25/07/04- 29/07/04 Ometepe, Nicaragua

After yet another horribly early morning we made it to the border in record time, mainly because we had cheated and taken a taxi as the buses were still out of action because of the strikes. After a very sweaty 30 mins of the usual border formalities we headed off for a bus to Rivas and then a short taxi ride to San Jorge for the hour boat journey over to Ometepe Island. The island is incredible, it is in the middle of Lake Nicaragua and was formed by two volcanoes, Concepción and Maderas so it looks a bit like Tracy Island. It is full of tropical forest which itself is full of wildlife.

We spent 4 days here completely relaxing with a few hikes up to see petroglyphs and into the nature reserve next to the hotel to meet our neighbours- howler monkeys who were very vocal and even willing to grant us an audience. In fact the whole family came out to watch us watching them and very cute they were too. After that it was back to the beach for a quick dip in the lake and some more relaxing. I could very easily get used to this lifestyle.

Fortunately we didn't get to meet any of the snakes that live on the island or any of the fresh water sharks who reside in the lake, we did get to tuck into many of the sharks friends though, yummy.

Hey- that's Andy and me in the water! How did that get there?

Ometepe is a fantastic place and the locals were incredibly friendly, apparently due to not being involved in the Sandinista / Contra war. Recommended to anyone who happens to be in Nicaragua with a few days to kill.