Ometepe, Insel der Vulkane (Nicaragua)

We came by bus from Costa Rica across the border into Nicaragua and immediately made our way to Ometepe. An island consisting of two volcanoes in the largest lake in Central America. It's a magical place, secluded and idyllic, exactly what we needed right now. Our friend Mike, who we visited, lives on the island in a small town called Balgue at the foot of the Madera volcano. He lives in a little bamboo hut right by the water and we had a nice little house right behind his. We had a small garden with a large terrace, we felt very comfortable there and stayed for a month.

We used the time to find peace and recharge our batteries. We also spent a lot of time with Mike. It was particularly nice to sit on his yoga deck right by the water, listen to nature and watch the sunset over the large Conception volcano. As soon as it got dark, thousands of fireflies came and the whole coast sparkled like the starry sky.

We had a really good time on Ometepe, Mike provided us with all kinds of things, like homemade kombucha and cacao every day. He also had two kayaks that we often borrowed and paddled out onto the lake at sunset or along the green coast to a nice restaurant (El Pital) right on the water.

The island consisted of two volcanoes rising out of the lake and around the volcanoes there are small villages, all very rural, which had a very special charm. The animals ran around freely everywhere, it was like a big farm. You met horses, pigs and also herds of cows that kept crossing the streets very comfortably.

There is a road that runs along the coast around both volcanoes, sometimes paved and sometimes just a gravel road that goes up and down and through many streams.

The means of transport of choice was the motorcycle. Good thing for us that Mike had a 150 Yamaha that we could have at any time. Gerald hasn't driven with gears for 12 years, but it worked really well and was great fun exploring the island this way.

Every day a dog visited us in our house, she waited very well and patiently to see if there was anything left for her. Of course we couldn't resist her and so she practically lived with us. We had already taken her close to our hearts and would have loved to take her with us.

Once a week there was a market where the islanders offered various things and delicacies. All tourists and locals met here. Another meeting point was the weekly pizza party at a hostel (Zopilote - run by two Italians) followed by a fire show.

So the days passed on Ometepe and after a good month we headed north again, rested and with new energy, Mexico was our big destination.