Continuing our volcano-themed adventures, we journeyed four hours by ferry across the wide lake to Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua's Eden-esque island of monkeys, flowers, farms and cute kids like the ones pictured here.
We left Granada on the Thursday afternoon ferry. The lake is big enough to have its own tides, waves, and weather systems, and the water was pretty rough. All around us, weaker stomachs revealed themselves with proverbial over-the-rail leaning and barfing, but we were strong and weathered the storm like true seamen (and women).
Going to Ometepe is a little like stepping back in time. The island is basically just two huge volcanoes jutting out of the lake, connected by a thin isthmus of beachy land. Everywhere there is wild, lush land, tall trees, rolling hills with farms, and of course the ancient volcanoes spewing just a little steam. It all creates the illusion of prehistoric times, as if the appearance of a Brontosaurus around a bend in the road would not be the least bit surprising.
Some highlights of the trip: 1) Horseback riding! Not only are we sea-worthy, we are also capable of doing some good ridin' and probably ropin' as well. The horses were very well behaved and our guide was great on our two-hour tour near the lake shore to some ancient petroglyphs in the hills. 2) Swimming and kayaking in the lake, which is nice and warm and very beautiful around sunset. 3) Animals! The entire island is one huge farm without fences, so we were greeted by baaaaaing sheep, adorable little piglets running down the road, and plenty of long-horn bulls with serious looks on their faces. At breakfast one morning, we were entertained by a flock of exotic birds who looked at us with wild eyes and eventually were bold enough to steal beak-fulls of sugar from our sugar bowl!
After weeks in civilized Granada, it was nice to spend some time in a place that's a little less developed, and little less marred by tourist infrastructure . . . a place where your routine could still potentially be interrupted by a crazy bird, a muddy and impassable road, or even (gasp!) a volcano.
No comments:
Post a Comment