Totoco Eco-Lodge Isla de Ometepe

... knackered from the day and it was definitely rum time! Mmm Mmm. Tomorrow was to be a long day....

I am now in Bluefields and we are now due to leave for the Corn Islands Tomorrow, there was a minor hitch with boats, you should read the how to get there section on www.bigcornisland.com, itīs nearly impossible, but that is also another story... Speak in a week, or maybe before, who knows what nature holds... Maybe tomorrow Iīll finally settle down....

... hammocks and rocking chairs, and a beautiful view out over the volcano... we really thought we had messed up again, until the man infront asked if this hotel had sent his reservation through, and I remember the book saying that this other hotel owned this one... we saw the room, and it was 1 dollar more than we expected, and it was gorgeous, we jumped straight at it! - Big, clean room, and as I said, a porch overlooking beautiful gardens, peaceful and tranquille... perfect for a couple ...

... and head back to San Juan for more surfing...and that is exactly what we did.
Unfortunately our experience of Isla de Ometepe was not that great, although I have to admit we didnīt really give it a chance. It turns out we just all really wanted to surf and hang out at the beach and were less interested in grueling 8 hour hikes up a volcano. Isla de Ometepe is a great place for avid hikers, however if your looking for beaches and surfing stick to the coast.

... wasnīt sure, but that heīd wait out by the
road and catch the same bus if he decided to come. We hit the hay early
in preparation for our big day.

Friday, we woke up really early and caught the 5 am bus back to Balgue.
We were stoked to see Manny get on the bus s well. We started the hike
at the Finca Magdalena, where we had a quick breakfast. The hike up was
pretty cool, through groups of coffee and cocoa plants. We got to try
the cocoa ...

... time! (This time, we exchanged
email addresses, figuring that Argentina's a bit bigger than CA.) One
of the more hilar moments of the night was when Darren asked me how
Teddy and I met. Which is definitely a question you only pose to
couples. If you're talking to friends, you ask "Where do you guys know
each other from?" But for couples, you ask where they met. So, I
figured it was a good time to finally break the news that we weren't a ...

Wednesday

After leaving Granada, John and I made our way to Ometepe Island -- a very large island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, formed by two volcanos. After settling into our hotel in one of the smaller towns on the island, John and I went for a walk in the nearby park of Chaco Verde. We hiked through a nice forest along the lake, and arrived at a beautiful isolated beach. We were distracted, however, by the sound of howler monkeys, so ...

... it has awesome coffee (but I didn't get any because I don't like coffee). After brunch we all went back and put on our suits for a relaxing day at the beach. On our way to the beach we went in lots of shops in hopes to find a cute sun dress (no luck) anddddd.... to sign up for surfing lessons!! Seven of us signed up for surfing lessons tomorrow (for $20!)! The whole group is boarding a bus and taking a short trip to a surfing beach. For those that aren't surfing, they get to lay on the ...

... down too. Itīs funny, because now Iīll be going north and most of the people Iīve met are going south or are flying out of Costa Rica or Panama. Therefore, Iīll be meeting a ton of new people. All round, great times and it was a bit hard pulling myself away to head to the enchanted Isla de Ometepe.

By the way, I have some pictures of us actually surfing (trying to), but I can't seem to upload them to the blog.

... bugfree but who cares?

There's still one cold Coke left in the bar. We share. Maybe we can buy a bottle of wine there. After 3 days, the hotel ran outta alcohol. My travel buddies are all over 60 but boy the can handle it !
 The islands (4 big ones and lots of small ones populated only by birds alligators and monkeys) are magnificent. The population (1000 in the whole archipel) has got a decent live nowadays and that is mainly due to ...

... on the trail and then on the beach, dazzled the whole time by an amazing sunset.

The next day we hiked up Volcan Conception, the active volcano on the island. It was fun but steep and humid. We were quickly drenched with a combo of sweat and water dripping from the thick trees crowding the trail. The highlight was seeing White-Faced Monkeys and a huge boa constrictor at the same time.

Personally, I prefer the White-Face to the Howler Monkeys. The Howler are far more ...