Masaya, Granada and Ometepe Island

Granada
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On Monday 29th Sep, we left Managua to go to Masaya and from there to Granada.  We went to a bus stop and soon a minivan came with a guy shouting if we wanted to go to Granada.  As Masaya is on the way to Granada, he stopped so we could get on.  Masaya is a small town with a craft market where we bought some sandals.  We then took a chicken bus to Granada.  Reaching Granada, a beautiful colonial town, well preserved, we went into a church and climbed to the top where we had a beautiful view of Granada.  We then went to look for a place to stay.  While walking around, we bought a little bowl of sweet rice from this man who makes it and sells it on the street.  It was delicious!  Eventually we found a room in the hostal of the SOCIAL CENTRE TIO ANTONIO

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NICARAGUA which is a Non-governmental-organization (NGO) devoted to make health, education and social careprojects to people in need, especially children, women, and very poor families.  It is run by Tio Antonio, a spanish man.  There is also a fair trade shop.  Anybody interested can look at the site www.tioantonio.org

There we met Pedro from Barcelona who told us about a place to eat.  We later met him at the restaurant and had dinner with him and he showed us around Granada.  The next morning we went to have breakfast before we departed to Ometepe.  We were approached by a little boy selling some musical instruments in the shape of a bird that were handpainted and a young man selling tours of the surrounding islands.  They had not had breakfast yet so we gave them breakfast and bought a little bird.  Unfortunately, we could not do the tour as we were leaving.  We then went to the bus stop to take the chicken bus to Rivas, than a taxi to San Jorge and then a ferry to Ometepe.

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And this is where the adventure starts.  We took the bus which was crowded so we had to stand part of the journey and as we neared Rivas there was an accident, a truck had crashed and was blocking the road so there was a huge queue of cars.  The bus driver told us we had to get off the bus and walk until we passed the truck and then get on another bus.  I love walking but not with a heavy rucksack on my back!  On the bus we had met Tito from Italy that is leaving in the Cayman Islands and a french guy that was leaving in the Usa.  Anyway, we all started to walk as we did not have any other choice.  Carla wanted to go to the toilet so we decided to go to a house and ask them if we could use their toilet.  Please see enclosed photo of the toilet!  After that , we started walking and asked a woman that was selling food how long it would take us to get there.  She told us at least 2 hours, and that it was a bit dangerous to do it.  We were deciding what to do, if we should go back to Granada (not sure how, as no buses were coming from the other side either) when the cars started moving.  We decided to hitch hike as we did not see any buses coming.  A truck stopped and we got on the back where we met a couple from Argentina that had hitched a lift with them as well.  Victoria, who was travelling with her dog, met her boyfriend somewhere in South America and together were now making their way to Mexico.  They make ear rings, bracelets, etc and sell them so they can fund their travel.  The truck dropped us off just outside Rivas so we got on a bus and went into Rivas.  In the bus we again met Tito and the three of us took a taxi to San Jorge to get the ferry to Ometepe.

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On the ferry we again met the french guy.  Ometepe  is an island formed by two volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua and is home to the world's only freshwater sharks.  It is beautiful and is covered in lush, tropical forests, banana groves, and shade grown coffee farms.  The ferry took about 40 minutes to get to Moyogalpa where the two of us and Tito again took a bus to Charco Verde.  On the bus we met Ido and Renan who were from Israel and Gareth and Erica who were from the Usa.  We all decided to stop at Charco Verde so the bus dropped us off on the side of the road and we started walking to try and find a hotel.  By then it had started to get dark so we were not sure where to go.  It was beautiful though as there were a lot of fireflies around.  Eventually we found a hotel and after bargaining with the receptionist we all had rooms at a reasonable price.  We all had dinner together, played truth and dare and then went to bed.  It was only the next morning that we realized how beautiful it was.  We were right by the lake.  We had breakfast and then decided to go for a walk.  Ido and Renan accompanied us.  As were walking we realized that the dog from the hotel had caught a bird so we saved it.  Fortunately he was not hurt so we looked for a tree where we could put it out of harms way.  We had a swim than got back to have lunch as we were leaving to go to Merida.

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After lunch we walked to the main road to get the bus, which we missed.  We were sitting on the road waiting for the next one when a woman stopped and offered to take us for 15Usd.  We told her no.  After a while it started to rain and no bus had come it.  The same woman drove by again and this time we decided to accept it.  There was a mexican guy there as well and we started chatting.  He had been travelling as well and was now going back home to his pregnant wife and kids.  He offered to let us stay in his home, which was in Bangue.  We accepted but when we got there the room was not really good (he had been travelling for too long) so we handed up going to a nearby "hotel".  It was cheap but not that great, although the owners were really friendly.  The wife even cooked dinner for us (ok, we paid for it!)  Bangue is not that pretty and as it had been raining it was quite muddy.  Most of the roads in Ometepe are not tarred.  The next morning we took a bus to Playa Santo Domingo.  And surprise, surprise there was a little vegetarian restaurant.  We looked for a hotel and found one by the lake.  Playa Santo Domingo is the most touristic place in Ometepe.  We went to the vegetarian restaurant for breakfast, hired a bicycle and cycled to “Ojo de Agua” (eye of the water) a natural lagoon down the road.  As the roads are not tarred, it was quite a bumpy ride.  We had a swim although the water was quite cold and chatted to Tony from New York who is living in Vietnam teaching English in an orphanage.  We cycled back and had lunch again at the vegetarian.  We decided to cycle to Merida (were told it would only take us about 1 hour).  Three hours later, exhausted and sore we arrived.  Merida is gorgeous so we went to this hotel and had a pancake.  Now we had to get back and were not fancying another 3 hour cycle so asked around and found somebody that was willing to take us back.  And, yes, we had to pay them 30 Usd, but believe me, it was worth it!  We had a delicious pizza at the vegetarian and went to bed.  The next morning we were supposed to take the bus at 5 am as we were coming back to San Jose, but, again, we missed it.  The bus is supposed to come at 5, but can come by earlier and if there is nobody it does not stop.  The next bus would be at 6 which was a pain.  A car was just coming out of a house next to the hotel so we asked the driver where he was going and if he could give us a lift.  Fortunately, he was going to Moyogalpa but had to make a stop in another town first so he dropped us off the the crossroads and told us that if we had not managed to get on a bus, he would pick us up on the way back.  We did not, so he picked us up and took us to the ferry stop.  On the ferry we again met the Argentinian couple.  In Rivas we took a bus to the border, crossed the border on foot and took a bus to San Jose from the Costa Rican side.  I strongly recommend Ometepe, it is amazing and not very touristic yet.  Hotels are really cheap and the maximum we paid per night was usd10.  It is very safe and the people are really nice.  Very laid back and relaxing.