Shark infested waters
Trip Start
Oct 01, 2008
1
36
61
Trip End
Apr 01, 2009
Where I stayed
Buena Vista Hotel
Ometepe Island, Nicaragua
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Samoza regime exterminated about 20,000 a year to export to Japan. The
lake is around 130 km long and 55km wide and Iīve just spent several
days on Isla Ometepe of the 2 volcanoes. Itīs a beautiful and relaxing
place and has its own species of magpie jay, a lovely blue and white
bird about the size and shape of Harry Potterīs phoenix.
On the way
there I met Kristina from Sweden on the bus from San Juan and we met
goth Will from Seattle waiting for the ferry. Heīs travelling round
Central America sleeping rough and saving money. (Also met an Ozzie on
the ferry who knows one of my friends in Oz, in the middle of Lake
Nicaragua!)
The Ometepe island bus dropped us at the turning 4 km
from our destination of Santa Domingo, on the isthmus between the
volcanoes, and we started to walk. A young man emerged from his house
near the junction and invited us in to wait 15 minutes for the bus
which would complete our journey. Embarrassingly I spoke the most
Spanish, but we managed to have a conversation with him till the bus
came. We 3 agreed no one in our own countries would ask strangers in
like that.
I
didnīt climb either volcano, but Will did the easier of the two - 8
hours up and back, no thank you. My plan to sit on the beach and read
was thwarted by the unusual amount of rainfall recently, making the
lake about a foot deeper (a serious amount of water) and submerging the
strand. I did quite a lot of walking and looking at preColumbian
petroglyphs.
The island roads were diabolical. It took 2 hours to
travel 28 km by bus. Saw island life though, lots of piglets
everywhere, cows rounded up by men on horseback, little girls in
flouncy pink dresses like I wore at their age, dogs snoozing in the
road, monkeys in the trees opposite the hotel. In fact last night a
monkey casually wandered in, stole a bag of peanuts from a guest and
sat on a deckchair eating them and having his photo taken!
Just arrived in Granada and had to get my internet fix.
