Ometepe

The Isla de Ometepe is a figure eight shaped island formed by two volcanoes on the western side of Lake Nicaragua. Getting to the island requires an hour long 'ferry ride', a term I use loosely.

The larger side of the island is home to La Concepcion Volcano which is considered the most picturesque volcano in all of Latin America. La Concepcion forms a perfect cone shape and rises dramatically to a height of over 1600 meters, or 5,200 feet.

For some reason you are allowed to hike this active volcano and when I found that three other guys from our hostel were climbing it the next day I couldn't resist. Since a number of hikers have been lost on the volcano (in both senses of the word) it is now mandatory to hire a professional guide. We soon discovered our guide was not in that category. Our first hour of the day was spent looking around the port town for him since he overslept which was understandable when we later discovered he had been out drinking until 2am the night before. The hike itself was a nice combination of danger, pain, and beauty - probably in that order.

After a couple days we headed to the smaller and more rustic side of the island. Rustic as in it took the bus one hour to travel 6km over a road that looked more like a dried up riverbed. We spent seven relaxing days at two different establishments. The first had an infinity pool overlooking Lake Nicaragua and La Concepcion Volcano.

The second was on a working farm owned by a young couple from Colorado. They were very environmentally conscious and built their four cabins out of dirt, straw, sand, rocks and horse manure, in a technique called cob. The food was incredible and the dishes were from farm to table. Fresh, fresh, fresh! We filled our days hiking, kayaking, swimming, reading, and eating. I even got to experience a supposed Nicaraguan tradition since I celebrated my birthday on the farm; a fresh egg cracked on the back of my head while I was eating dinner. At least my hair was silky smooth the next day!