so, i finally got myself out of said hammocks of san juan del sur and made my way back north, to the bohemian rhapsody of isla de ometepe. twin volcanos rise up out of the massive lago de nicaragua, forming an island dotted with small coastal villages that ring the mountains and populate the ithmus in between. the place is truly magical, unspoilted by the small stream of hippie-minded backpackers, teaming with howler monkeys, green parrots and blue-tailed urracas, villagers living straight off the land and sea. a nice break from san juan, a fun fiesta to be sure, but basically gringo-ville, usa.
the lancha docked at moyogalpa, the bigger of the two main villages, where i caught my first glimspe of the island. clouds covered the peaks of each volcano, not just ringing the peaks but spread over the tops, making the cloud cover look like snow. i´ve never seen clouds like that before. coconut palms, banana trees and thatched huts lined the lakefront--a good place for some tranquillo time, no?
spent my first night at a hostel/animal rescue center, where we wandered around the town feeding the mangy yet lovable stray dogs that roam the streets, and awoke the next morning to a deer nuzzling me awake.
later, caught a bumpy ride down unpaved roads around the island to finca magdalena, a cheerfully dilapidated farmhouse on an organic coffee plantain set at the base of volcan maderas. it´s a bit rustic--as in the ¨dorms¨are old stables and the bathrooms have a whole host of fun new bugs to discover whilst in use--it´s got loads of local character (as in locals live there as well). magdalena definitely attracts the dreadlocked, unshaven, one-loving type, but you know me--i dig it. it´s a bit island, a bit bohemian, but all nicaraguan. in the back, coffee beans of all different colors were spread out to dry under the sun, getting a nice brown tan au natural, and here´s the absolute best part: you get to drink it! that´s right, NO nescafe! it´s been such a killer for me, traveling through regions that produce some of the best coffee in the world and having to drink instant because it´s all exported. and now here it is, straight from the source. muy bueno!
the next day, i bypassed hiking what would have been my 3rd volcano thus far and decided to hike to the öjo de agua¨instead, a once-sacred pool turned natural swimming pool. seemed to fit in right with my tranquillo mindset. despite a couple locals telling us that it was walkable but very far and kind of confusing (aka ¨take a taxi, gringos¨), we decided a little exercise and exploring never did anyone much harm, right? well, 18 km and 9 hours later, we returned sweaty, muddy but, alas, successful!
as to be expected, nina (a norwegian girl i met in san juan) and i found ourselves hopelessly lost on the ithmus between the two volcanos, but after some aimless wandering and some supreme español on my part (thank you very much!), we found the ëye of the water,¨ which didn´t look like an eye, or very sacred for that matter, but we had a refreshing dip and promised to reward ourselves by taking the bus back. except for one minor problema. no buses on sunday. minor oversight, and just as the sun was making it´s beautiful exit. perfecto.
thumbs out, it seemed, was the only way to go, as we were 10 km from the finca and ometepe doesn´t exactly believe in streetlamps (and don´t worry mom--the island is incredibly safe--we asked around). after a couple no-goes, a friendly family with a pickup montioned for us to hop on and drove us down some rocky paths that didn´t look all that familiar, but that´s not saying much because we couldn´t see much at all. they dropped us at the junction for our town, but it was still another 4 km of trudging through dirt paths using only the light of the moon to guide us (thank goodness for clear nights!). a headlamp, i realized, would have been a smart thing to bring with us. hindsight is always 20-20, isn´t it? finally arrived at the base of madgalena, but it was still 20 more minutes up to the farm and the trees completely blocked out the sky. please excuse my french, but hell no was i walking up that. as if we sent up a smoke signal or something, two guys from magdalena arrived in two motos, just in time to shuttle us home, safe and sound- so much for tranquillo, eh? rewards for getting back included a delicious slice of homemade chocolate cake and a round of fire-dancing lessons. no kidding.
lessons learned:
-bring headlamp everywhere
-check bus schedules if planning on relying on bus
-a machette is really an all-purpose tool and a worthy investment for future travels
-i like to play with fire
X
the lancha docked at moyogalpa, the bigger of the two main villages, where i caught my first glimspe of the island. clouds covered the peaks of each volcano, not just ringing the peaks but spread over the tops, making the cloud cover look like snow. i´ve never seen clouds like that before. coconut palms, banana trees and thatched huts lined the lakefront--a good place for some tranquillo time, no?
spent my first night at a hostel/animal rescue center, where we wandered around the town feeding the mangy yet lovable stray dogs that roam the streets, and awoke the next morning to a deer nuzzling me awake.
later, caught a bumpy ride down unpaved roads around the island to finca magdalena, a cheerfully dilapidated farmhouse on an organic coffee plantain set at the base of volcan maderas. it´s a bit rustic--as in the ¨dorms¨are old stables and the bathrooms have a whole host of fun new bugs to discover whilst in use--it´s got loads of local character (as in locals live there as well). magdalena definitely attracts the dreadlocked, unshaven, one-loving type, but you know me--i dig it. it´s a bit island, a bit bohemian, but all nicaraguan. in the back, coffee beans of all different colors were spread out to dry under the sun, getting a nice brown tan au natural, and here´s the absolute best part: you get to drink it! that´s right, NO nescafe! it´s been such a killer for me, traveling through regions that produce some of the best coffee in the world and having to drink instant because it´s all exported. and now here it is, straight from the source. muy bueno!
the next day, i bypassed hiking what would have been my 3rd volcano thus far and decided to hike to the öjo de agua¨instead, a once-sacred pool turned natural swimming pool. seemed to fit in right with my tranquillo mindset. despite a couple locals telling us that it was walkable but very far and kind of confusing (aka ¨take a taxi, gringos¨), we decided a little exercise and exploring never did anyone much harm, right? well, 18 km and 9 hours later, we returned sweaty, muddy but, alas, successful!
as to be expected, nina (a norwegian girl i met in san juan) and i found ourselves hopelessly lost on the ithmus between the two volcanos, but after some aimless wandering and some supreme español on my part (thank you very much!), we found the ëye of the water,¨ which didn´t look like an eye, or very sacred for that matter, but we had a refreshing dip and promised to reward ourselves by taking the bus back. except for one minor problema. no buses on sunday. minor oversight, and just as the sun was making it´s beautiful exit. perfecto.
thumbs out, it seemed, was the only way to go, as we were 10 km from the finca and ometepe doesn´t exactly believe in streetlamps (and don´t worry mom--the island is incredibly safe--we asked around). after a couple no-goes, a friendly family with a pickup montioned for us to hop on and drove us down some rocky paths that didn´t look all that familiar, but that´s not saying much because we couldn´t see much at all. they dropped us at the junction for our town, but it was still another 4 km of trudging through dirt paths using only the light of the moon to guide us (thank goodness for clear nights!). a headlamp, i realized, would have been a smart thing to bring with us. hindsight is always 20-20, isn´t it? finally arrived at the base of madgalena, but it was still 20 more minutes up to the farm and the trees completely blocked out the sky. please excuse my french, but hell no was i walking up that. as if we sent up a smoke signal or something, two guys from magdalena arrived in two motos, just in time to shuttle us home, safe and sound- so much for tranquillo, eh? rewards for getting back included a delicious slice of homemade chocolate cake and a round of fire-dancing lessons. no kidding.
lessons learned:
-bring headlamp everywhere
-check bus schedules if planning on relying on bus
-a machette is really an all-purpose tool and a worthy investment for future travels
-i like to play with fire
X
No comments:
Post a Comment