Isla Ometepe

We made it to Isla Ometepe on a nice and smooth 45 minute ferry boat ride from Rivas. Ometepe's volcano, in recent weeks, has been rumbling pretty regularly and volcanologists suspect an eruption could be imminent but the island is still open for visitors. This place is like stepping back in time and if there ever was a travel scale to measure such a thing, Ometepe would rank highly in the yesteryear category, for sure. Accommodations are spartan to say the least and the island is rustic even by Nicaraguan standards. We are officially off, the off beaten track on this adventure. That does not mean we are not having fun though as every local we have met so far has a smile from ear to ear. It is so cool to see happy people everywhere, and I mean everywhere.
   Today we visited a couple national parks and Ojo de Agua which is a freshwater spring under a tropical canopy. The island is suffering from the effects of a prolonged drought that has hung around for a couple years and has parched much of the lower lying areas. Although, today it did rain, and everybody looked appreciative, concerns for the more rain persist. The islanders are also worried about how the proposed mega canal might change their way of life. The canal is supposed to compete with the Panama Canal and construction is said to start within a year. We certainly empathize with the islanders and their uncertainty regarding the future of their idyllic way of life.      

Looking at Vulcan Concepcion from the cinder pebble beach

Who could pass up a picture of a rainbow?

The large night blooming Cyrus blooms in the middle of the night and wilts away by mid-morning.

Cattle, horses, pigs, goats, chickens, you name it and it will cross the roads here.

Our hiking path to Parque Ecologico Charco Verde. We saw howler monkey on this path

Everything is in full bloom over here, so long as it gets water

Zoe wanted to get a picture next to this butterfly bush

The girls like to have fun on the beach. Here the water is fresh and the water is shallow.

Looking at the view of Vulcan Concepcion from an interior lagoon

Zoe playing in the garden at Finca Magdalena where we ate a nice breakfast for 4 for $10

There were a lot of butterflies in the garden

The island is known for their indigenous history which includes ancient petroglyphs

The petroglyphs are about a thousand years old and are spread all over the island.

Red tile roofs reign supreme in Nicaragua

A view of how parched the lowland hills are after years of drought.

A spring fed watering hole to cool off in the afternoon.

The water was cool but not cold which allowed us to play in the water for hours.

To end the day we each got a coconut to drink, mommy and daddy's had a triple rum mix though :)