Ometepe, Nicaragua

First and foremost, I did NOT want to go to Nicaragua.  I was so scared of all the things I'd seen on the news over the years about rebels and guerilla fighters, but I must say that this was the best thing I'd experienced so far in this trip.  Before even reading my blog post, you should go to www.ometepenicaragua.com and read about this amazing place.  Our destination was Ometepe, Nicaragua.  It is an island in Lake Nicaragua.  The island is there because it's two volcanoes that have come up out of the lake.

Our bus left San Jose at 5 a.m. on Saturday.  We arrived at Nicaragua's border around 1:00.  Crossing the border was a little scary.  We had to get off the bus, let immigration stamp our passports as we left Costa Rica, and reboard the bus.  Then, we drove a little bit in "no-man's land" until we reached the Nicaragua side.  Again, we had to get off the bus, let them go through our luggage and stamp our passports, and then get back on the bus.  Nicaragua is very "old school" and we actually had to get our luggage off the bus to lay it out on tables so people could come by to inspect them.  While that was going on, we had beggars and vendors harassing us. It was a little overwhelming, but it all worked out okay.

We arrived in Rivas, Nicaragua about 2:30 (I'm guestimating).  When we exited the bus, we were pounced on by about 8 taxi drivers...well, not really taxis.  They were bicycles with the little cart on the front.  I think the correct term is "rickshaw"?  Anyway, they wanted to charge $5 per person to carry us 8 km to the ferry.  Then, a taxi driver came up and said he'd take us for $3 a person.  So, we took the car.  (We found out later that we should never pay more than $1 per person for that ride). Once we got to the ferry, we had to wait about an hour.  At this point, we're tired, hungry, and just plain irritated.  Finally, FINALLY, we were able to board the ferry and ride it to the island.

Ometepe is an island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua.  The lake has bull sharks in it, and great waves for a lake.  It was one of the coolest places I've ever been. 

This little village of Moyogalpa was so full of culture.  I loved it so much.  It was the typical place that you think about....small homes side by side...no coverings on the doors or windows, you can see right into the homes.  Sometimes you'll hear music coming from various places, tunes overlapping.  Roosters are crowing and scattering out of your way as you walk down the street.  Barefoot children are running around playing games.  Some people might set up a little table in front of their home to sell items....sometimes food, sometimes craftsy items, sometimes maxi pads (just sayin').  These people are poor, but they were so friendly and welcoming and helpful to us.  I definitely want to go back to this place one day.

We stayed at a place called Yogi's Hostel in Moyogalpa which was, well, a hostel.  It was the first time I'd ever stayed in a hostel.  I guess I really didn't know what to expect for $7 a night, but it was fine.  Nothing fancy, but we were able to sleep.  This was the courtyard at night.  I just loved the way the light was.  This picture really doesn't do it justice....

And, here's looking down into the common area, where we would hang out and swing in hammocks.  There's Layne....the only spot he could get Wi-Fi....LOL

We rented 4 wheelers and scooters our second day there.  We were able to explore about 25 km of the island.  Unfortunately, we got a late start and the 4 wheelers had to be back by 5 p.m. so we didn't get to go as far as we wanted.  Sights were amazing, though.  As we left Moyogalpa, the homes (if that's what you want to call them) got further and further apart.  You could still see the majestic volcano (which last erupted in 2010) towering over these modest dwellings.

Continuing down the road, we found a place for ziplining.  We couldn't take our back packs, so I opted to babysit the packs while Layne and the other student teachers went ziplining.  It was only $20 per person and they said it was amazing.  One of them took some pics of Layne for me, but I haven't gotten them yet.  This is the group after they were done....

We finished out the day at Playa Santo Domingo.  It's a beach with surprisingly big waves.  Well, not as big as ocean waves, but for lake waves they were pretty impressive.  And there's the second volcano in the background....

It was a great couple of days.  On our last night there, we walked down to the lake to watch the sunset.  We turned around once and saw the volcano looming behind us....

And the sunset?  Well the sunset was the perfect ending to a pretty fantabulous trip :-)

I was a little worried coming back into Costa Rica.  I just didn't know how things would work with Layne being a minor.  But, he went way ahead of me...didn't even wait for me.  He was through immigration, had his passport stamped, and was tapping his foot at me telling me to hurry up before I could even get to the immigration desk.  Entering Costa Rica was a little easier than entering Nicaragua...at least they had x-ray machines for the luggage so we didn't wait for each bag to be searched.