Our final stop in Nicaragua was to Ometepe, an island made up of 2 volcanoes in the middle of Lago Nicaragua (the largest body of fresh water in Central America) and a biosphere reserve home to five ecosystems. The 1.5 hour boat ride over was a great opportunity to take in the stunning island which was described so beautifully by Mark Twain so I won't try and do better: “Out of the midst of the beautiful Lake Nicaragua spring two magnificent pyramids, clad in the softest and richest green, all flecked with shadow and sunshine, whose summits pierce the billowy clouds. They look so isolated from the world and its turmoil.”

There are lots of little villages all with their own personality dotted around Ometepe, and we stayed at Santo Domingo which lies between the two volcanoes on a stunning and fairly isolated 4km wild beach. After a quick walk on the beach we spent our first afternoon sleeping in hammocks in the shade before having a yummy supper at our hotel and an early night.

We were well rested the following morning and hired a scooter for the day with no real plan. First stop was to a butterfly farm which we surprisingly really enjoyed (we're definitely getting old!) before we headed for a small hike around the lagoon right next to it. We jumped back on the scooter and grabbed lunch at one of the other villages on the opposite side of the island, before then heading to a stunning spot called Punta Jesus Maria which is a narrow spit of land, formed by water currents. The sand bank juts into the lake for about 1km which we walked to the tip of with the water splashing on our feet from both sides. Turning back to the mainland wasn't exactly a dud sight either with a panoramic view of Ometepe. Pretty spesh! Final stop on our day tour of the island was to cool off in Ojo de Agua which is a natural spring pool filled with crystal clear water from an underground river that comes from volcano Maderas. Apparently the water is really good for you so we convinced ourselves that it had reversed the KGs of weight we've put on the last 2 months! All in all it was one of my favourite days of the trip whizzing around and taking in the beautiful scenery.

The following day Keith headed out for his kitesurfing lesson (he's done it a few times before but sensibly they won't let him free until he's certified!). I also decided to have an active morning and had a massage. Funnily enough I actually think I was in more pain from the teeny tiny Nicaraguan lady than Keith was in 3 hours of kitesurfing! After the massage I hobbled down the beach to watch Keith for the last hour and I have to say he was pretty good (shhhh don't tell him I said that). After all our hard work we headed to the other end of the beach for lunch at a nice restaurant overlooking the water. The rest of the afternoon was spent back in the hammocks chilling (OK we've got very into siestas on this trip!) until sunset.

We were up early the next morning to catch the ferry back to the mainland as we would have a full day in store to get to Costa Rica. We sat up top of the ferry looking back on this stunning island and I was filled with a mix of emotions. I was so happy I'd been able to visit such a special place making such great memories but I was also sad. Yes I was sad it was over and we hadn't stayed longer but mainly because I was replaying a conversation I'd had with a fellow traveller a few weeks before where she'd informed me about the recent approval of a Chinese-run canal through Nicaragua. The canal which will cut straight through Lago Nicaragua and just south of Ometepe will be 1.5 times wider and deeper, and 4 times longer than the Panama Canal. The canal will definitely impact Ometepe with locals losing their land (3 villages have already been measured by Chinese engineers for a upmarket resort linked to the canal), huge negative impact on the lake's aquatic life and generally a threat to the biosphere status of the island. This is all without even mentioning what it will do visually. So it was with sadness that I looked back on a place that had stolen a piece of my heart and I hope to return to one day, but fear I may not be as lucky to experience it the way we had.

So that was the end of our 19 days in beautiful Nicaragua. Costa Rica you're up buddy!

Y ahora es el momento para una cerveza :)
SM