Life as a traveller actually means that you need to travel, and today we did just that!
We walked to the bus terminal this morning and caught a chicken bus to Rivas. I knew the chicken bus ride was going to be good today!! Firstly because I knew it was only going to be a couple of hours. Secondly, all the religious pictures of Mary and Jesus on the inside of the bus meant that god was also going to be on our side!!
And I was right, the bus ride was good - we didn't have an accident, no close calls with skinny dogs or donkeys, and there weren't many people standing in the isles of the bus with meant you didn't have a bum or junk in your face the entire trip. Again we saw the usual things on the side of the road, pigs, horses and chickens, lots of banana and sugar cane crops!! The new addition today was the man riding his ox and cart.
We arrived at Rivas and literally moved our bags from one chicken bus to another, so we could make a 10min bus ride to the other side of town where the ferry terminal was.
Now being a lake, I was not expecting the ferry ride to be to bad. I mean how rough can a lake get??? Hahahaha... We pulled up and I took one look at Lake Nicaragua, and she was not happy today!! The lake looked extremely choppy!!! Tough decisions... Do I crack open my case to get out my travel sickness tablets or do I take the risk that I'll be alright? I cracked that baby right open and grabbed the seasickness tablets out!! I would much rather risk the chance of having to repack my case in public than feel sick for an hour on the boat!!! Correct decision made!
I sat down below. I mean that's where all the locals were sitting... They aren't stupid enough to run to the top of the ferry where you feel the waves, get wind swept and splashed with lake water!!! Nooooo, they stay down below where it is enclosed and dry.
The ferry set off.... And it was like we were sitting in a spinning top! The boat wasn't just going up and down or side to side, it was more like a whirlpool. The ferry looked suspiciously like a retired tug boat... (just like the chicken buses look suspiciously like retired US school buses). Once we hit the high seas, that when the cracks in the boat started to appear. The waves were splashing all over the boat, and eventually the water started leaking into the cabin through the windows. Ok, I hope someone is bailing this water out!! The water than started leaking in the front door, which had been locked at the front to prevent water from coming in!!! It was at this stage that I started to look for the life jackets!! Just a mental note where they are...just in case. I watched as the water moved all over the floor and into all of the bags stacked on the floor! Mine was on the bottom... But I knew it would be ok as the bottom of my case is waterproof!!
About half way through our ferry trip, a few people started with their vomiting!! Which, when you work on a cancer ward you can handle!!
What I couldn't handle was the k*** who decided that he could no longer hack being on top of the ferry. He decided to enter the cabin down below and that's when things just became frustrating. It didn't help that he came down and opened the door, which let in about 20L of lake water. Not the sharpest tool in the shed this one. Then sparky decided to put his soaking wet back pack (and I mean dripping wet backpack) on top of everyone else's luggage. Then to top it all off, he (who is also soaked to the bone) decides to sit on everyone's luggage. What the hell??? He looked up, and that's when I caught a glimpse of his cap. On the front of it was a picture of a hammer. How fitting.... his hat perfectly described him.... a tool!!!
We survived the ferry trip to Ometepe Island.... and sparky was very lucky that I hadn't killed him by the end of the trip. We boarded mini buses and made our way to our hotel. Again a very cute hotel... We have cabins which are situated on the banks of Lake Nicaragua. It's very interesting, as it looks like a beach, however the sand is really dark. The island is made up of 2 volcanos.
After a quick bite to eat, I went for a walk along the beach which was lovely!! I saw people riding horses along the beach, and all of a sudden a herd of cattle made their way down as well!!
The beach is beautiful, especially when the backdrop includes a volcano!!!