Nicaragua Ometepe

In order to arrive on the island of Ometepe as early as possible and make use of the day, we decide to take the Tica Bus to Rivas at 3 a.m. So we wake up at 1:50 a.m. and take a taxi to the bus station. Once we arrive there, we ask about the connection, and the helpful man tells us that the bus doesn't stop in Rivas but goes all the way to Managua, which is about 100 km further. The next bus to Rivas departs at 6 a.m. We decide not to wait and instead take the 3 a.m. bus to Managua and then travel the 100 km back. After 4 hours on the bus, we reach the border to Nicaragua, where we have to go through all the checks. The entire process takes 3.5 hours before we can continue.

Arriving in Managua, we are unsure about how to proceed to Rivas. We ask at the Nicabus bus station, and they tell us to go to the public bus station in Managua and take the bus to Rivas, preferably by taxi. A taxi is called for us, and we drive to the bus station. The taxi driver gives us the tip to look at the destination written on the front of the bus to make sure we don't end up somewhere else. Once we arrive, we get off the bus. The bus station looks rather shady, like something out of the movie Bladerunner. As soon as we get off, three men approach us, and I start to feel a bit uneasy. They say something in Spanish and keep repeating "Rivas, Rivas, Rivas," while pointing to a bus further back. We follow the men reluctantly. This bus station is like a market hall with vendors offering their goods (bus rides). We get on the bus hesitantly, and the bus driver tells us that he also goes directly to San Jorge, the ferry port to Ometepe, for only 67 Cordoba, about 3 dollars. We wait in the empty bus, and gradually more and more people board. Every now and then, a street vendor enters the bus and offers their goods, including pastries, fruit, and jewelry. After about 15 minutes, the bus is full, and we set off. There is an LCD television at the front of the bus with large speakers on both sides. A DVD player underneath plays Latin American music videos at a decent volume. Is this a party bus? There is a team of 4 people on the bus: the bus driver, 2 recruiters, and a cashier. While driving, one of the recruiters shouts out of the bus whenever he sees potential customers, and the cashier collects the fares. In the meantime, street vendors board the bus to offer their goods. The bus feels like a mobile party marketplace. The whole experience is incredibly interesting. The people are very friendly and in good spirits, and I am right in the middle of it all. After about 2 hours, we arrive in San Jorge, and the bus driver tells us that the ferry is about to depart and that we should hurry. We buy tickets and board the ferry.

The journey takes over an hour, and unfortunately, we don't arrive where we intended to but end up in the middle of nowhere. How are we going to get out of here? Of course, the first taxi driver is already there and offers his help for a small fee. He offers to drive us to a hotel in Santa Domingo, about 20 km away, for 20 dollars. However, we first need an ATM because we are completely broke. Luckily, there is an ATM right next to the hotel. Once we arrive at the hotel, we check in. The price is steep: 80 dollars per night. The hotel is called Hotel Paraiso. We get a nice little cottage among palm trees with a veranda and a hammock near the beach. Well, that explains the price. However, we still want to find a more affordable accommodation. The day before, I had already found a cheaper (30 dollars) option for the next morning, which we plan to go to.

We have breakfast and watch a dog running along the beach. A little while later, a stray horse comes riding down the beach from a different direction. It feels like a dream. In the meantime, a bird has joined us, looking for some food. We name him Harry. After breakfast, we check out and ask at the hotel about the next bus to Moyogalpa, the port city we originally wanted to go to. They tell us that the bus should depart at 11:45 a.m. right in front of the hotel. So we wait for the bus, but by 12 p.m., it still hasn't arrived. We decide to start walking and either stop the bus along the way or hitchhike. After some time, no bus has passed, and our attempts to hitchhike have been in vain so far. In between, we see monkeys to the left of the road in the forest. After about 2 km, a pickup truck takes pity on us and stops. We hop on the back with our bags and finally arrive in Moyogalpa.

As we walk through the streets, we pass a rental shop for quads and scooters, and suddenly we are surrounded again. I ask about the price of a quad, and he says 40 dollars per day. That sounds fair, so we each rent a quad. He also convinces us to go on a tour to the large volcano the next day, which we were planning to visit anyway. We ride our quads to the new accommodation and are warmly welcomed at the Nathaly Hostel by a Nicaraguan family. This family (Miriam and Franklin) run a kind of farm here. He offers us a room for 25 dollars per night. The room is simple but clean, and the feeling of living on a Nicaraguan farm is unique. On that day, we explore the island with our quads, on and off-road. It's a lot of fun, and we end the day by returning the quads.

The next day, we continue with the ascent of the 'Conception' volcano. The whole tour is supposed to take 6 hours up and down, but we have no idea how exhausting it will actually be. The beginning is still fairly easy, but gradually it becomes steeper, more strenuous, and dangerous. Our guide walks over the scree as if he were walking on air. Rayk gives up after about 500 meters to the top of the volcano, and I try to continue, but it keeps getting steeper, so I have to give up at about 200 meters from the goal. On the descent, my legs are about to give in.

Once we reach the bottom, we make our way back to the hostel to shower and change. On the way there, the businessman from the rental shop makes us a great offer: a scooter for 12 dollars or a quad for 25 dollars. Rayk wants to save money and decides to go for the scooter. With that, we plan to explore the island of Ometepe on our last day before moving on to San Juan del Sur and then Costa Rica for the grand finale. However, what happens next changes everything and throws a spanner in the works...