Monday, January 09, 2012

Ometepe Waterfall and the trip back to the mainland.

The best way to see the island by far is by motorbike.  Angela and i rented "mountain" bikes the first day and they sucked.  I had no brakes, she had no gears, and we still paid $5 each.  The bikes did get us to Ojo de Agua which is a little concrete swimming hole made around a spring.  If you think it's going to be some gorgeous little moss covered spring in the jungle, it's not.  But if you want a place to drink beer on a hot day with lots of laughing and smiling people and go off a rope swing this place is awesome.  Some people are disappointed by the changing rooms and parking lot which makes it feel developed.  Get over that and go swimming, if you rode your crappy bike there you will love it.
Volcano Concepcion
The motorbike we found at a neighbor's house, I handed him my passport and he handed be the bike, no contract, no nothing other than my promise to return it as i got it.  There was a playboy centerfold laminated to the seat which added a touch of class, otherwise the bike was pretty gutless, supposedly a 225 but it did not like hills.  We drove around to the falls at San Ramon on the other side of the south island.  With the bike you can struggle up the first 3km of road, then walk the last km.  The falls are over 500 feet tall and tumble into a shallow pond.  Deep enough to float in but not swim.  Very refreshing in the middle of the jungle on a hot day.  Driving around the island is a great way to get perspective of the area as well.  It is a gorgeous little piece of paradise.  The road is getting longer as I type and an airport is being built so there are changes in the making.  Hard to say how development will affect the place other than adding more gringo property owners and maybe a resort at the Myogalpa end of the island.  Time will tell.
We finally decided to leave by shared taxi from Balgue out to Myogalpa, then back on the ferry and into San Jorge.  The winds are strong this time of year and I think it's worth waiting for the big ferry that hauls cars.  The little passenger ferrys turn into vomit comets and I don't think I want to do that for an hour. 
Our taxi driver in San Jorge convinced us to go all the way to Granada with him so our $2 ride turned into $22 and he made the 70 mile trip in less than an hour.  He delivered us right to our hotel door and we found rooms in Hotel Casa Capricho.  It's a nice little botique hotel with a tiny pool and everything we needed for 2 nights.  It was also next door to Kathy's Waffle House which makes fantastic breakfasts and despite its very gringo name is locally owned and packed with locals throughout the day.

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