Ometepe Island

Ometepe is an island in Lake Nicaragua and is the 10th largest island in the world located in a fresh water lake,(the largest being Manitoulin Island in Ontario, Canada). Ometepe is 90 kms in circumference and has two volcanoes. The larger of the two is Concepcion Volcano, the 2nd tallest volcano in Nicaragua. Its base is 10 miles across and it is still active with the last eruption in 2006. It’s smaller companion is non-active.

I woke up a few times last night, a bit concerned about spending the day driving around the island on the scooter.

I wake up and see the flock of guinea fowl on my doorstep.

Daniela and Tony make us a delicious breakfast. I had the breakfast quesadillas and the hibiscus drink they call jamaica. We eat outside and meet Katie, a dietitian from Seattle who has the cabin behind us.

Despite the 29 degree temperature, I still wear long pants and a long sleeve shirt over my t-shirt, just in case I fall off the scooter.

When we leave the Rancho, Katie is in the process of renting her own scooter.

On the Road

Soon we are out of the town, heading towards Ojo de Agua which is about an hour or so away by scooter.

Driving on the scooter is kind of cool but both John and I need to keep our eyes out for speed bumps, holes in the road, dips, steep inclines/declines and chickens/dogs/cows/horses and people that wander out onto the road.

At one point, John has to meander us through a herd of cows. We pass a flock of vultures feasting on a dead cow. The rainy season just ended so the island is still very lush. The volcanoes make a striking background.

About an hour into the ride, my bum is starting to feel stiff so we stop for a short break and to check the directions. We are about 15 minutes from Ojo de Agua.

We continue along the way for quite awhile only to find we had passed it a while back so we continue on for about 15 minutes to Playa de Mangos.

Playa de Mangos is a cute beach with a restaurant/bar and all kinds of lounging areas, swings over water, double swings and cool sitting and eating spots. Calming music is piped to the whole area. A very cool vibe with  Concepcion Volcano looming across the water.

Monkeys at Ojo de Agua

Back on the road we finally find the sign to turn off to Ojo de Agua. The main attraction here is the large pool of aqua water fed from the volcano. There is also a 2km nature trail which we pay extra for.

John and I seem to be the only ones on the trail which is great. Parrots fly overhead, we see other kinds of birds, lots of butterflies (including Blue Morphos) and monkeys…lots and lots of monkeys. Small ones and big ones. At one point, I think they are trying to throw stuff at us from on high. Click here for our video of the monkeys. As we leave the nature trail, we can hear howler monkeys in the distance.

Ojo de Agua

We head to the pool and have a refreshing dip and strawberry and green apple smoothies before getting on the scooter to head back.