Two Hills

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A four hour boat ride took us to the island of Ometepe. The sun was setting as we approached and volanco Concepsion was in full view with smoke steaming from its crater. Ometepe is a very large island centered in the world's largest freshwater lake. It was formed by two volcanos named Maderas and Concepsion. Twenty years ago there were thousands of Bull sharks inhabiting its waters. They were able to enter through a lake connected to the ocean. As man would have it the sharks were eliminated from the lake with ten years. Thats ok because now it's safe for us to swim! We stayed at the southern end called Merida. The hostel was alot like a campground. We slept in cabin bunks, ate buffet style meals and hung out in our trunks while swinging on the hammocks or sunbathing on the dock. Each day Travis and I kyaked to Monkey Island. This is a small island about twety minutes from the dock. We were eager to check it out because of the scary stories we heard from others. We were told that the monkeys will bite you and if you get to close they are likely to jump in your boat. This was a clear invitation. As we approached for the first time one monkey was at the top of the tallest tree. We could tell that he was watching us as we came closer to the land. At about ten feet and closing in the monkey shot down the tree like a bullet and raced down the little dock at full speed. We started to back paddle and call out to the monkey sorry sorry sorry for getting to close. The monkey came to the edge of the dock and showed his teeth to let us know that he would gladly eat us. After that we would paddle away and then back again over and over and each time the monkey would race down the dock to prevent us from getting to close. There is also a sign posted in three languages noting "Beware the Monkeys bite." most of my days were spent hanging about on land reading and listening to music on headphones (which I highly recommend). One day we hiked for two hours along the rutted dirt road to the trail leading up Maderas. We didn't intend on hiking the volcano, but we did want to see the old petriglifos which were carved into the large pieces of pumince stone. Many of the carving had monkeys and and simple drawings of faces. On the hike back we talked with a couple of friendly locals and said "Hola" to everyone. The children were especially nice and would yell "Hola" from twenty yards away. Each night there was a facinating sunset and once night fell the stars were bright as bulbs. The owner of the Hostel is heavily involved in conservation efforts to preserve the islands habitat and recycle. I was glad to see that the locals at Ometepe are making an effort to improve the roads and ecological standards. I was able to see the progress and it is motivating and hopefull. The island pace of life was "muy tranquillo" as with most islands and many of the people there never leave the land. It was a really nice time there I would like to return some some day.
Today we are back in Granada and heading off to Honduras to swim with whale sharks in the Bay Island's. Before we leave we are going to a Nicaraguan Death Metal show by the central square. Adios!
Chad

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