Nicaragua 2022

Tuesday1November

We say goodbye to Miguel, to his house and... to only one of the seven turtles...  

The least shy of the turtles comes to say goodbye. It's an ornate wood turtle, Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima".

We leave the mainland to join an island, not in the Pacific, but on Lake Nicaragua! It is the island of Ometepe that we are going to join by ferry with our car on board.

Ometepe is not just a single island but two islands joined by a strip of land with each a volcano in their center. At the ferry departure, a model with amplified relief shows us that there will not be much road to explore the two islands.  

And hop, here is titine boarded backwards on the small ferry!   We leave San Jorge to join Moyogalpa.

On the deck or upstairs, we will let ourselves be carried for an hour and 13 kilometers of navigation.

The two volcanoes of Ometepe. On the left, the Concepción volcano and on the right, the Maderas volcano. Concepción grants itself a bigger cloud being larger than its neighbor. 1610 meters for one, 1394 meters for the other.

On the mainland, the Mombacho volcano seems less impressive, it is moreover fifty meters smaller than Maderas.

Wind turbines have really been adopted by all countries of the world...

Our car is already ready to dive!  

In the cockpit, it navigates itself!

We are approaching. The colors of Concepción are revealed. Let's enjoy it because we will never see the volcano as well as now!  

And here we are docked! And horror! The ramp is placed directly in the water and the depth seems to exceed the height of our tires!   But I am signaled to go so hop, we have no choice, the car transforms into an amphibious vehicle for a few seconds and fortunately without any worries! Phew, maybe that's why most tourists rent a vehicle directly on site...  

The rest will not be easier because our Airbnb is located on the shores of the lake via paths not very accessible... Fortunately, the paths are just passable enough for our formidable Suzuki "Dzire"! (And phew, we won't get a flat tire like six days ago!). We will share our accommodation with the owners. The left part of the house, for us. The right part, for them. And the kitchen opposite, for everyone!  

Our car in the path along the house. On one side, we can see the Concepción. It is the last time we will see its summit!  

Facing the house, the lake where we can swim in its warm waters.

For now, the Sun is setting...

Washing dishes in the large sink...  

Wednesday2November

Short tour to the other arrival and departure point of ferries to buy return tickets, but the schedules do not suit, so we will leave in 2 days from where we arrived...

We are November 2, day after All Saints' Day and day of commemoration of the deceased in Nicaragua. Cemeteries have been decorated with flowers, the opportunity for us to visit them.  

Color is the common point of all cemeteries in Latin America.

We continue our road which passes by... the airport runway!   Obligatory photo break on the tarmac...

The small port of Moyogalpa where we arrived yesterday.

A great egret (Ardea alba) is making eyes at me...  

Balance lesson...

This newcomer has almost found his bronze double...   But no, the character represented is the national hero, Augusto Sandino (1895-1934).

The small tuk-tuk carts. The island's taxis.

Traditional Latin American buses, recycling of American school buses.

Santa Ana Church

The interior of one of the two bell towers and the sheet metal roof.

No small chapel within the church, this glass coffin is therefore placed behind all the benches.

A simple statue of the Virgin but one of the most classic in Latin America: a cloak covers the head of the statue and goes down to the foot, often richly decorated with embroidery.

Lunch in the main street of Moyogalpa.

The bus has this time kept its original color.

We leave Moyogalpa to go around the first island, and therefore turn all around the Concepción volcano.

The hardy zebus (Bos taurus indicus) are well adapted to life on the island.

Horses, as on the mainland, are the preferred means to travel paths not always suitable for motorized vehicles... And above all, it is easier to handle the lasso when you are on a horse!    

Cattle farmers on horseback are called "vaqueros".

The summit of the Concepción volcano is hiding behind a cloud, despite the beautiful Sun.  

No age limit to drive the horse!  

Second stop of the day in a cemetery. That of Altagracia, small town in the northeast of the island.

The cemetery remains permanently under the surveillance of the Concepción volcano, always hanging on its cloud...

We continue our mini road-trip and meet a discreet native but especially normally much further from urbanized areas... It is a mantled howler monkey (Alouatta palliata), hope he finds his home quickly...

And we too, we return to our house! Especially, we enjoy the hammocks freshly installed by the owners after our little swim in the warm waters of Lake Nicaragua...  

Meanwhile, geckos (Hemidactylus mabouia) take care of ridding us of mosquitoes and spiders in the house...

Thursday3November

Second morning on Ometepe. After the tour of the Concepcion volcano yesterday, today will be devoted to the Maderas volcano. As for our equine neighbor, he starts his day with a foot bath...  

As for our porcine neighbor, nothing planned for today...  

We leave our car near El Porvenir. Goal of the day, climb the slopes of the Maderas volcano where we should have a nice view of the island. We start the hike with the petroglyphs located just next door.

The petroglyphs date back to a pre-Columbian period, which means they were created before the arrival of Europeans in America.

We continue our journey. For now, it's easy, just follow the paths...  

A calabash tree (Crescentia cujete) and its calabash...

Dogs kindly advise us to stay on the paved paths... We obey without hesitation.  

On this side, banana fields have been planted.

The paths are starting to be less and less obvious... Fortunately, we follow the gps which has never let us down. On the other hand, it does not protect us from the plants we encounter! This one obviously has everything needed to prevent us from touching it...   A nettle Urera baccifera?

We do not meet any human being but nevertheless, we are never far from a solitary walker.

We are starting to see the great Concepción volcano (and its cloud buddy).

Another walker nicely colored and crested, and not solitary because there will be several following us for quite a while. It's a white-throated magpie-jay (Calocitta formosa).

It is a corvid and like all corvids, it is very curious.

Meanwhile, the Concepción volcano adorns itself with a pretty hat...

We are now passing through a field of Coffee trees.

The view is nice. Facing us, the narrow land connecting the two islands reminds us of the volcanic origin of Ometepe. "Ometepe is an island located in Lake Nicaragua (or Cocibolca). It consists of two stratovolcanoes, Concepción, active, and Maderas, without historical activity. Its name comes from Nahuatl: ome (two) and tepetl (mountain)." © Wikipedia

We have to accept it, the cloud has settled for the whole day, or more...  

After a quick snack, we take the "path" back. We cross paths again with our friends the white-throated magpie-jays.

After this round trip of four hours, we join the landscaped but natural pool "Ojo de agua", fed by underground freshwater springs. After a late lunch on site and heavy rain, we bathe in the not very warm waters of the basin... ;

There is no crowd. With the rain and the evening approaching, everyone has left!

Friday4November

Last morning on Ometepe. We leave our hosts and our canine guardian...

Small tour of the owner before leaving. The kitchen, the bedroom, the bathroom.

Return to the ferry. Fortunately, unlike arrival, we won't drive the car (non-amphibious...) up through here.

Here is one who doesn't ask himself any questions, but they have the right vehicle to pass through there...

As for us, boarding involves first registering the car.

And hop, we board backwards... with a little welcome help...  

The ferry (the "Che Guevara") is almost three times larger than three days ago.

And hop, disembarkation!

Here we are ready for the rest of the adventure! We are going almost opposite, Pacific side, 50 minutes from here, to San Juan del Sur.