Week 15 - Island Ometepe (Nicaragua)

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  Altagracia, Nicaragua
Monday, November 19, 2007

Week 15

Nov 8th - Jewel Caye (Honduras) to La Ceiba
To break the monotony of the last few weeks the sun finally decided to show itself. Spirits in the Kayla diving camp were at a record high when even the laziest of divers got out of bed extra early to catch some rays. People were buzzing with the rumours of a possible visit to the north of the islands where not many people dive.

After preparing all the dive equipment for my last 2 dives in this part of the world had a hearty cinnamon roll and water breakfast. The usual boat captain Louis was off today celebrating his birthday so Frank Morgan, the owner of the dive school (never did ask if he was related to the infamous pirate Captain Morgan...very unlikely as Frank is originally from New Orleans) was our captain for today. It being his boat he decided to risk the very rough seas to take everyone to Turtle beach for todays dives. At one point he nearly turned round as the waves were dangerously high and in danger of smashing the boat onto the reefs but he soldiered on and I enjoyed the 2 best dives I've had sofar seeing pristine coral and too many variety of fish to even remember (Nice..with a capital Ni..).

Arriving back at Jewel Caye it was a mad dash to get the boat back to Utila where the only ferry for the afternoon left at 2pm. Managed to pack my last few bits, fill out my dive logbook, check my exam results (a reasonable and modest score of 92%...which is a pass) and bid a hasty farewell to my fellow divers...all in 10 minutes.

Altagracia chilltime, Nic

On the bumpy 25 minute boat ride back to Utila it dawned on me that I'd left 650 Lempiras ($1 = 19 Lempiras (which I have dubbed Umpa Lumpas)) back in my room. Much too late to turn back so hoping for some honesty from the dive school I left my account details for them to transfer the money when they found it (I'm sure they will).

After hastily grabbing my free Captain Morgan's T-shirt I managed to jump onto the ferry in the nick of time (it was actually moving when I pounced across with my pack on my back). Using my tried and tested sea sickness prevention of just falling asleep I arrived in La Ceiba dizzy and wobbly but without feeling sick.

Decided to stay in La Ceiba overnight and bus it all day tomorrow so went back to the trusty Hotel Rotterdam ($10 a night) and chilled. Walked around abit, did some email checking and had a half roast chicken with salad at a local cafe ($3) which I shared with a feral cat who had a thing for chicken. After pushing the cat off the table a million times I gave up and ended up sharing my scraps with it. Of course it started raining just as I finished dinner so had a few beers and headed back to my room.

One very unimportant fact about Honduras worth mentioning is they don't use coins here...only notes.

Nov 9th - Bus from La Ceiba to Tegucigalpa (Honduras)
Woke up late this morning and rushed to the long distance bus terminal to try and catch the morning bus. Missed the 10am by 15 minutes so had to wait around for the 2pm bus.

Altagracia walk, Nic

Walking around I discovered a huge shopping centre so treated myself to a burger and ice cream ($4). The clothes here aren't much cheaper than in UK so wasn't even tempted to buy anything.

Caught the 2pm bus ($20) and as usual with these long bus journeys just dozed and listened to my MP3 player (favourites at the moment are 10cc's Mandy (fly me)..what a tune, Lemon Jelly's Rambling man (a tune that sort of inspired me to think about travel while I was stuck in traffic going to work every day) and Boney M's Sunny. Feels really good to be on the road again and get some milage under my belt. Alot of travellers I meet don't like the journeys in between destinations but I actually prefer being on the move (strange).

Arrived in Tegucigalpa 2 hours late and at the unhealthy time of 10pm. Being on a tighter budget now, my hotel choice was right at the bottom of the guidebooks budget choices. The Hotel Fortuna was probably full of fortune but empty of anything else but at $4 a night I wasn't grumbling.

Nov 10th - Bus from Tegu to Managua (Nicaragua)
Early rise as I'd heard the long distance bus to Nicaragua leaves at 9am. Bidding farewell to my $4 cell for the night (54-46 was my number)I caught a taxi (an extortionate $3) to the Tica bus terminal (Tica buses is a bus service that runs the whole lenghth of Central America so chose this reputable company to make up some milage) and bought my 9.30 ticket to Managua (Nicaragua's capital) in Nicaragua for $20.

The journey was smooth and chilled until it reached the Honduran/ Nicaraguan border at 12 lunchtime.

Altagracia, Nic

There was a long line of trucks waiting to pass customs so everyone got off the bus and went to sit in a small border cafe for a few hours. There are so many more beggars and cheeky kids here than other borders and they follow you everywhere asking for money or commision (for what I'd ask them in broken Spanish and they'd say 'for helping you'). I saw a couple of little rascals grab a day pack a girl was carrying and hang on for dear life. They only let go when she screamed so loud and high pitched that even the border guards finally took notice.

Also, money changers are in abundance here walking around with huge wads of cash. Most of the time they offer pretty bad rates and after checking at the border's only bank it seems the bank is best..so thats where I exchanged all my Umpa Lumpa's to the new currency to get used to..the Nicaraguan 'Cordoba'. The charge for entering Nicaragua was $8. I'm abit gutted that all the different Central American countries don't stamp the passports..I wanted to have a stamp for each. What they do instead is when you enter any Central American country they give you a generic 3 month stamp for all the countries within their union (doh).

Nicaragua is looking quite different to Honduras from my bus window...slightly greener and flatter but with beautiful green hills in the distance. This is a big Volcano area so more Volcano climbing is on the cards. The cars all seem to be newer here too and the people friendlier than Guate and Honduras (thats enough of my broad and sweeping generalisations for now until I actually stay here for a while).

Spirits on the bus were good and there was a good mix of travellers on board (an old gent from Hounslow with his German buddy, a young Croydon lad who drove me mad by spitting on me while he talked (an absolute nightmare when everyone went to the cafe...I had more food on my face than on his plate by the end of a short chat..and highly embarrassing (I later on told the other backpackers that Croydon wasn't really in London and only just about in England), a swedish couple and a cool Canadian couple).

Chicken bus, Nic

Arriving in the Nicaraguan capital called Managua at 6pm and being the first out of the bus terminal (the joys of small and light travel) I was the first person to feel the brunt of the Hotel touts. They were like a plague of shouting and pulling locusts and even though I'd picked and walked to my hotel just round the corner two of them followed me in and pretended they'd brought me there. Not only did the cheeky scamps ask me for money (while they were standing in my room) but also the hotel manager (she swiftly told them to piss off). Hotel was $10 for the night..including a luxury I haven't had for a while...a TV.

Tonight was cinema night so I got a taxi to the local and saw The Invasion. Pretty poor to be honest..the 70's version titled Invasion of the Body Snatchers with Donald Sutherland (I think it was him) was way better and scarier without the hollywood ending.

Nov 11th - Managua to Granada
I'm not much keen on cities so after spending the night in Managua I caught a taxi to the 2nd class bus terminal just on the outskirts ($4) and then haggled with a minibus tout over the $1.50 ticket price to Granada (I knew very well it should be $1). Eventually after agreeing on $1 and jumping in the bus started off at a hair raising speed.

Arrived In Granada at lunchtime and immediately liked the place. It was what I had hoped Antigua would be like; atmospheric, not many tourists (no chance of that in Antigua) and charm. Settled at my budget hotel call Hospice Cordoza ($8 a night) and went in search of cheap grub.

Finca Magdalena, Nic

As I always do I walked abit out of the centre and had some local food (pasta with salsa for $3).

Had a walk around town and plotted in the main plaza for an ice cream and a chill. Today was also chores day..laundry was now an emergency as while I was unpacking some gear from my pack in my cell 2 nights ago, a humungous cockroach (nearly as big as a cat...well not quite) jumped out of it and ran up my arm. Course I jumped and hopped around like a lunatic and for hours afterwards if anything touched me, like a curtain it made me jump.

Walked around the local market abit to see if I could get some disinfectant but the best I could get was normal washing powder. That afternoon everything (including my pack) was scrubbed clean and smelt good (before this everything had the scent of marathon runners socks and a touch of gorgonzola).

Evening was spent lounging around the main plaza and watching the people go by. Nicaragua is now my favourite Central American country. The people are much poorer than anywhere else in these parts but are a ton for friendly. The beggars and general 'Can you give me?' mentality
is at least honest. There are far less tourists here than I've seen which makes it much more interesting (well for me anyway) and the country is beauiful from what I've seen sofar.

Nov 12th - Granada to Isla Ometepe (island on Lake Nicaragua)
Even though I really liked Granada I craved some island life (the weather was beautiful and swimming in freshwater beckoned) so after some blogging and email checking I hauled myself (and my fresh and smelling of roses with a hint of gorgonzola pack) down to the boat dock.

Just made it in time for the daily 2pm ferry to Ometepe.

Finca Magdalena, Ometepe, Nic

Had a choice between 1st class (75 cordoba's ($5)) or 2nd (25 c's ($1.50)). Of course went for 2nd and enjoyed a 4 hour boat ride from heaven (the water on the lake was as smooth as glass). Had to endure Rush Hour 3 and a totally pants film called Honor (about a martial arts kid gone bad).

Arrived in Puerto de Gracias (north part of the island) at night and after exiting the ports gates was met with a flurry of pickup truck touts and drivers all plying their transport. Chose one and was quickly hauled onto the back and after they hauled another 2 people on it sped off. I didn't have time to ask where it was going. The ride was rough and bumpy and not being on the back of a pickup for a while I forgot its always good practice to stay as low as possible (tree branches were pounding the top of my head). Coming into town was lucky enough to witness a completely lashed horse rider fall off his horse. In true cowboy style he quickly got onto his feet, checked around to see if anyone saw it and then chastised the horse (maybe it was the horse that was drunk).

Fortunately the destination was as I'd predicted..a hotel in the main town of Altagracia. It was a nice hotel called hotel Castillo and cheap at $6 a night. After a late dinner and shower I just hung out (literally) in a hammock on the balcony and watched the sleepy town while I did some blog updates.

Nov 13th - Altagracia
The plan for today was a 6am and 5 hour hike up the Volcan Concepcion but this was scuppered with heavy clouds so I just relaxed around the hotel in the morning and chatted to two other backpackers (Swiss diving instructor called Chris and a Californian chap called Norv who used to work at HP so we both lamented on working at big corporations).

After lunch I went for a long walk to the closest lake beach to here called Punta Taguizapa.

Granada best burgers, Nic

It was a pretty spot with slightly ugly volcanic black sand but the view was great. Had the usual long dip and splash around and had the whole place to myself (bliss). Saw some beautiful birds (feathered) sharing the water with me; some tiny bright yellow and blue ones, some kind of heron and a kind of falcon hovering above.

The walk to and from the beach was nice..walking between huge banana plantations. Most of the people on the walk greeted me with the usual friendly greetings.

Back at the hotel for the evening I was trapped in my room because a conference was going on in the hotel entrance, so just chilled on the hammock supping on a few beers I had stashed away and had an early night. Tomorrow an early rise and serious hike up the Volcano Concepcion (which had its last eruption in 1954).

Nov 14th - Altagracia to Finca Magdalena (Ometepe island, Nic.)
Up at the crack of dawn (literally) then realising the cloud around the volcano pretty much obscured any potential view I decided to cancel the hike and instead head around the island for a possible hike up Volcan Maderas instead (this volcanoe seems more appealing to me because its crater is also a lake and the potential for swimming in a volcano is too great to be missed. The view from there is also meant to be incredible).

Caught the local chicken bus to Balgues (nearest town to the volcano)(50c for a 1 hour ride). The roads were some of the worst I've ever seen and experienced (apart from crater roads in Mozambique) and my head nearly hit the ceiling at one point (mighty tricky considering I'm quite a small fella).

Granada posh hotel, Nic

From Balgues it was a slightly tough but scenic 1 km walk (saw some beautiful parrots flying around and squawking at me and every few steps the trees would rustle and sway from the abundance of Howler monkeys) to the only lodgings in the area, Finca Magdalena.

It was too late in the day to start the 7 hour hike up the volcano Maderas so I sorted out my lodgings there first ($6 a night) and then had a scrumptious lunch of spaghetti with beef strips ($2.50)(lunch was nearly spoiled when a million flys descended on my pasta..so lunch had to be eaten one handed and at the same time flailing my other arm around wildly. I must have looked like a nutter). Then watched the hundreds of wild birds, butterflies and monkeys from a hammock slung onto a patio. The view was just plain gorgeous with the lake stretching for miles and the perfectly formed cone shape of volcano Concepcion with a permanant ring of cloud at the top (bliss).

The hammock is where I stayed for most of the day, finishing my current book; Jeff Long's Year Zero (bit rough round the edges but a good apocolyptic story...need to find a book swap now). Also did some planning for when I get to Costa Rica and Panama.

While I was lounging on the hammock I heard a loud shriek from the bathrooms (quite close) so everyone rushed in to check what was going on. A Kiwi girl was apparently enjoying a refreshing shower when she felt something other than water fall on her head and onto the floor. It was a baby Tarantula that must have been walking around the high ceilings beams. Course everyone was well nervous in the bathrooms after that (especially the few English that are here as we aren't used to spiders in bathrooms). Nearly let out a shriek of my own later on in the shower..when I went roll up my trousers after drying off I felt something touch my back. After jumping up in the air I realised it was just my towel hanging on the door (what a wooss).

The evening was as relaxed as the day enjoying a delicious dinner a few beers and a hammock. Tomorrow's going to be a tough walk up the volcano (hope I can get a swim in up there..or will it be too cold?)

The thought dawned on me today that I may be in Columbia or Venezuela for Xmas (could be a blinder but will miss the cold weather...yes, I like the cold).

I had planned to only stay on the island for a few days but this place is just too special to leave so the plan for the next week is 4 more days on Ometepe island (really want to find this island of monkeys) then get the boat to San Carlos (near the Costa Rican border). From there its into Costa Rica for some more volcano exploring and a visit to the famous cloud forests where I can fly through the forest on a Sky Trek zip wire (Sweet Jesus...hope my vertigo doesn't kick in).

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Granada street, Nic	Lake Nicaragua	Lake Nicaragua view, Nic	Petroglyph, Ometepe, Nic
Volcan Concepcion 2, Ometepe, Nic	Volcan Concepcion, Nic	Volcan Concepcion, Ometepe, Nic

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