Adventures on Isla de Ometepe

With a bit more energy from a good nights sleep, we walked onto the ferry with our two Swiss friends (after taking a picture with a big random chair at the ferry terminal) and spread out on the upper deck. The lake breeze was welcoming as we headed out on our four hour journey to the island composed of two volcanos in the middle of the largest fresh water lake in the world. Unfortunetly, the water didn't look so fresh and we decided right away against swimming in it. The sunset was beautiful from the ferry over the distant hills of Nicaraguas mainland. Arriving in the dark we climbed into a shuttle van and headed for the hostel our friends hoped would have room, sadly it did not. Tired and hungry we finally found a hostel and crashed for the night. All through the night the local roosters crowed allowing for little sleep, we would have understood if the sun was rising but these fellas didn't seem to care if the sun was up or not. At 6:30am we got up and researched other island options for accommodations. Walking through the village it was very difficult to see the numerous starving dogs all around, it broke our hearts. 

That afternoon we found a great spot to stay right on the lake where we could enjoy the sunset each night. Our private room had a large hammock out front where we peacefully read and relaxed for the next two days. The place was called Hacienda Merida and helped fund the Billingual (English) Elementary School attached to it and also leads the recycling program on the island that creates many work opportunities for the locals. With these two factors in play, it made the rather steep price of the rooms a little easier to swallow. On our third day we went kayaking with our friends along the lake to a river heading inland. This was my first time kyaking, It was challenging and tons of fun. We saw a small caiman (1.5 metres), turtles, cranes and many other beautiful birds. I felt like Ariel from The Little Mermaid floating in the romantic lagoon as Travis paddled, shalla lala lala.... 

The next day we rented a dirt bike and headed out for a cruise around the islands. We had noticed that most of the locals didn't wear helmets so made the assumption that it is optional. We were wrong. After a splendid half hour we were pulled over by an eager police officer who happily handed Travis a $20 ticket while putting his drivers license in his pocket. You see it was Travis's ticket because only the driver is legally supposed to wear one, go figure. So the obstacle race began, we were instructed to find a bank on the opposite side of the island before 4, pay the ticket and then find the police officer again somewhere along a different stretch of road (he wasn't sure we're he would be) to obtain the drivers license. With some frustration and laughter we embarked on our new journey while still enjoying the island scenery. We passed many pigs, oxen, horses, chickens and dogs crossing the road. We drove over the runway of the airstrip which doubles as a road when there are no planes. After three attempts to find the right bank, we paid our fee and later found the officer with ease. With that behind us we went for a dip in the natural mineral pool, it was refreshing. With about  one hour of sunlight left we decided to complete our goal of driving around both islands. What we didn't know is how rough the final stretch of road would be. My husbands dirtbike riding skills were put to the ultimate test as we raced the dark along the very rough, very narrow road strewn with large rocks and boulders. The poor dirt bike hit the bottom of the suspension on more than one occasion. While barreling along the road, we were drawing closer to a section of road flooded by a river from the volcano. I was unsure of what we were going to do and asked Travis if I should get off the bike and let him try to cross alone. He quickly spotted a very narrow pedestrian walkway and went straight for it before I could completely comprehend what he was doing. Nervously, I tried to sit still as the rails of the walkway were mere inches from our knees, but Travis didn't falter or slow down to give any other option anyways. Thankfully, we made it around the island just in time to watch the sunset on our home stretch. After a good night sleep we packed up, loaded in a truck (with the men in the box) and caught a one hour ferry ride to Rivas.