A week on Ometepe

We spend a week on this island which goes at its own pace. Few people wear watches here. Although small, travelling by bus between towns can take up to 2 hours as the roads are poor and mostly unpaved. Facilities are very basic - some villages don't yet have electricity, and a torch is essential at night to find your way. The pulperías (little shops) generally sell only a handful of items, like tomatoes, eggs, pasta, flour, rice, and shampoo.

Then there is also the legend of "Charco Verde" (the green pond), in which the devil lives. In the past (up to until the 1980's), people have been transformed into animals here, and locals can assure you that they regularly used to meet speaking cows and horses when they were children, recognising the voices of people who have disappeared recently. Many people don't believe it and think it's only a legend, but it is true, firmly believe others.

We climbed up the active Concepción volcano, from where we had wonderful views over Lago Nicaragua (8000+ sq. km - almost 4 times the size of Luxembourg), all the way to Granada and the Mombacho volcano, and back towards Costa Rica. For the last 3 nights, we stayed at the very basic but extremely welcoming Italian-owned ecological farm El Zopilote, went swimming in the "Ojo de Agua" (Eye of the Water), a natural swimming pool, did a lot of walking, went horse-back riding, and got some great views of both volcanoes (Concepción and Maderas).