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Published: November 9th 2009
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We 'set sail' for the Isla de Ometepe on Monday, October 19th, leaving the urban comforts of Italian-made pasta, guitar, and cable TV behind. The island slowly revealed itself over the four-hour ferry ride. Ometepe is twice crowned, formed by two volcanoes joined by a narrow strip of land. Volcan Madera is older, inactive, and flattened at the top with a lake in its crater. Volcan Concepcion is still active, 1610 m high, and as pointy-headed as you'd like. We arrived around 6 pm in the dark and rain, and caught a cab/pick-up truck to the nearest hotel. That night we met a local guide and university student who was researching the local orchids. He showed us his digital photos of the orchids which he had posted on Facebook. I (George) really enjoyed it, and was enthusiastic when he offered to show videos of his encounters with boa constrictors. Alas, Eva was developing a bad flu, and as we discussed later that night, did not share my enthusiasm for watching endless boa constrictor videos.
The next day we faced a real dilemma. On the one hand, there was a real cool but primitive eco-farm/lodge, called El Zopilote (the vulture), set
in the foothills of Maderas where I wanted to stay. On the other hand, I had a sick wife. In the end adventure won out over caution and we took the 2-hour bus ride over the bumpy road and the 25 minute hike to the lodge where we spent the next three days. Not that I deserve all the blame, the words 'Italian-owned' and 'wood-fired oven pizza' played a big role in our decision. Alas, pizza was canceled that first night. The shower was an outdoor hose. That's right, outdoors. We had a compost latrine, but it was strictly for number two. The woods were for peeing (but not on the plants themselves as clearly stated on a sign saying "Please don't urinate on us. - The plants").
Poor Eva actually had a fever the next two days and pretty much stayed in the cabin all day. I stayed close by on the grounds of the lodge. The setting was beautiful, with tropical plants including several fruit trees with many birds and butterflies all around. By our last day, Eva was feeling much better and the wood-fired oven pizza was back on.
Time for a change. On Friday,
October 23rd, we went to stay at the Hacienda Merida, a hostel in the remote town of Merida on the southern side of the island. Merida is a small town of farmers, living very simply. The people were reserved, but friendly and gracious to travelers. One lady tried to give up her seat for me on the bus. Nobody went out of their way to sell us junk, like they often did in Granada. Their animals were everywhere; pigs, cows, horses, and chickens all roamed the streets. How they figured out who owned what I don't know. The owner of Hacienda Merida waged a vigorous campaign against barefoot walkers on his property due to the likelihood of tracking in animal feces. He liked to lounge in the hammocks, and was understandably concerned with keeping them clean and feces-free.
Hacienda Merida was a step up in comfort from El Zopilote, although they were booked up due to a large group of US students. In the end, we had to share a dorm room with several other couples. That night at the buffet supper, we met some of the students. They were from various ecologically-themed degree programs in the US, and
were attending a special summer course somewhere in Costa Rica. They were currently on a short field trip to the island to learn about its ecology. They were young, enthusiastic, and flatteringly, seemed impressed by our travels.
The next day Eva was feeling good enough to be somewhat active again. We took a hike through the rainforest partway up Volcan Madera to the beautiful San Ramon waterfall. This 35 m waterfall cascaded over the vegetation-covered jungle walls into a shallow pool from which a river flowed. Most of the inhabitants around the area rely on this particular waterfall and river system to provide their villages with fresh water. On Sunday, we rented mountain bikes from the hacienda and went for a 6 km bike on the bumpy, animal-filled, manure-filled roads to the fresh water pools of Ojo de Agua. Upon arrival, the gatekeeper enthusiastically enlightened us about the miraculous healing powers of the waters. They were good for all sorts of ailments including muscle aches, headaches, arthritis etc. No, my Spanish is not that good, but it was pretty easy to figure out from his gestures. Whatever curative powers the waters may have had wore off on our bumpy
ride back to the hostel. We went to bed early that night, with sore arms and backsides.
The next day, Monday, October 26th, we got started early to catch the ferry off the island and continue our journey onto Costa Rica.
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Joan Chao
non-member comment
Where are you now?
dear Eva, Since your mother gave me your blog, I read it at my lunch time everyday. Very interesting writing and remarkable photos. I am kind of jealous you, wish we could visit those pretty places too. Over all, you both love the nature, catch the beauty, endure the hardship, take care of each other, what a beautiful couple and wondeful trip. May God bless you and Love you. Joan