Ometepe

Island of Ometepe

Three days on the beach in San Juan Del Sur and the surf dudes were beginning to wonder who we were so we thought it was time to move on despite ‘their’ beach being a perfect place to hang out and swim.

Our next destination in Nicaragua though, the Island of Ometepe belongs in a fairytale novel. It’s an island formed by twin volcanoes rising out of a lake with lagoons, waterfalls, beaches  and numerous unspoilt villages scattered around the edge.  

The one hour ferry crossing from the mainland dropped us at Chaco Verde which was very remote but right on the lake. We walked miles to a beautiful lagoon and just when we were leaving, the local funeral director pulled up in his truck  and offered us a lift. Gladly we hopped on the back and he dropped us back to our hotel and refused to take any money for his trouble. The following day we hired a couple of bikes which I’m positive used to be bikes in a former life, and a cycled on the one road surrounding the island to a couple of swimming spots. Despite the difficulty of pedalling with only one pedal and me being stuck in 18^th gear and Vanessa stuck in 1st, it was amazing to cycle along this tropical road and have the lake on one side and one of the towering volcanoes on the other whilst the local life unfolded in front of your eyes.

Surprisingly we’re going to stay on the island for about a week.