Ometepe

On the way to Ometepe

After indulging in the gorgeous Pacific beaches of San Juan del Sur, Julio and I went to the famous Isla de Ometepe, an island located East of San Juan in the Lake of Nicaragua and home to the ancient petroglyphs. The crossing to the island reminded me of one of my favourite places I have visited on my travels, Lago Atitlan in Guatemala. Ometepe Island was just astonishingly bigger.

Upon arrival to the Island at Moyogalpa we had to take another bus all the way to the other side of the island to a small village called Balgue where we had chosen to stay for a particular coffee plantation located there. The coffee plantation, Finca Magdalena had extended its capabilities to accommodate backpackers and was popular for its extensive panoramic view over Lago Nicaragua. An arduous, rocky, seriously vomit-inducing bus journey followed by a 1.5km uphill hike later and we had found our way to the finca hostel. And indeed, we discovered that the whispers were true and the lofty finca had stunning views of the island's two volcanoes, Maderas and Concepcion.

Coffee plantation where we stayed

Whilst in Ometepe, Julio climbed the difficult Maderas whilst I chose to explore the flatter parts of the island and bussed across Ometepe, venturing in to other villages. Altagracia is Ometepe's second most important town (the first being messy Moyogalpa) and here I walked about absolutely gawped at by the locals as it is not a frequently-visited tourist spot. It is a small, quiet place with church, square, clinic and school but not much more. The people are astonishingly smiley and this was the first place in Nicaragua that I believe I was paying Nica prices for food, transport and internet. Santo Domingo, a town on Ometepe is one of the more popular places on the island for backpackers and tourists. It possesses the most beautiful beaches of the island with black sand and eerily still freshwater. An intensely magnificent and meditative place to relax, I exploited my afternoon there thoroughly and experienced a very refreshing clarity of mind.

View of Lago Nicaragua

Although my visit to Ometepe was brief, I loved the island! The people were humble and friendly, the nature wild and colourful and the still quiet mystical.

X

Nica Nica Nicaragua!

And finally here I am in Nicaragua, I have been here for the past two weeks now and have absolutely loved it! For many years I had dreamed of coming to the exotic and rarely mentioned country and so far it has been everything and more than I expected it to be! I began my exploration in the colonial city of Granada. I had been told in Antigua, Guatemala to expect a similar city. Although I knew this meant it would be very beautiful, I also feared that it might mean the city would be overrun with Westerners speaking English everywhere and tourist shops, tour operators, tourist prices as is Antigua. However I was delighted to discover a very different kind of colonial city. One that is more authentically Nicaraguan.

Granada is ALIVE and in the best possible way. The streets are packed with families and family businesses all constantly interacting, trading and laughing together. There seems to be a very strong sense of community. The numerous market stalls (indoor and outdoor) just outside our hostel were so colourful and bustling, with fresh smells (of both the delicious and the grim varieties) filling the Granadan air. The people look strong and resilient and I found them to be nothing but curious and friendly (if a little difficult to understand in accent.) They dress more modern than the rest of Central America and walk with a tougher swagger. I appreciated this. We spent our few days there walking about the pretty streets and visiting the Lago de Nicaragua where the city is based. Pretty vistas surround Granada - hills and volcanoes alike. There is a good sense of burgeoning art, supported by the awesome building Casa de los Tres Mundos - an arts and culture centre very much carving its way as the heart of the city.

Nearby is the town filled with famous artesania markets called Masaya. One day we took a bus there and walked around all the impressive handicrafts and creative fashions. It is a market for locals rather than tourists. Had I more space in my heaving backpack, no doubt I would have invested in the Nicaraguan produce here. Overall, I really liked Granada and it was a spectacular introduction for me to Nicaragua which is already proving to be a gritty, authentic vision of Central America.