My “easy” travel day from Granada to Isla Ometepe turned out to be quite the adventure. I found the bus easy enough, but since they don’t leave until full, I ended up waiting for an hour and a half. And by full, I mean we were stuffed in there like sardines. By now I’m already pretty sweaty and gross. The bus only goes to Rivas, so next I had to find a taxi to the San Jorge boat dock. I finally found one after getting mildly lost in Rivas’ market. It’s about as chaotic as Granadas. Then the short ride to San Jorge where I stood in line for about half an hour in the sun in this inhumane heat to buy my ferry ticket.

Of course they packed that ferry about as tight as they pack the buses. I had planned to get some pictures of the island from the boat, but that was impossible with that many people. Finally, I reached the island of Ometepe, a soaked and dripping sweaty disgusting mess. The supposed three hour trip took me only seven hours. Check out that volcano though!

Ometepe is an island out in Lago Cocibolca, the largest lake in Central America, also known as Lake Nicaragua. It was formed by two very big side by side volcanoes, Concepcíon and Maderas. I’m staying in the main town, Moyogalpa, where the ferry dock is, but there’s hotels and ecolodges kind of all over the island. And since there’s not much in the way of public transport on the island, Moyogalpa is also the best place to rent a motorcycle, which is the preferred mode of transport here anyway. An army of locals intercept you getting off the boat to offer you the “best deal”.

I opted for the place recommended by my hotel. The really nice thing about a motorcycle is it makes the heat and humidity here a little more tolerable. After getting all sweaty and gross, you can blow dry on two wheels and then be dryish and gross. Occasionally you also get good views of the looming volcanoes.

My first stop was the furthest out, the San Ramon Waterfall about three quarters of the way up Volcán Maderas.

Under normal circumstances, I would say this hike is pretty easy, but in this heat it was brutal.

Luckily the waterfall turned out to be worth the effort. It’s the dry season here so it’s not in full gush, but it was enough for a refreshing swim and a waterfall shower.

Back down at the bottom I hit the road again and got some pictures of Volcán Maderas, which isn’t as easy as you would think.

Ometepe has been inhabited since at least around 1500BC and down a secluded dirt road, Ometepe has it’s own museum chock full of artifacts from the islands history. But first, a surprise close encounter with some bats who make their home at the museums entrance. I know they’re not, but they look like they’re staring into my soul.

Anyway, for a small museum on a secluded dirt road on an island, this place had a huge and very impressive collection!

It may not have been super organized, but I was just amazed how many artifacts they stuffed into that place. AND… they had air conditioning. Holy crap it felt good in there! I believe this is the only place in Ometepe with A/C.

My hotel doesn’t even have A/C, or hot water, though the lack of hot water is actually a blessing here. I go to bed every night by taking a cold shower, then lying in bed with no covers and two fans blowing on me all night. The weather really is oppressive in this part of the world.

Back to the museum, they also had some gold pieces. I’m not sure where they would’ve come from, but it was interesting to see.

On the way out, I just couldn’t help myself, I had to stop and visit with the bats again.

On the way back to Moyogalpa I stopped at Punta Jesús María, a nice little sand bar jutting out into that giant lake. I think this place is party central. There are lots of vendors, lots of music, and lots of beach goers. I didn’t swim in the lake, but I walked along the shore and got my feet clean. The water is pretty warm.

The next day was the day for the big volcano hike. I’ve never wanted to do a hike so bad and dreaded it so much at the same time. Where most people walk the “road” to the trail head, I pushed that little motorcycle as far as I could before ditching it next to a tree. I’m taking every advantage that I can

From where I parked it was only a short walk to the trailhead, then it was up up up all the way. It only took about 20-30 minutes of climbing and I was soaking wet. I’m in shape for the climbing part, but the heat and humidity makes it that much harder. Along the way I heard a lot of howler monkeys, but didn’t see any. The only monkey I saw was this little guy in the pic below. I managed a quick picture as he was scampering off.

Finally after a little over 3,000ft of climbing, I reached the top of the treeline and the viewpoint. This was my goal for the day. You can go up to the crater, but they recommend a guide because of fissures on the way up. This is an active volcano after all. Plus in this heat and after hiking yesterday, I really didn’t have the energy for another 2,000ft to the top. So I had a snack, drank lots of water and enjoyed the view from here.

The views in the other direction were pretty amazing too. In the pic below, to the left of the fire is Punta Jesús María and the little town to the right of the fire on the shore is Moyogalpa.

You can’t tell from the pic, but I really am soaking wet and still dripping from every pore. No joke, I’m so wet that my fingers are wrinkled. Bleh! Now for the sweaty walk down hoping I don’t tumble on these steep slopes.

I made it down the volcano without breaking anything, thankfully, and made my way back to Moyogalpa. I have one more hot sweaty night here and then in the morning I get to make the trip back to Granada in reverse. Wish me luck…