head in the clouds

After Esteli we headed south towards the volcanic island of Ometepe. 

The market on the way to Ometepe was quite hectic

We bought these bright pink coconut things on the bus from one of the many people selling food and drink who squeeze along the crowded aisle with massive baskets and buckets of goods, they were tasty

We went out to eat along the beach and scared ourselves as all the restaurants were deserted and shady looking types went up and down the beach on motorbikes.  We had been warned not to go on the beach after 9pm but we felt uneasy at 7pm, there were loads of midges  - luckily they didn't bite.  There was however a fantastic huge full moon rising between the two volcanos of Ometepe island.

A cute stray dog joined us for dinner

Getting the ferry to the volcanic island, about an hour and a half across

the biggest volcano Concepcion was constantly covered by varying amounts of cloud

We got picked up by the hostels speed boat james bond style

The accommodation was pretty amazing for a private room at a hostel place

Omptepe is two amazing volcanoes in a huge lake, Lake Nicaragua http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ometepe. The place is really cool but made both myself and Fiona feel a bit strange. I can't help thinking that travelling (particulalry in the developing world) is a really damaging activity both culturally and environmentally, everywhere is slowly becoming the same. The only benefit people ever talk about is an economic one, despite the highly uneven distribution of this wealth (only some people in some communities get anything (those who live near a rainforest or beach)  and ownership is often by foreigners) and the fact it must be weighed against the damage caused. The biggest irony with such a justification is that it is what many who travel, like ourselves, feel that one of the biggest problems with our society is that we only measure success or well being in economic terms, yet we are satisfied with viewing tourism this way.

We were on the smaller volcano Volcan Madera with less on it but when we got transported to the ferry we saw the extent of the development. A huge swathe of tarmac marked the site of the new airport for people who haven't got time to arrive by ferry.  As soon as somewhere gets trendy you get developments of all scales and price brackets, then the whole place gets ruined and the backpackers announce its "all too commercial" and the whole horrible process starts all over again.

The little speed boat we caught from the ferry

taking a dip of the pier, the water was murky, but lovely and refreshing

nearly free of cloud

We kayaked along the shore

and up to the river

There were Jacanas, the moorhen type birds with huge feet that wade across the lillies.. Here is a great blue heron.

We kayaked across the lake at sunset and arrived back in the dark with fireflies in the air and landing on our paddles.  The day after kayaking we decide to climb the volcano. To do this we had to get a guide as a couple of people got lost on their way back once and never came back.

A nice Brazillian girl named Liege joined us on the hike

leaf cutter ants

more jungle swings

de-vine

the first viewpoint

two hours in - half way up

You don't want to know what the guide called this flower

At the top 1394 m- Hooray

The view from the top was not that impressive and this cloud is all the other faster groups saw

but we waited a while and clouds began to clear revealing the lake in the crater

From the other side we could see the rest of the island - the land between the two volcanoes was actually very agricultural you just couldn't see it from the ground level.

Leaving Ometepe, Volcan Madera on the right.