Blogs from Isla de Ometepe, Southern Pacific Coast, Nicaragua, Central America Caribbean - page 17

I went to Isla de Ometepe last weekend. Ometepe is an island formed by two volcanoes in the middle of a large fresh water lake, Lake Nicaragua. The island is very beautiful, it is inexpensive (there are no taxes), and the streets are calmer than the busy streets of other Nicaraguan towns and cities. I stayed at Hospedaje Central a hostel in the town Moyogalpa, where one of the ferries are located. The hostel was about $3.50 U.S. dollars and had a restaurant, bar, plenty of hammocks to rest in, and a friendly pet deer that loves to lick people. The hostel organized a hike up Concepción the larger Volcano at over 1,600 meters. Paying for a guide is important because I guess there has been a few deaths. The cost was $12 U.S. dollars each. ... read more

Being a paid volunteer does away with the necessity of obtaining a work visa. This is in operation for English teachers around the world where having the correct work permit often involves unfathomable bureaucracy and a lot of money. One advantage of this slightly fishy scam/entirely legal opportunity, is visa runs. Basically, every ninety days I am given some time off and a bit of extra cash, to leave the country for seventy-two hours. I managed to time this particular visa run with Semana Santa, or Easter week. The school and indeed most of Costa Rica, shuts down for eight days. This is looked upon most favourably by the very devout. That being the devout Catholics and the devout travellers. Being against flying unless absolutely necessary, visa run options are Panama or Nicaragua. I can't remember ... read more

Time has seemed to take a back seat here in lovely Nicaragua. Lush green forests and plantain forests loom in my backyard. While I eat my breakfast on the patio, I sit and stare at the aloe plant and look out into the distance of tall green trees mixed with palm trees. The sound of the waves in the distance lulls me to sleep. The striking blue bird, a relative to the blue jay I believe, hawks its annoying cry to attract a mate (heaven knows how he/she will with that sound…). I see the base of the volcano in the corner of our house, just a little reminder how close I am to one of nature’s greatest marvels. Despite my awareness of how lucky I am to live here, we have not had Internet in ... read more

Hola todos. Saludos de Ometepe Island, Nicaragua! Hopefully (soon) to be in the new and revised list of the 7 Wonders of the World. Post your vote on www.laisladeometepe.com Many changes have been taking place, which is the norm here. However, some are worth taking note. Along the way, I will tell my stories. First off, NPH, the organization I am serving through, has recently partnered with the Enrique Iglesias Foundation. I am not sure how we made the connection, but we did. A cameraman came to the orphanage to shoot some footage of the kids singing to Enrique's new song: Donde Esta Corazon. That very same day, they sent the footage, crude, to Miami. How crazy, eh? Unfortunately, I could not be there, as I was on break, which turned out to be quite interesting... ... read more

Tras Costa Rica, continuamos nuestro viaje centroamericano por Nicaragua. Un país donde mis padres (de Iván) y mi hermana vivieron 3 años a finales de los años 70. Un país muy presente desde mi infancia. Comenzamos nuestra andadura Nicaragüense en la isla Ometepe en el lago Nicaragua, uno de los lagos más grandes de Centro América, y el único en el mundo donde se encuentran especies de agua salda en agua dulce, entre otras el tiburón toro, el cual llegó al lago Nicaragua remontando el río San Juan y finalmente se adaptó al agua dulce del lago. Otro dato interesante sobre el lago nicaragua es el hecho de que los yanquis propusieron la construcción del canal de Panamá en Nicaragua aprovechando el lago. Un proyecto que afortunadamente nunca llegó a plasmarse. La isla Ometepe esta situada ... read more