Ometepe

Like two mighty brothers the twin volcanoes of Ometepe are visible from far away. Set on the blue waters of  Lake Nicaragua and their tops almost always covered in clouds they form the magical island of Ometepe. Renowned for ist fertile volcanic soil, abundance of crops and happy people it was regarded as a kind of earthly paradise by the Mayas.

 

Before we arrived at Ometepe we had to go through a long journey. From the Colombian Amazon in Leticia we flew to Bogota were we had to stay overnight at the airport. We found a perfect spot to put up our hammocks but airport security was obviously not pleased so they woke us up. First night sleeping on the floor (Maybe that would be a travel-changing solution for connection flights worldwide - equip airports with free hammock spaces so that people don't have to crouch on hard evil formed benches). The next morning we connected to Panama City.

 

Panama and Costa Rica are certainly amazing countries but since they are about as pricey as Europe we decided to skip them and head straight to Nicaragua, which meant bargaining a taxi to Panama's bus terminal and then catch a bus. We actually found a direct bus to Nicaragua (Tica Bus) leaving within an hour, so we decided to jump on it and spend a night on the bus. What they did not tell us was that we wuld only go as far as San Jose in Costa Rica where we would arrive at midnight and change buses with a seven-hour stay at their tiny private terminal. Bloody Bs. Second night sleeping on the floor.

 

The next day we hopped onto the bus again. After a long wait at the border where we had our bags checked by grim looking border police and their drug dogs our bus driver would let us exit in Rivas about 5km from the ferry point. Since it was already late in the afternoon we feared to miss the last boat and thus sleep the third night on the floor. Fortunately we just made the last ferry at San Jorge.

 

The boat ride was quite memorable. I loved it. 99% of the other passengers hated it. It was a windy day and the lake was rougher than many portions of open ocean I have seen. The boat would violently shake from one side to the other with the diesel engine running at its maximum and two crew members constantly pumping out water. While indoors people were emptying their stomachs I stayed on the top of the ship holding firmly to the handrails and enjoying that rollercoaster ride.

 

Although people will tell you to take a taxi, there are decent bus connections on the island. We hopped onto the bus to Altagracia and changed into another bus at the croossing at El Quino to reach the ecofinca of El Zopilote. Although they were fully booked we managed to find a spot to hang our hammocks in Mirko’s place, an Italian guy who tries to live self-sustainible on his piece of land.

 

The next days we roamed around the area, went swimming, climbed the volcano, cuddled the piglets or just hung out reading. We met some really cool people including an Afghan-German who enjoyed this backpacker life after he had missed his plane after an all-inclusive holiday. All in all, a great experience.