Nicaragua fue incredible! La isla Ometepe tiene dos volcanes grandes y muy bonitos. Cuando los nubes estuvieron arriba del volcan, fue muy magnifico. Mis amigos y yo montamos en bicicletas al volcan, y fuimos de excursion a las cascadas en el volcan. Fue muy dificil, pero divertido. Despues nosotros miramos la puesta del sol juntos. El volcan Masaya fue una experiencia nueva para mi, y me encante mucho! Humo cubrio el sol, y el volcan fue muy grande.
Nicaragua was truly a grand experience for our group!
We traveled by bus and ferry for over twelve hours on Friday, and finally arrived at our hostel on Island Ometepe after dark. It was a long journey, but at least our bus had air conditioning, and they even played Star Wars during the ride. There were bunnies and horses scampering in the grass when we arrived, and we all enjoyed a quiet evening at the hostel. Tall white mosquito nets covered us while we slept, I thought they kind of resembled fancy princess chamber beds. Ometepe Island is home to two volcanoes, one currently active and the smaller one dormant. It is very rural, we only saw maybe two or three cars on the roads by our hostel. Most people rode bikes and ATVs down the dirt roads. Everyone was so friendly there, waving as we passed by.
Saturday morning a group of us hopped on some bikes and made our way to the smaller of the two volcanoes. At the base of the volcano we left our bikes and began our journey on foot up to a waterfall. An hour into the hike we were still on a road carved steeply into the volcano’s side. We stopped and snacked on some fruit that grew by the roadside. It was spikey and brown, but the inside was bright orange and tasted sweet, juicy, and refreshing. Finally we reached the actual trailhead that would take us to the waterfall, and about an hour later, after trekking through rough jungle and up a stream bed, we made it to the falls! Valeo la pena! It was well worth it. The falls were so tall it was hard to see the top even craning my neck upward. The water tumbled down in little rivulets, creating just a small pool at the bottom. Ferns grew out of the sides of the volcano’s rock wall, and plently of bugs buzzed around. It was truly a beautiful place!
After an hour and a half hike down the mountain, we had to get back on our bikes and head to the hostel. To say the least we were all incredibly grateful for the buffet dinner that evening! Even if it did include fish heads. My friends and I walked out onto the lake peer at our hostel and watched the sun sink below the watery horizon. With the volcanos behind us and the lake in front we sat right in the middle of a perfect evening.
Sunday morning we took an early ferry to the mainland and toured a ceramics studio! The pieces were incredibly intricate, and all handmade, polished, fired, and painted right there. There were hundreds of pots, cups, vases, plates, bowls, and whistles of all sizes and colors. Afterwards we had a lunch of typical Nicaraguan food, which I found similar to the food served in Costa Rica.
This was also the day we visited volcano Masaya. Sulfur clouds billowed up from the volcano’s enormous mouth burning our eyes and throats, and it was magnificent. It was so much more grand than I could have imagined in my wildest dreams. The crater stretched at far as the eye could see, and from far within its depths smoke poured out, threatening to erupt at any minute! Being so close to the center of our earth was a very profound experience for me. It felt as though the earth had opened her heart just a little bit, and we were able to be very near to the very core of the planet that sustains us. I don’t think there is any experience quite like peering into the heart of our mother earth. I know I am changed because of this experience with Masaya volcano, and I am grateful for the raw openness I felt as the wind whipped around me while I teetered on the edge of the earth.
That evening we stayed in Granada and enjoyed happy hour and nachos in en centro. While in Granada we rolled our own cigars and watched colorful hammocks being woven by hand in the city! Our hostel was very comfortable with hammocks for resting and rocking chairs for chatting with other travelers. Staying at hostels is one of my favorite things because of all the different types of people who come together there.
All in all, Nicaragua was a very different experience from those I have had in Costa Rica. The small towns were even smaller on Ometepe Island, and life was even calmer there. The city bustled with friendly people sweeping the steps of their sweet homes. The intricate architecture left the buildings squeezed together, all painted with vibrant shades of yellow and orange. And the volcano billowed its smoke warnings into the clear air, welcoming adventurers.
It’s safe to say that I will return to Nicaragua, even if it is just to save the little piece of my heart that it stole.
Nicaragua was truly a grand experience for our group!
We traveled by bus and ferry for over twelve hours on Friday, and finally arrived at our hostel on Island Ometepe after dark. It was a long journey, but at least our bus had air conditioning, and they even played Star Wars during the ride. There were bunnies and horses scampering in the grass when we arrived, and we all enjoyed a quiet evening at the hostel. Tall white mosquito nets covered us while we slept, I thought they kind of resembled fancy princess chamber beds. Ometepe Island is home to two volcanoes, one currently active and the smaller one dormant. It is very rural, we only saw maybe two or three cars on the roads by our hostel. Most people rode bikes and ATVs down the dirt roads. Everyone was so friendly there, waving as we passed by.
Saturday morning a group of us hopped on some bikes and made our way to the smaller of the two volcanoes. At the base of the volcano we left our bikes and began our journey on foot up to a waterfall. An hour into the hike we were still on a road carved steeply into the volcano’s side. We stopped and snacked on some fruit that grew by the roadside. It was spikey and brown, but the inside was bright orange and tasted sweet, juicy, and refreshing. Finally we reached the actual trailhead that would take us to the waterfall, and about an hour later, after trekking through rough jungle and up a stream bed, we made it to the falls! Valeo la pena! It was well worth it. The falls were so tall it was hard to see the top even craning my neck upward. The water tumbled down in little rivulets, creating just a small pool at the bottom. Ferns grew out of the sides of the volcano’s rock wall, and plently of bugs buzzed around. It was truly a beautiful place!
After an hour and a half hike down the mountain, we had to get back on our bikes and head to the hostel. To say the least we were all incredibly grateful for the buffet dinner that evening! Even if it did include fish heads. My friends and I walked out onto the lake peer at our hostel and watched the sun sink below the watery horizon. With the volcanos behind us and the lake in front we sat right in the middle of a perfect evening.
Sunday morning we took an early ferry to the mainland and toured a ceramics studio! The pieces were incredibly intricate, and all handmade, polished, fired, and painted right there. There were hundreds of pots, cups, vases, plates, bowls, and whistles of all sizes and colors. Afterwards we had a lunch of typical Nicaraguan food, which I found similar to the food served in Costa Rica.
This was also the day we visited volcano Masaya. Sulfur clouds billowed up from the volcano’s enormous mouth burning our eyes and throats, and it was magnificent. It was so much more grand than I could have imagined in my wildest dreams. The crater stretched at far as the eye could see, and from far within its depths smoke poured out, threatening to erupt at any minute! Being so close to the center of our earth was a very profound experience for me. It felt as though the earth had opened her heart just a little bit, and we were able to be very near to the very core of the planet that sustains us. I don’t think there is any experience quite like peering into the heart of our mother earth. I know I am changed because of this experience with Masaya volcano, and I am grateful for the raw openness I felt as the wind whipped around me while I teetered on the edge of the earth.
That evening we stayed in Granada and enjoyed happy hour and nachos in en centro. While in Granada we rolled our own cigars and watched colorful hammocks being woven by hand in the city! Our hostel was very comfortable with hammocks for resting and rocking chairs for chatting with other travelers. Staying at hostels is one of my favorite things because of all the different types of people who come together there.
All in all, Nicaragua was a very different experience from those I have had in Costa Rica. The small towns were even smaller on Ometepe Island, and life was even calmer there. The city bustled with friendly people sweeping the steps of their sweet homes. The intricate architecture left the buildings squeezed together, all painted with vibrant shades of yellow and orange. And the volcano billowed its smoke warnings into the clear air, welcoming adventurers.
It’s safe to say that I will return to Nicaragua, even if it is just to save the little piece of my heart that it stole.