We had taken the bus through Altagracia and thought it looked interesting. And, since it is the other biggest town on the island we thought we would go check it out. There are buses that go there about every hour so we walked to town and hopped on one.

In the bus again

The road heading into Altagracia is really pretty

Beans drying by the side of the road

Coming in to town

Cute pig in the road

There is a fiesta coming up so I wonder if the colorful poles are related to that.

The drive was pretty, as was the entrance into town. It was Sunday though so most places were closed and the town was pretty quiet. We decided to walk around a bit though and see what the town was like.

Walking around town, one of the side roads

Another road in town

Interesting building

Lets all pile on the truck!

This building had a bit of everything making up the walls

The city park with interesting pillars at the corner.

There were some vendors and activities in the park but nothing like we had seen when we went through on the bus during the week

We were told that the town was relatively quiet because a lot of people were at the baseball game

We had also heard that the water was nearby so we headed out to look for the beach. A couple locals said it wasn’t far, and it was a bit farther than I would describe as “not far” on foot but it was an interesting walk.

We decide to walk to the beach which we were told was not far, just around the bend.

This guy passed us hauling a cart full of plants

The man was spreading the cuttings on an especially rough patch of road to make it easier to drive over.

We made it to the beach!

Its really pretty, and the lake is so big on this side that you cant see any land in the distance.

This interesting bit of rock was sticking up in the water. It was too far to see exactly what it was until I captured it with my zoom

There was a woman washing clothes on the beach. She was joined later by a couple other women who had been swimming in their clothes, jeans and shirts!

As we walked back to town the volcano loomed over the houses

We stopped for a really nice lunch and then made our way back to the park to catch a bus home, just in time to see a bus leaving town on the other side of the park. So, we asked around and learned at on Sunday there are no more buses, not until mañana. We set out walking knowing it would be a really long walk back, but hopefully some other option would present itself besides the $30 we were told it would costs for a taxi.

We walked along and had one of the most interesting experiences of the day. We passed this house with a yard full of beautiful flowers, and the lady was outside so I told her that I thought her flowers were beautiful. She was so happy that we liked her flowers that she invited us to come sit in the shade with her and her husband in front of the house. Conversation led us to her family and children, and she invited me inside the house to see the photos of her children! I have been very curious to see inside a typical Nicaraguan house.

The blue house is where we stopped. The yellow house belongs to their daughter.

The inside of the house

I wish I was more comfortable and confident putting my camera in people’s faces and private spaces so even though she told me it was OK, I only snapped one quick picture and it isn’t as clear as it could be. Even so, you can see that the house has a dirt floor, brick walls, and a metal roof supported by wood beams. There was minimal furniture, only a small table and a few chairs, all but one that had been taken outside for us. There was a small shelf on the wall with some mementos and a few hair ornaments, and pictures on the wall of family along with some other decorations. The back wall is only a partial wall and I imagine the bedrooms are behind it. There was a storage area at the end of the room and I could see a couple bicycles there. I didn’t see any running water, bathroom, or cooking area inside the house.

She told me that she was born here and lived here all her life. They had eight children and a number of grandchildren but only a few of the children had pictures on the walls. She told me that most of them had gone to Costa Rica for work. One daughter had earned enough to come back and build the house that was next door. I tried to get a sense of what they did for a living but all I could determine is that he can’t work because of some problem in his back and neck that leaves his arms too weak and painful to work.

People are like that in this part of the world. You say a few kind words and you are invited into their homes and lives. We have had so many people here be so friendly and kind, and a surprising number have told us that we should buy some land and come live here. Anyway, I digress and these ideas will be addressed in future posts.

Meanwhile we had to get ourselves back to the house. We walked on for about 45 minutes until we reached the next town. A lady by the side of the road told us that a “busito” would be along soon. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before a van came by, told us he would take us to Moyogalpa for $4, so we hopped in very glad that we weren’t walking all the rest of those miles.

Returning home, another Ometepe traffic jam.

When we pass this playground next to the school, we know we are almost back at the house.

Another successful day and we made it home! I am glad we saw the Altagracia area. I heard it was another area to consider but we prefer the Moyogalpa area. There is a bit more going on in the town, the ferries are here if you want to leave the island, and it is on the west side where you can see the great sunsets every evening.