14 hours to Ometepe
Trip Start
Aug 05, 2007
1
4
Trip End
Aug 08, 2007
Mercida, Ometepe,
Nicaragua
Monday, August 6, 2007
the top bunk and into my full view. Naked. In the dim light squeaking
through at 5am, there wasn't much to see. i shut my eyes and drowned my
face in my pillow. Some shaking of the bed opened them, and there was a
die-hard 6-pack leaning over my face to get something from his bunk.
What a wake-up call.
At 5:30 everyone in our room started
stirring. Oddly enough we all had the same destination: Ometepe. A
popular destination in Nicaragua, for sure
mario and nicole at 6am
. Except we weren't inNicaragua. We all happened to be at Volcano Arenal in Costa Rica. It
looked a short distance on the map, and others at our hostel said the
trip wasn't too bad, so we were off. It was me, my friends Suzi and
Nicole, Mario the Spaniard, and 3 other spanish girls (litterally from
Spain). We loaded up our backpacks and pulled out into the light
morning rain.
6am. We walked into the little town of Fortuna,
and waited at a bus stop. Suzi had some early morning hysteria when
those mangy stray dogs tried to bite her toes. Man, she hates dogs.
Anyway, the bus pulled up at 6:15 and we were off. kinda.
A
whole busload of ticos heading off to a days work stared at us
our broken bus and 5 men
. Mariospoke spanish, but spanish from spain compared to latin-american
spanish is like high british to canadian english, so oddly enough, he
had about as hard a time as we did.
6:30am. We got off the
first bus in a little dusty town called El Tanco (the tank?). I really
had to go pee and i was running around trying to find a bush that
didn't contain a stray dog, to no avail. At 7am, a little store opened,
and a celebration ensued. i used the bathroom and we bought supplies
for the bus, and then noticed our bus had pulled up and Mario the
Spaniard was lugging all our bags to be loaded. What a guy.
7:05am the bus leaves El Tanco. it's empty so we spread out and take over the back. Everyone falls asleep
our broken bus
. 8am
the bus breaks down outside a small town with no name and one pub. We
all get off the bus, except suzi, who doesn't actually sleep but rather
goes unconcious. The sun is up and we're on a dirt road that apparently
heads nowhere and we're inbetween two houses. Luckily, one is a
mechanic. what are the chances. A piece of the bus that costs 25 cents
has broken but apparently it plays a big role. Don't ask me. so we
stand around and i take some video footage and we sit in the dirt.
Some
tico kids come out of a house and start laughing and waving. There is
an older boy, two older girls, a young girl and a baby boy. They scurry
back inside and very loud spanish music comes blasting through the
walls
the kidlets
. more laughter. One girl takes me inside to show me her chickens.they are sleeping, their heads tucked down into their chest. i envy the
chickens.
the young daughter of the mechanic comes out in
purple rain boots. she takes each step very carefully, as if she might
fall at any minute. we say hello, and she stares as us. Nicole takes
her hand and walks her up to her dad. Later, she returns with a puppy
and a small photo shoot ensues.
9am: the bus starts and we leave
again. As we pass through small towns, the bus eventually is full to
capacity. Suzi and I watch scrubs on my dvd player, trying to keep on
the downlow. We pass in and out of conciousness, in and out of Ipods,
and in and out of towns for what seems like a few days.
12
noon: We arrive at Pinos Blancas border crossing. I am convinced it
means "White Penis" but no one agrees with me. Our bus will take us no
further
little boy
. We disembark, grab our bags, and hike the line-up that seems afew hundred people deep. A monotinous routine of filling out papers,
hauling our bags two feet, and wiping sweat from our foreheads begins.
Amazingly, the line-up doesn't take too long. A few bathroom breaks
later, and we're at the front. That's when we realize there are two
borders to cross. One leaves Costa rica and one enters Nicaragua.
1pm:
We offically leave Costa Rica. We begin the strange 10 minute walk
between the borders, arguing over which country we are really in. A
guard directs us to go through a shifty looking building that resembles
a car wash. "yes, through there" he barks, in spanish. Mario the
Spaniard reads the sign on the building. "Danger. Poison.". We go
around the building and realize its for trucks to get santitized from
foreign bugs. But apparently it doubles for killing off pesty tourists
too.
2pm: We pass through the border with relative ease
PB break on the road
. I getnew stamps. I am happy. Our group splits ways as the spanish girls head
to San juan del Sur and Mario heads to Granada on his own. We shed a
tear as his dimples board a bus.
2:10pm: a guy named Pablo
hears us talking about Ometepe. He asks if he can join us in the taxi
to the ferry. Sure. Why not. He asks if he can leave his bag with us.
Sure. Why not. Then he whips out his passport to finish crossing.
COLUMBIA, it reads. Oh dear.
2:30pm we sit for twenty minutes
with Pablo the Columbian's mysterious bag. i push it two feet away so
its not technically with us. The christian side of us says we shouldn't
abandon his bag and run away
the lonely road
. the rational side of us is screaming "GETOUT!". The border gives pablo some issues, and takes a copy of his
passport. But soon enough, he's through and we're in a tazi and Pablo
seems less terrifying with every mile.
3pm: arrive at the
ferry terminal to Ometepe. we have an hour to kill. Suzi and Pablo get
some food and speak in spanish. Nicole and I go play with chained up
monkeys and take some pictures of the island from the beach (it's that
big). Two huge volcanoes rising out of a lake. Now there's something
you don't see everyday.
4pm: the ferry leaves. i bid adieu to
my monkeys. The ferry is a mix of expats and locals. There are a few
canadians, almost all of them doing time to complete their degrees in
some sector of humanitarian aid or medical degrees. Pablo takes
pictures with his massive camera and tells me stories of all the places
he's been and shot. Part of me is jealous. Part of me thinks there is
cocaine inside his camera
boots
. 5pm: Our feet touch the ground on
Ometepe. We stand at the base of a volcano with a close second looming
in the distance. Ometepe is two volcanoes that are attaches, and all
the inhabitants live at the bases. The bigger one is active. the
smaller one is not. We share a taxi with Pablo and two other girls from
canada, and head to a popular hostel about an hour away.
5:30pm: we stop at a bull parade in Los Angeles. Two Rage Against the Machine
references come to mind. Apparently it runs every sunday
night in the town. There are bulls and horses and hundreds of people
and loud music and cheap beer. Pablo fills up a 1 litre water bottle
with beer for $1. Everyone stares at us. there is corn roasting, and
meat roasting fills the air
girl and boots
. 6pm: we are inbetween the two
volanoes. everyone is asleep and suzi is unconsious again. I stare out
my window at this monster that takes up the sky. The light is fading
and it's presence is less and less aparent. It fades into the dark but
i know it's there. It's haunting and eerie, and exhilerating at the
same time.
6:30pm: we arrive at Hostel Hacienda Mercida in the
dark, and are welcomed by a big open porch dimly lit by candle light.
People at the tables having quiet and deep conversations. The dull
flickers of fireflies make me feel like i'm in neverneverland. We check
in and lug our bags to a room. Pablo opts to rent a hammock for $3.
7pm:
dinnertime. it's been 14 hours since Naked Mario woke me up. We've
barely eaten all day and are exhausted at the 8 hours of delays we
weren't anticipating. Dinner is buffet style and costs $3. I load up my
plate with everything hot and its the best and most ethnic meal i've
had since coming to central america. I'd tell you what i ate but i
honestly can't recall. I wolfed it down like a hyena on crack. We sit
in the candlelight in a jungle of hammocks and share stories with other
travellers. The fireflies visit us. We laugh and eat and share. it's
too dark to take any pictures so we just enjoy the moment.
9pm: everyone is asleep.
