Tales from Ometepe

As promised I have uploaded some pictures from the beautiful Isla de Ometepe in Nicaragua. The entire visit went really well. My counterpart, Norman, seems to be a nice, but very busy, guy. He is the director of all the schools in the area (I think 4 or 5) which gives him plenty to do. I met him in Managua on Monday and we traveled together to Ometepe on Tuesday.

The boat ride from San Jorge was gorgeous. I had very good luck in that the volcanoes were both cloudless which I think is rare this time of year. I´m pretty sure that when we got over to the Maderas volcano side of the island that I saw smoke coming from the top of Concepción.

View of Ometepe from the boat launch in San Jorge. Concepción volcano is on the left and Maderas volcano is on the right.

View of the island from the ferry.

My town of Mérida is very small. And it is a lovely 2-2.5 hour bus ride from Moyagalpa. Along the way you can see the volcanoes and, if it were summer, a beautiful white sand beach. But since the rainy season has just ended the lake level is high and the beaches are covered with water. I also saw beautiful colorful birds along the way, and of course, a few tourists.

When I got to my town, I must admit that I was a little bit shocked. It is very small. I was also surprised when I got to my host family´s house to see the pigs and chickens walking through the kitchen and living room, as well as the dogs and cats. And then, the second day I was there I just happened to see one of the chickens lay a couple of eggs under the television. Apparently it is just another day in Nicaragua. :o)

My host family was very nice though. It is quite large (a bit of a change from my small family here in Masatepe) and there are a lot of adults and kids running around. I´m still not exactly sure which kid belongs to who and who excatly lives at my house, but I´m sure I´ll figure it out quickly when I go back.

Some of the pigs sunbathing at the house.

I saw beautiful sunsets everynight I was there, although this was the only one I photographed.

My room.


The view outside my window.

The main house with my host mom, Miriam, standing in the door.

Two of my host sisters.

My host sister with the neighbor´s pet monkey.

Me with the monkey.

Mérida looking north.

Mérida looking south.

As you can see there is not a lot in the town. But if you´ll notice a lot of those big trees are mango trees. I can´t wait for mango season. Or avacado season. Anyways, I´m looking forward to heading back to Mérida in a couple of weeks after swearing in as a Peace Corps Volunteer.