Ometepe Island, Nicaragua

For those of you who may be wondering, “How did they come up with the idea of going to Nicaragua?” here’s the story. Over the years the three of us have traveled extensively together. We spent a month in Costa Rica at a language school and three weeks in Peru and the Galapagos Islands. When we began to plan our next trip it was a good excuse to call the same company who booked our previous trip. Adventure Life is a US-based company specializing in Central and South America travel. Originally we considered going to Guatemala for this trip but Nicaragua offered many of the same kind of experiences (volcanoes, colonial cities, wildlife, etc.) at a lower price. Nicaragua’s tourist infrastructure is very young and it is growing rapidly. Adventure Life didn’t steer us wrong and they’ve put us in the most beautiful, convenient, and luxurious accommodations we could imagine and our guides have all been top notch.

This morning we were greeted by driver Sergio and a new guide Raymundo. Sergio and Raymundo drove us for about an hour south from Granada to the port of San Jorge. From there we took a crazy ferry from the mainland to the Island of Ometepe.

The ferry was packed beyond imagination and our travel companions included tourists, locals, and a large colorful bus. You gotta see the pictures.

Once at the port of Moyogalpa on the island of Ometepe, we were met by another guide Francisco and driver Fernando. Both men are residents of Ometepe and speak English well. They drove us to the other side of the island, with a stop for lunch at a beautiful beachside restaurant.

Lake Nicaragua is one of the largest fresh water lakes in the world. One guidebook says it is as large as the island of Puerto Rico. Ometepe is the largest island in Lake Nicaragua and consists of two volcanoes, Concepcion and Maderas.

Maderas is a dormant volcano and Concepcion is active. In fact it was acting up just six months ago! The island’s fertile volcanic soil, clean water, wide beaches, wildlife population, and archaeological sites have landed it on the shortlist for the new Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

Our home base for the next two days is the Totoco EcoLodge. Totoco is located on the slopes of the Maderas Volcano and is surrounded by coffee and plantain farms. We each have a private cabin that is 100% eco-friendly. That means that we have a composting toilet, renewable solar energy power, and all the food is organic, mostly grown on site. This afternoon we could hear the howler monkeys as we lay in the hammock on our patio.

Totoco has only four cabins and it appears that most everyone here is either American or Canadian. We are learning a lot from our fellow travelers, most of who are on the same path as we are (Leon, Granada, Ometepe, San Juan del Sur). In fact, we plan to see some of the same people on the beach in San Juan del Sur for New Years. Nicaragua is a pretty small country.

Here on Ometepe our plan is to enjoy the beautiful views of Concepcion from our patio, hike in the cloud forest of Maderas, and enjoy this beautiful natural area. Stay tuned…

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Granada, Nicaragua

Christmas morning in Granada started off much quieter than the midnight fireworks the night before. We had our morning breakfast buffet and met our guide Eric just after 8 for the drive up volcano Mombacho.

We arrived at the Hacienda El Progreso Coffee Plantation about half way up the volcano where it was cool and breezy compared to the city.

We toured through the coffee plantation and processing plant and then zip lined through the coffee fields and jungle canopy. The zip line was highlighted by the Plunge, a 13 meter (4 stories) free fall. Of course we were roped and controlled but it was still quite a sensation.

Next, we were driven to the top of Mombacho where we found ourselves in the middle of the cloud forest: windy, foggy, not raining but humidity in the air beyond 100 percent. We couldn’t see into the crater nor down towards Lake Nicaragua because we were in the clouds. Visibility was a few hundred meters and this apparently is normal and typical. We hiked around the top, saw some steam vents from the active volcano and one lone sloth sleeping in a tree.

Finally, we made our way down the incredibly steep road to the plantation house for a nice lunch before the ride back into Granada. As we entered Granada we met a funeral procession. Eric said that only in Granada are the caskets driven by a black horse drawn carriage. It was yet another cultural experience.

We spent the rest of the day resting and enjoying our hotel and views of the square. The horse drawn carriages stop and start right in front of our hotel.

The afternoon rains came and went and didn’t slow down the Nicaraguans one bit.

When traveling in a foreign country there is always the risk of stomach problems. Today Marnie experienced it in full force. By the time we got back to Granada for our afternoon of relaxation, she was down for the count. We wouldn’t wish this on anyone, but it’s short-lived and she is going to be 100% for our next adventure: the Island of Ometepe.

Feliz Navidad, Nicaraguan style.

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Masaya, Nicaragua

Feliz Navidad to our family and friends! Today we continued our Nicaraguan adventure by traveling south to Masaya and Granada. Leaving Leon and the beautiful El Convento, we drove about two hours back towards and past Managua to the Masaya Volcano and National Park. Masaya is another active volcano in the same chain as the others that we’ve visited.

At Masaya you can drive right to the crater rim and look into the smoldering caldera. It really stinks like sulphur. In fact, we climbed to the lookout point and were unable to catch our breath due to the terrible sulphur fumes. It is an amazing sight but worth the trip.

From Masaya National Park we went to the town of Masaya to visit the famed Masaya market. This is the market where the local artisans sell their wares including hammocks, pottery, and weavings. After spending so much time in Mexico, we were not super impressed. We picked up a few things, but nothing too exciting.

Our next stop was the famous El Zaguan Restaurant in Granada. Granada will be our base for the next two nights and this restaurant is THE place to eat.

Lunch al fresco in the beautiful garden was worth the trip. El Zaguan is known for churrasco, grilled beef that’s seasoned just right. Needless to say, we enjoyed our lunch.

And the day was just getting started! Once we checked into our hotel, Plaza Colon, we met our new guide for the next two days. Eric from Mombotours will be guiding us while in Granada and he got us started in very cool fashion. We drove to the shores of Lake Nicaragua and boarded individual kayaks for a tour of Las Isletas, the collection of 365 islands that surround the shores around Granada. We explored the islands, many of which are inhabited.

On some, families live in shacks. On others there are schools, churches, and hotels. At one island we were able to overhear a mass being conducted. On another, we rocked out to latin music and imagined the party that was going on inside the shack. Christmas Eve is in full force! On the way back to the dock, it began pouring a warm rain, to the point that it didn’t matter whether we were on top of the kayak or in the water. Still, we enjoyed the whole thing.

Our dinner was traditional Nicaragua. We walked a few blocks to Calle de la Cazada, which is kind of like Las Ramblas in Barcelona. It’s a pedestrian street that’s filled with bars and restaurants with tables pouring onto the sidewalk. We dined at Comida Tipico, a traditional Nicaraguan restaurant. Steve had baho, a concotion of beef, plantain, cabbage, and rice wrapped in a banana leaf.

Marnie enjoyed a nacatamale, the Nicaraguan version of a tamale, again, wrapped in banana leaves. Choco flan for dessert toped off our Christmas Eve dinner.

In Nicaragua, Christmas is rung in with fireworks—lots of them. In fact, they’ve been going off all day, beginning at 6:00 a.m. They to culminate at midnight with a REALLY BIG display, and we were able to enjoy the festivities on our balcony overlooking Granada’s central park. Think 4^th of July multiplied by ten. Once the baby Jesus arrived, things settled down and we were able to sleep.

Speaking of the baby Jesus, Nicaragua is primarily a Catholic country. In every Nativity scene we’ve scene so far, the manger was empty. Now that Christmas is here, the baby will be included in the scene.

More adventures tomorrow, including zip lining and another volcano hike. Stay tuned!

And again, Feliz Navidad!

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