Our little slice of Volcano Island Heaven…
Above is the sign for a little finca called La Brisa, which sits on the side of Volcan Maderas on the island of Ometepe. To get here, you take a 90 minute bus ride from the port of Moyogalpa, turn to the right at this sign, and hike up 300 yards of trail, being careful to avoid the angry goose (if it happens to be there) and anyone on horseback coming down the narrow trail. You pass through two Y-shaped branches that form breaks in the barbed-wire fencing that separates a couple of properties, then make a final ascent to the first rustic structure. About 20 yards farther on, you come to a campground, and when you look out over it, you see Lake Cocibolca, which looks like this:
Our view.
Corrinne and I pitched a tent, strung up a hammock, and set up shop here, expecting to stay a couple days. We ended up staying for a week, eating breakfast every morning with the owner, Nacho, his dog, Chulo, the two volunteers from Pamplona, and the few other guests at the joint. We’d hit the sack just after dark every night, and usually be awake at first light. I doubt we’ll find a better living situation in our travels. We had horses tramping by a few yards from our tent, and chickens scrounging around our rain cover every morning. It was such easy living we lost track of time, of what day it was, or even thoughts of where we would go next. Corrinne kept referring to it as Never-Never-Land, and while we were camped out, the rest of the world could go hang.
Our humble campsite (hammock to the right).
There isn’t a lot to say about it. I get the feeling we’ve entered a highly sensory land, and attempts to describe it will frequently fall short. A few snapshots of Ometepe:
I saw far more people on horseback than in cars.
I saw more cows crossing the roads than people.
When the horses get thirsty, the riders take them to the beach, where they dunk their heads in the fresh water of the lake.
Chickens and pigs in every yard.
People riding bicycles with propane tanks balanced on the front.
The bicycle-blenders. I saw two of these. Stationary bikes with blenders hooked up to the front wheel so you could get some exercise and make yourself a smoothie at the same time:
Corrinne making a banana smoothie.
Ometepe casts a serious spell, and we happily fell under it for a long time. We didn’t have any wild adventures, didn’t climb the volcanoes or trek to all the spots around the island. We just set up camp, took it easy, and let the place work its magic. And every morning, when we woke up, there was a volcano saying hello.
Well hello to you too, Concepcion. Those are some nice clouds you’ve caught.
I’ve got a couple more updates coming, and they will likely become more frequent now that we’re back in the real world. But it was nice to drop out for a while. I’d like to say more about it, but I got nothing right now. We found a piece of Paradise, and for a week it was home and that’s enough to say for now. I think I found something I was looking for. I’ll sit with that for a while.
More dispatches from the road soon.