Anniversary Trip Part 2- Ometepe Island, Nicaragua

Anniversary Trip Part 2
Ometepe Island, Nicaragua
February 12-15, 2015
Days 5-8 of a 12 Day Adventure

We were very excited to make it to Ometepe, an island in Lake Nicaragua formed by two volcanoes which have grown together - the only thing that stood in our way was an hour-long ferry ride.  We opted for the larger ferry rather than the rather rickety looking wooden flatas- good thing, too, because the ride in what was supposed to be the more stable boat was still pretty choppy and I had to close the window to avert the water splashing into the cabin.  I found it exhilarating.  J found it nerve-wracking. 

When we arrived at the dock a driver arranged by Ometepe Secret Adventures picked us up and drove us across the island (on a road that actually crosses the one airport runway on the island) to our hotel Xalli Ometepe Beach Hotel in Playa Santa Domingo.  I tried to take in as much as I could as we drove past tobacco fields and through small towns waving at school children riding their bikes along the road.  Located on the isthmus between Concepción Volcano, an active volcano on the north side of the island, and Maderas Volcano, an inactive volcano on the south side, Playa Santa Domingo is a quiet stretch of beach with soft black sand.  We were met with fresh juice drinks at Xalli and were shown our room which was updated, immaculate and comfortable.  I instantly felt relaxed.  We ordered lunch from the hotel restaurant which features all local and organic ingredients.  While there, I saw the dessert special was Bananas Flambé’, a dish I personally LOVE, and we shared a decadent snack later that night.

We spent most of Friday just lounging around- sat on the beach in the morning, watched horses running in the water, laid in hammocks and read, took a walk along the lakeshore and spent some time in the lake, which is extremely wavy but also very shallow in that area.  J wasn’t scared at all to enter once he saw it was barely waist deep.  We had a blast jumping into the waves and splashing around.  That evening we walked to town and ate at Comedor Gloriana, a rundown beach bar that served J a giant fresh fish steamed whole (something he’d never had) while I had the best plantinos con queso (plantains with local cheese) of my trip.  It was dark by the time we walked up the beach toward the hotel and I noticed something at my feet- GIANT toads- way bigger than my hand- all over the beach! 

Saturday was our 11-year ‘Prime’ Anniversary and we had a big day of exploring the island planned.  Our driver picked us up in a pretty pimp truck with a Punisher sticker on the side and we drove around the island from spot to spot, getting a little taste of everything.  I loved passing through small villages and taking in the local way of life- women doing laundry in a stream, teens herding cattle down the road, men hanging from ropes to get a better reach while painting the local church. I felt a distinctive spirit in the rural communities, much like the spirit I feel when I return to the farmland I grew up on.  

Our first stop was Punta Jesus Maria, a sandbar that extends out into Lake Nicaragua making the illusion of one walking on water the farther out they get.  There wasn’t anyone else there that morning and J really enjoyed walking out onto the strip with the waves coming from two directions rolling over his feet.  The beach was covered with opalescent shells and I chose a few for jewelry projects.

From there we headed over to Museo el Ciebo, a museum of artifacts found on Ometepe, many of them Pre-Colombian, including pipes, musical instruments, cooking utensils, jewelry and funeral urns.  We were lucky to have a museum guide to ourselves that answered all our questions about the items displayed there.  He told us the ancient inhabitants of Ometepe were Mayan and descended from Guatemala looking for their own ‘Promised Land’- when they saw Ometepe they believed they’d found it. 

We took a late-morning stroll around Laguna Charco Verde, a peaceful reserve with easy walking trails, dense tropical foliage and an abundance of wildlife to see- monkeys, birds, lizards, turtles, butterflies.  At one point I saw a long but skinny bright green snake wrapped around a branch just like a crawling vine- eek!  J and I had an amazing lunch at the restaurant near the park entrance- sadly I did not get the name.  It was like an open air pavilion with updated décor and a beautiful view of the lake and mainland. 

Ojo de Agua, a mineral spring-fed pool with medicinal properties and is nestled in the shade of a thick canopy, is a popular spot to spend a hot afternoon.  Although there were plenty of people enjoying the water or lounging beside it, J and I found a quiet spot at the far side and cooled in the water while watching monkeys in the trees and kids enjoying the rope swing and slack line set up at either end of the huge pool.  Artisans display their crafts outside the pool area and I watched as a woman showed me how she polished stones she found on the island and then made them into jewelry. 

We wrapped up our island tour at Finca Magdalena, an organic coffee plantation set on the slopes of Maderas Volcano.  I was afraid the Punisher was going to sustain serious damage from the condition of the road but it seemed to handle it okay.  We hiked through the coffee fields and into the woods, up rocky inclines, over fences, around a volcano in search of ancient petroglyphs carved into the stone hundreds of years ago.  What an interesting tribute to the history of the island- that ages ago someone had carved the shape of the sun or the face of a monkey or another symbol into a boulder and it sits in that place still.

We walked up the beach to another restaurant I’d noticed the day before- Comedor Jackaling- a little open-air beach restaurant with sand floors, dim bar lighting and delicious food for dinner.  There was just something about the vibe that made it a very comfortable place- it was a chill spot to have a casual meal on our last evening in Ometepe.  That night I made sure to spend a moment standing barefoot in the sand between the volcanoes, allowing all my senses to feel the island’s energy.          

Ometepe is the magical place everyone said it was with secluded beaches, spectacular scenery and a calming energy.  The streets were full of people walking to church on Sunday morning and I felt lucky to get one last glimpse into local life as we were driving to the ferry.  Transport across the lake had been cancelled the day before but the boats were operating that morning- still the waves were VERY big- this time even I was a bit wary!  But we arrived safely and saw our driver holding a sign with our names as soon as we exited the ferry.  As it turns out, it was Francisco’s (our driver from Apoyo to the ferry) brother and we were quickly on our way to our next location on the Pacific Coast.