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The main draw to Ometepe is the picturesque lake surrounded by two active volcanoes Maderas and Conception. It is a rural island where you will see men chasing cows down the road, women getting on buses with chickens in their bags and pigs roaming the street. Locals spend their evening sat outside watching the world go by and it's safe to say the pace of life is slower in Ometepe.
We arrived by ferry to Moyagalpa. The busiest part of the island and by busy I mean about 5 restaurants. We were spending our first two days here and the third final night in Merida. The first part of our stay was in Hospedaje Soma, named after a Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Our stay in Merida was at Omaja. I found this one on a flashpackers blog, slightly over budget but worth it for one night. It lived up to expectations with a cliff side pool facing the Maderas volcano. There was the added benefit of glimpsing a family of howler monkeys in the garden.
Our days were spent exploring the island. You could travel by moped or quad bike but we opted for the school bus aka the chicken bus that costs 50p at most. First stop was Charco Verde. Here we walked through a beautiful forest surrounding the lake full of colourful butterflies and bright green lizards. From there we went on to Ojo de Agua to cool down. A natural pool that was full to the brim with people. We used the time to swing on tarzan ropes, Rory showing himself off as quite the acrobat and then drinking coco loco's (coconuts filled with rum).
The next day didn't run quite as smoothly. After a lazy morning enjoying Omaja, we ventured out to kayak. We went for a double kayak expecting a calm journey to monkey island on a serene lake. Monkey island was there in the distance, a 45 minute journey. However, we soon felt the strong winds with waves worthy of a choppy sea. Rory and I were not so in rythym resulting in arguments on who was worse at paddling (probably me) whilst watching other couples seamlessly pass by. Keeping the boat straight was a problem and whilst rotating in the wrong direction the Go Pro fell in the water. As it floated away we manically rushed to catch it managing to capsize in the process. Realising how ridiculous the whole situation was we ended up laughing in the water. We were never getting to monkey island (we'd seen a fair few anyway) and called it quits. The fall wasn't in vain though as we had the Go Pro back.
Once out we soon learnt the lake was actually a breeding ground for bull sharks. Perhaps we may not have laughed as much if we'd known. In the 70s it was a a serious problem where locals could not even enter the water. Sadly to resolve the problem a Japanese company built a fin processing factory for exportation. Now there are only a few hundred in the lake but one benefit is the locals can swim free.
It is not only the Japanese interested in the islands potential. The Chinese are potentially building a canal here, one bigger than the Panama Canal. Having now visited the island, this would not only be a destruction of the beautiful wildlife but of also of an authentic way of life. Let's hope it never happens.
That evening was spent watching the sunset and as the night drew in dozens of fire flies lit the garden. The perfect way to end our stay. The next day we were up early to travel to Granada, the former capital of Nicaragua.
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