprisingly Mexico was one of the safest and best places to visit. The myth of Mexico being so bad is nothing
compared to Nicaragua. But heck I just came out of Costa Rica which was so touristed out that Nicaragua was a breath of fresh air. Everyone I spoke to so far had said Costa Rica has changed so much and it is just another US state. I have to agree that it is expensive and after coming here there is not much in Costa Rica. The other places very high on peoples list were Guatamela, Columbia and Mexico.
And apparently El Salvatore is cheap and for whatever reason people always seem to skip pass Hundaras. okay Zenning back in.
The two volcano's of Ometepe island look awesome from the ferry. It is hard to believe there are these two giant active volcano´s in the middle of this great lake.
When we got to the dock people were swimming in it until the ferry blast it´s horn to signal to the kids to get out of the way. But the kids sorta ignore it and paddle lightly away. Nicaragua is crazy when it comes to not hitting people. There can be a ferry coming in and people will still swim around it. Or a bus backing up
walk of shame
To get to the hostel you have to walk and walk. It is quite secluded here especially in the low season. and people will decide to take a break and squat behind the bus while it is moving. I can´t figure out how people do not get injured here with no safety regulation in mind. Back home if you threw a snowball at me you probably end up busting my tooth. But here in Nicaragua buses are constantly flying by you in the market with 100´s of people and people sorta calmly dodge it the last minute.
So after the ferry docks there are usually buses waiting for you to get you around the island. Getting around Ometepe is not easy. If you miss the bus you are screwed and the bus only come every 2 hours. The buses are the run down converted school buses that smell like livestock but it´s cheap costing $1 to get you from one volcano to the other side. There are no taxis and walking is not an option because it is 40 kms around one volcano.
The first place I stayed at for the night was Choco Vida which was by the lake. The lake of Nicaragua is absolutely amazing. It actually connects to the Caribbean ocean so you get all sorts
of weird fishes in there along with fresh water sharks. I was told that they do not bite but I rather not think about it. Also in the marshie area of the island there are crocodiles and snakes but I doubt they like Chinese food, I have too much MSG in me.
The other hostel I stayed at was called Finca Santa Domingo near the playa Domingo or beach. A storm passed through the other night so the beaches are flooded but still you get a beautiful view from the lakeside restaurant where I am staying. The view from Finca is really nice. You are literally beside the lake and during the day the water is so calm and fishes are jumping up. Birds are flying by and monkeys are jumping from tree to tree to get at bananas. And at night the wind picks up and you can hear the water crash while you sit there with a drink and zenn out. You can´t help but zenning out when you see all these fire flies dance along the water and it looks like you are looking at the sky. The place only cost $10 but the rooms are
home of the wild
Lots of lush vegetation and birds on this island so so.
Food was about $6-$8 for fish that is caught right out of the lake. I would imagine when it is not rainy season this place would be even better with the beach available.
In total I stayed at Ometepe for 2 nights and it was just R&R. Anyone coming to Nicaragua have to come to this island. It is remote but you can unplug and really get away from everything. At times I felt like I was really by myself on an island with just Wilson with no one around within 2 miles.
I didn´t get a chance to hike the volcano because of a storm that night. During the night a landslide took out the roads so most of the night workers were scrambling to remove all the rocks. Everything was manual labor so no bulldozer just the ox and horses. So instead of taking a chance I decided to leave after 2 days.
Tomorrow I head back to San Juan De Sur for some surfing.
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