Ometepe

Something about ending up in Miami changed things a little for us.  I think we slowed down, and weren't getting into the crazy driving rhytm that we had going until this point. Granada helped! The city has a bunch of things to do but we choose to just hang around, eat well, drink many beers, and hung out with a bunch of new friends we made. We walked around the city quite a bit and just experienced it. Granada is touristy at least by Nicaraguan standards, but it was the non touristic side that had my interest. Granada is on the The lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca in the native tongue, and is surrounded by Volcanoes (Masaya and Mombacho).
We did travel out for a day to a place called Tree tops or Poste Rojo. Poste Rojo is set in the dry rainforest area around Granada and the setting allows you a beautiful view of the surroundings. The place is infested with howler monkeys. These monkeys can really howl!! They had a cable walkway that is quite fun, but everything else about the place is a disappointment. I'm tired of words like organic and eco when they are used purely as excuses! This place had an 'organic' toilet which basically meant it was a hole into a reservoir below with no water to flush, no permiculture in place, and really really disgusting! It stank so much that we left rather than use the loo the next morning. We were promised a great dinner for $6 each. Now you have realise that $6 goes a real long way in Nica, and so when we were given mac and cheese with some grilled chicken, I knew we were also paying for the volunteers dinners.

Anyway, we got out of there quick, tried to find Apoyo, the 48 sq km lake that the volcano Masaya or Mombacho (need to re check which one) left when it blew its top off a long time ago. we got to Apoyo but no one could get us to the hotels that supposedly lined the lake. After a couple of hours of trying we gave up and took the chicken bus back to Granada. The chicken bus is basically the old American school buses that are used extensively in South and Central America for local transport. They are really quite quaint and interesting. The locals will take anything onto these buses, livestock, dogs, birds, ...

The next day we headed to Ometepe, an island formed by 2 volcanoes, Volcan Concepscion and Volcan Maderas. We took the chicken bus once again to Rivas. The drive was truly calming. The lush green vegetation has such a wonderful effect on the senses! On reaching Rivas we took a cab to San Jorge and then a ferry to Mojogalpa the capital of Ometepe. From here we jumped into a van with 4 others since that was the best way we could get a deal. The other 4 were headed to a place called Hacienda Merida while we planned to saty in playa Santa Domingo. Luckily for us we couldnt find a decent hostel in SD and so tagged ablong with the others to HM.

This is the nicest hostel we've stayed in yet for the price! The rooms are beautiful, and place has been built with love. The owners do a ton of great work with the kids of Merida so all in all it feels nice to be here, even if it is gringo infested. We've spent all of the last 36 hours hanging around, kayaking to the different islands and swamps around and just being! Anu just cooked a meal for everyone!

We've also just decided to go to the Honduras before heading out to Gautemala. we'll probably head out to Leon tomorrow and then move on the Honduras in a coupe of days. The best part of this kind of travel is the freedom to choose when and where we want to go....