17.12.2019 - Ometepe Island

Last night I slept very well. Without earplugs. Complete silence. Am I really in Central America?
For breakfast, I treat myself to pancakes as well. I slowly need to get rid of my Nicaraguan Cordobas because tomorrow we are going to Costa Rica. So a few extra expenses.

We start cycling at just before 8 o'clock. Our tour takes us around the Maderas Volcano. We often cycle along Lake Nicaragua. The dirt roads are better here. I would describe them as highways compared to yesterday. It's hilly. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Some climbs are a bit mean. Sometimes it's shady, but sometimes we also move in the blazing sun. My thermometer shows 37°C. Animals run freely on the road here. Pigs, horses, cows, dogs anyway. The lava makes the soil very fertile and everything very green. We see many banana plants. The houses are very, very simple, but well maintained with flowers and shrubs in the front yard.

The people are all very friendly. Traffic is low.

After 52 km we reach the highlight of the day. The Ojo de agua. The water eye. That's how this small natural pool is called. Not huge, but big enough and wonderfully refreshing after our hot ride. We eat right away when we arrive, because we don't have our swimwear yet. They are on the bus and it comes after the last cyclist of the group. It acts as a broom wagon. When we have our bathing suits, we plunge into the cold water. There are swings in the water and a rope that you can swing and jump on over the water. It's fun.

Then we continue to the ferry port. At one point, a monkey mother with a child on her back crosses the road.

Then we go on the ferry and it is impressive how all the trucks and buses fit on the ferry. It's often millimeter work.

From San Jorge on the mainland, it's still a bit to the hotel. We arrive around 9 pm.