Ometepe Island, Nicaragua, is shaped like a figure eight around two volcanos. We are on the west side of the northwest volcano and have seen a bit of this part of the island. I have heard about interesting places in the isthmus and around the southeast volcano so I wanted to see these areas too.
There are buses that go to Altagracia (northeast of the volcano near us) every hour but only a few of them go on to other destinations. We caught the morning bus that goes to Balgue which is on the north side of the other volcano, and we took the bikes along so we could do some exploring when we got there. A nice strong guy just picked them up, went up the ladder at the back of the bus and tossed them on the roof!
1 3/4 hours and 80 cordobas later (about $3.20, 20 per person and 20 per bike) we arrived at Balgue.
Our bus! I am glad we got on in town because it wasn’t long before it was standing room only. All sorts of things were on the roof too – rebar, guttering, large sack of things, and there were bags of cement in the back of the bus. The emergency exit in the back is used as just another convenient door.
I thought this man in Altagracia had a very interesting face.
We passed this funny scene of a little shop, a baby, and a couple pigs.
It was interesting to see a new side of the volcano.
Some of the rice drying in the sun.
We rode to the next town and by now it was getting to be lunch time, so we looked for a place to eat. We had seen many tarps with what looked like rice drying so we stopped to ask a lady. She told us that it is indeed rice, and there also is a place to eat just a couple doors away. It was one of those places in the trees and shrubs that looks like someone’s patio, that you wouldn’t even notice if you didn’t know about it. And I am sure it was a much more interesting lunch than any tourist hangout.
The shop that is part of the restaurant. The photo is of a couple family members. There are many extended family here and the lady we first met told us about them and many others who weren’t present. But, by the time she was finished telling me about dozens of people I was a bit lost. The lady in the photo is her mother though. The photo on the right is someone who went to Finland and married a gal there, which explains the blond hair.
A really nice guy, I think a son of the owner came in with his kids and talked to us quite a bit, making it very clear that he was happy to have us here, we were very welcome, and he was going to feed us a very good lunch. The kids were snaking on watermelon and having a great time, though the little ones needed to be hosed off later.
A tame baby deer! They had three that they apparently have as pets. I was told that deer live in these parts but I am not sure how they came to have these babies.
I didn’t think about the camera until I had eaten half the lunch but you can see it was good – Gallo pinto, tomato salad, fried plantains which were a bit like French fries, and fried chicken in a crispy, slightly sweet sauce. They guy with the baby explained that they steam the chicken, and when it is cooked they fry it in a little oil until it is crispy, and the add the sauce.
We asked about this guy who passed in the street and were told he is crazy. He walks all day, sleeps in a ditch at night, hasn’t bathed in 20-30 years, and wears multiple pairs of pants at the same time. He always carries large sacks but they don’t know what it is in them.
This darling little girl wanted to play ball. She could throw but had no idea about catching so it was fun to show her and clap when she caught one. I walked through this area on the way to the bathroom, and it looks like the family living area. Notice the interesting sculpture near the girl in the black shirt, and the pro Che Guevara things on the green wall.
Another family member talks to another patron while a couple other kids wander around. This baby loves bikes and I was afraid he would pull them down on himself.
Lunch finished, we got on our bikes and were on our way, headed down along the isthmus between the volcanos.
Santa Domingo beaches, with the Maderas Volcano in the background.
Looking the other direction on the beach you see the Concepcion Volcano. What a beautiful area!
Clouds start to gather at the top of the volcano while swallows fly around.
This is quite a tourist area and there are many hotels, hostels, and restaurants along the way.
Just a pretty view
There were some huge trees!
Many people had mentioned Ojo de Agua (eye of water), a spring fed pool in the jungle that is very beautiful, so this was our next destination. It definitely was everything it is said to be! Sometimes I just have to pinch myself to believe the beautiful and exotic places I find myself in.
The beautiful pathway to Ojo de Agua
The water was cool, turquoise blue, and very clear. There was a $3 per person fee to get in, but there is a restaurant, bathrooms, changing rooms, and tables and chairs around the pool.
The other end of the pool was deserted and so beautiful.
Many people were enjoying themselves in the water.
Now cooler, relaxed, and refreshed we set out again. After a good amount of uphill climbing we found ourselves in what I believe was El Quino, which is on the main bus route from Altagracia to Moyogalpa, our home base. We had some pretty spectacular views along the way!
Beautiful clouds at the top of the volcano
How cool is this?!
We saw this crazy sight on the road that looked like a moving banana tree! A neighborhood kid who visited this morning explained that they were probably picking leaves for tamales.
These cliffs remind one of the volcanic origin of the island.
Lucky for us, about the time we decided it would be s good time for a bus to come along, here came a bus!
Back on the bus
This time the bikes were put inside the back door
I couldn’t figure out what these little tepees of plants were about. The kid this morning said something about oil? Soybeans for oil? Something like that?
The guys with the ice cream cart wanted to take the bus, so they just loaded the cart into the bus. They even made a couple sales in the process.
Then, all we needed to do was to pick up a few things for dinner, make our way home, walk the dog, shower, and flop on the couch after a great day!
Back at the airport, the volcano was wearing a hat and we were playing with shadows
Another sunset, another great day.
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About Kris Cunningham
We live in David, Chiriqui Provence, Republic of Panama! This blog is about some of our experiences in our new country.
The Panama Adventure 
Reblogged this on FindingMySelfinPanama and commented:
Volcanos wearing hats, tiny deer at the restaurant, that’s Omotepe!
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That food looked so good. The water made me want to swim. Glad to see others were.
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It was good and the water was wonderful!
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Hi! I just found your blog and wanted to let you know I am really enjoying your pictures. We spent 4 days on Ometepe back in June and found it to be one of the most peaceful places we have ever been. We stayed on the “other side” at Xalli Beach hotel and loved it there. The food there is awesome – if you stop there please let them know that Kelly and family (my husband had a kidney stone while there, I think they may remember us) say Hi! Also I am cracking up at the blue wooden ferry that I see in the background of some of your pictures. We took that to Ometepe – crazy scary experience! I recommend avoiding it! Will you be stopping at San Juan del Sur or visiting Granada by any chance when you leave there?
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We must have gone right past your hotel when we were over there. It’s a beautiful area! I want to visit Merida so we might be back that way. We took the regular ferry and it was fine, but I have been warned that there are little boats that might be a bit more adventuresome. We probably won’t stop anywhere else because we can only be out of Panama 30 days (for background check, applying for residency). But I definitely was to come back and see more of this country. We really like it here.
Thanks for visiting my blog and taking the time to comment 🙂
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The big car ferry I thought was totally ok. The little wooden one was tilting way too far to one side and we were riding it right after the South Korean ferry accident and we had our kids with us – so that always heightens my fears! It was one of those things though that were terrifying at the time but we always laugh about it!
I wish we had bikes when we were on the island – I am very jealous of that! Although it was crazy – we all were so relaxed there we thought we were drugged (my husband actually was because of the kidney stones – that is a whole other story!)
I will definitely follow your blog. We are thinking about early retirement in C America, thus the trip to Nica. I really liked San Juan del Sur – now after reading your blog I think a trip to Panama may have to be made! I have been looking at pictures of Boquete all morning.
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These are bikes rented in Moyogalpa for $21/week each, well worth it IMO. I bike a lot in Panama for fun and exercise so wanted to continue here. It’s an easy way to get around and see places.
Of course everyone has different preferences but for us, Panama is working out wonderfully. It is also a very beautiful country with great people. Well you can probably tell from my blog that I’m having a great time these last couple years 🙂
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Kris, I am so enjoying your stories! Be sure to visit Charco Verde and watch the monkeys. I love reading your perspective of our isla de paz. It kind of grows on you, doesn’t it? Wow! How time flies. See you next Thursday. Hugs to Cappy and the cats.
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We are having a great time! The time is passing quickly though. I had to tell the veggie guy that I may not be here next week. *sigh* We are going to Chaco Verde probably this weekend, and we want to visit Altagracia too.
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Ahhh…. Have my ticket to Panama. Independence Day (from Spain Of course). Thanksgiving aqui. Abrazo fuerte, David. In the mean time taking advanced conversational espanol. 10-2 to 11-20. What an exciting turn of events over this past year. I owe a lot to you and Joel. Muchas gracias.
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How exciting! Buena suerte en su clase de español.
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I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your
blog. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much
more enjoyable for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a developer to create
your theme? Exceptional work!
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Thank you but I can’t take credit for it. It’s a theme called twenty ten that is free with WordPress. They offer many good themes and a lot of them are free.
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page is truly good.
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Thank you
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