On day 10, we left at 8 a.m. to make our way to Ometepe, an island in the middle of Lake Cocibolca. We drove for several hours on a public bus, which is an old school bus outfitted for public transportation. The public bus started out very crowded, but then it thinned out as we got closer to Rivas. After the bus, we headed to the ferry terminal and then boarded the public ferry from Rivas to Ometepe.
It was about an hour over to the island and the journey was smooth, but very crowded. It is hard to believe that the island is in the middle of Lake Cocibolca, the biggest in Central America. The island has a very relaxed, chill vibe.
For this part of the tour, we stayed with a host family as part of G Adventures giving back to the community. The Planeterra Foundation launched the project and trained up the community to become hosts. I stayed with Gabriel and his wife in the village of La Paloma. There is a community center in the middle where they have a common area to hang out, rent kayaks, cook, have drinks, etc. Once we arrived, we met our host families, settled in and then it poured for several hours while we relaxed in the rooms. We walked back over to the community center for dinner.
The rooms are very nice at the host families’ houses. My only struggle was the cold shower water, but other that, the stay was perfect. I especially loved the fans over the beds as the place did not have AC. The hammocks and the wooden chairs on the porch were also very inviting for an afternoon nap.
The next morning (day 11), our host family made breakfast with eggs, rice and beans, cheese, plantains, coffee and juice. Then, we headed out for a day of adventure.
Our first stop was the Ojo de Agua, which are pools that are filled by a mineral-rich volcanic spring. On the way, we passed the first volcano (Volcán Concepcíon) and went to the beautiful pools in the middle of what felt like a rainforest. The lush topical forest was the perfect backdrop to start our day of relaxation.
After a few hours here, we headed to Santo Domingo beach. This beach is supposed to be white sand, but it was quite grey when we got there. The driver said it was because of the rain, but it seems like it is grey all of the time. Still, it is a beautiful stretch of beach with Volcán Maderas in the background. We also had lunch at this beach, which was quite expensive, but the food was really good.
Our last stop was at Mango Beach where we stumbled upon a fishing competition. The music was extremely loud with a club vibe to hype up the crowd. I decided to escape the noise and rent a kayak for an hour. With the volcano it the background, it was a stunning view with many different types of birds, a horse, and monkeys. The island really has an impressive amount of wildlife. I kayaked back to the beach and joined the group where the fisherman were coming in to weigh their prizewinning catch. It was an impressive number of people and boats for such a small area. We left before the winner was announced, but it was fun on that little beach.
We drove an hour back to our host families, showered and had dinner with our family. My family made spaghetti with garlic bread and dragonfruit juice. We had a quick group meeting, then lights out for the early departure tomorrow.
