Chet and Karen's Adventures--South of the Border: Isla Ometepe!

We are now on Isla Ometepe in the middle of Lake Nicaragua (sometimes known as Cocibolca Lake). It took us half a day of traveling from San Juan del Sur to get here with many transportation changes along the way. First was a chicken bus from San Juan to Rivas. The bus dropped us on the side of the highway...we thought we would be dropped at the bus station...drat. The moment we got off the bus we were approached by some taxi drivers,but not just any taxi drivers...bicycle taxi drivers. Not wanting to walk all the way across town to the bus station, we decided to go the four kilometers to the ferry in the bike taxi. Half serious and joking, Wyatt at one point asked if he could try riding the bicycle. Our driver replied with his consent. Climbing aboard the bike, Wyatt got the hang of it after only a couple foibles. He said it was much harder than he expected since the cover of the rickshaw acted as a sail in the steady wind and that the steering was super touchy. After a few minutes and safely maneuvering us through a construction zone, Wyatt was done and handed control back to the driver. After an hour and a half wait on the dock in little San Jorge, we boarded a ferry to Ometepe. The lake was pretty rough from the wind but thankfully we were on a big enough boat that we didn't really feel it except for the side to side sway. A long long time ago, when Chet came here with his family, he said they took a smaller boat to the island, one that each time the boat hit a wave, the boards seemed to move and rub against each other as if the boat was going to fall apart (He thought he was going to die on that boat). But not to worry you...we took a very sturdy metal, three story ferry made in the Netherlands (all the signs were in Dutch still!) And so we made it to Ometepe after a long ride. I like the ferry. It's kind of a break from the madness on both land sides, just a slow toodle across the water watching the scenery go by very slowly. As soon as you get off the ferry though, you are suddenly jerked from that dreamy serenity back into the hustle and bustle of the land bound world, with multitudes of taxi drivers vying for your attention.

After talking to the bus people, we found that we would have to take the bus way out of our way, switches buses, and then finally be on the right track to our destination. For only a couple dollars more and in a LOT less time, we opted for a taxi. We are staying at a hostel in the very small town of Santa Cruz (all the towns on the island are pretty dang tiny).

Ometepe is comprised of two volcanoes, the active Volcan Concepcion and the non-active Volcan Maderas. We are staying on the non active one :) But we do have a pretty killer view of the active one right from our porch at our hostel and can even see it smoking away in the afternoon once it has shed its morning cloud cloak. Ometepe is part of the "Ring of Fire" chain of volcanoes that go up the Pacific coast of North and South America and down the Pacific coast of eastern Asia.

On our first afternoon here, we walked down to Playa Santo Domingo. At first glance, the beach looks like an ocean side beach on a calm day, with little wind waves rolling in and you can't see the other side of the like so it looks like the ocean. But on closer inspection, the water is not salty like the ocean, the waves are very small, and one can just make out the land on the other side of the lake.

The rough water leaving the mainland for Ometepe.

The second day here...we had the adventure of adventures. We decided to hike the non active volcano, Maderas. Chet, Wyatt, and I are all pretty good hikers, having hiked and backpacked a bunch back home so we felt prepared to hike the mountain. To be honest, we weren't in the greatest hiking shape so we were pretty dang sore in the legs today. But anyways, we hiked a volcano! Over ten years ago, several different people died hiking the volcanoes, so it is now required to hire a guide if you want to hike the mountains. Through our hostel, we set up a tour with a guide. There is a local union of tour guides here that trains the guides in survival skills and the trails of the mountains. Our guide, Gerald, was a little reserved at first and taking it a little slow. Later when we'd finally gotten back to our hostel, we found out it was his fifth time this week and his 1263rd ascent of Maderas (AND he's climbed the other, taller volcano over 800 times!). Over his nine years as a hiking guide, he has accumulated many stories. One being where after he had led a tour, he drank some beers with his hiking group, and then fell asleep in a hammock (the hostel has several hammocks around), waking up around 3 AM. After walking home in the complete darkness and not wanting to get in a fight, he told his wife that the group just took a really long time to hike the mountain this time....

Back to the hiking...Maderas is about 1400 meters high (4200 feet) with a lake that resides in the caldera at the top. We started at about 8:30 in the morning and made it back to our hostel around 5:30 pm, an all day hike to be sure. The first half of the hike was mostly dry and open with spectacular views of the island whereas the second half was very muddy and shrouded in forest. There are three different paths that can be used to hike the volcano. Unfortunately, we didn't get to take the one that lead to the lake in the interest of time. But we did get to go to a pretty awesome view point above the lake. The ascent of the volcano was pretty steep and slippery; there were no switch backs in the trail and it was very muddy. We made it though, albeit shoes thoroughly coated in mud! On the way back down the volcano, our guide was feeling much better and was flying down the hillside. Going down is not my favorite part with the havoc it wreaks on one's knees and feet (especially if you're not wearing proper hiking boots). Our guide later mentioned that we had to go down the hill very fast to get down before sunset since we didn't have lights. Even though we were all pretty sore today, it was so awesome to get out and stretch the legs with a nice and strenuous hike.