We traveled to Ometepe, Nicaragua in 2015. Forgive our photos as they reflect the times! The new cameras and phones have come so far! This was obviously quite some time ago, and we always talk about how we hope it has remained mostly the same. I recently read a blog post from “The Pilot Who Explores” and it sounds like it has still very much maintained it’s charm! So I hope that many of things we’ve written in this post hold up today.
We spent 3 days on Ometepe, which is an island within Lake Nicaragua that is made up of two volcanoes, Concepcion & Maderas. To get there, we booked a shuttle van to take us from Leon to the port, which should have taken around 2 hours. Little did we know that with other passengers picked up from multiple locations along the way the way it would take about 5 hours. This experience definitely reinforced the saying “time is money”. By trying to save a little money we ended up wasting almost half of our day in a van. We learned that it’s better to drop an extra 50-100 bucks and get where you need to be as timely as possible. This is especially true on a short trip. After eventually arriving at the port, we worked out purchasing tickets for a ferry that would take us to the island. After grabbing some snacks and paying for a quick visit to the bathroom, we followed the crowds to the dock. The ferry which crosses Lake Nicaragua was a neat experience. We were one of the first ones aboard and grabbed the first seats we saw. As we sat waiting to depart, we watched locals load the boat full of furniture, motorcycles, and supplies to bring over to the island with them. The journey was quick and scenic, with the 2 looming volcanoes getting closer and closer, larger and larger, until we landed on the island they created in the middle of the lake.
We caught a quick ride to our guest house, El Encanto, and our stay there was incredible. The owner was ever present and extremely kind and caring. The grounds were gorgeous and intertwined with walking paths and gardens full of native plants and flowers. Meals were delicious, and because of the more rural state of the island, we ate most of our meals there. We stayed in one of a handful of private bungalows that had a full bathroom (with hot water thanks to a solar heating system) and a nice little porch. El Encanto was within walking distance to the beach and biking distance to many attractions on the island. The eating area had an amazing view overlooking the larger of the two volcanoes, Concepcion, and we got to see it at sunrise over breakfast, at sunset over dinner and drinks, and in between. Click to book this spot!
After our relaxing first night on the island, we woke up at 6am to hike the (slightly) smaller of the two volcanoes, Maderas (which, unlike Concepcion, is also no longer active). I simply cannot say enough about the impressive tour companies in Nicaragua. Bright and early, our guide, Dimas, and the owner of the company, Lucie, were at our room ready to take us out for the day. They packed us a delicious lunch, complete with a smoothie and homemade muffin each for a snack. The hike was long and definitely challenging, but doable, especially with the help of the walking sticks Dimas grabbed for us. In the beginning, with fresh legs, we laughed at the thought of using them. Needless to say, about an hour into our hike to the top of the roughly 1400 meter high volcano, we were glad we did. Along the way we passed a lot of envious, struggling people whose guide didn’t think to bring walking sticks. Eventually, Dimas kindly gave his own stick to a woman who was having a tough go of it and did the rest of the hike without it. Dimas was a great guide, teaching us things along the way about the plants, bugs and local people on Ometepe. Conversing with him wasn’t an issue at all as he teaches English to students when not guiding hikes on either of the two volcanos. In addition to Spanish & English, he also seemed to be fluent in Howler Monkey; we got to see and hear them all along the journey which was one of the highlights of the trip! After hiking for a few hours, we entered the ‘cloud forest’ where visibility was quite low, and everything was damp and muddy. A few hours later and we were finally at the top, where we got to eat lunch on the shores of the lake created out of its crater. The day we were there was very cloudy, so we could barely see 15 feet in front of us, but the fog around us made the experience of hiking a volcano that much more surreal. One of the best views of the trip was at a lookout point on the way down from this hike. Located about an hour from the base of Maderas, you can do this hike on your own if you don’t have the time, will, or endurance to do the full hike. It is certainly worth the trek. It is located between some farm lands and gives an incredible view of Concepcion. Physically exhausted and satisfied from our day of hiking, we cleaned ourselves off on the beach and relaxed with a few drinks while enjoying the sunset. It was a perfect day.
The next day, with some heavy legs, we got up early to explore the island. The little map in our hotel said that we could hike to the San Ramon waterfall after an easy bike ride. The “easy” bike ride was a little more than we had planned for. It wasn’t too bad distance-wise, but it was ROCKY! The long road to the trailhead of the falls was off the one main paved road, so we were pedaling over small stones almost the entire way, which made it quite a bit trickier than we were led to believe. The tough, shaky journey made the reward of the falls that much sweeter. While it was a bumpy ride, it gave us the chance to see a lot of the island. The hike to the waterfall was an easy one; anyone in decent walking shape can do it. It was beautiful through the jungle and the waterfall itself is worth the walk, you can even take a dip in the water to cool off. After hiking back out, we rode the bikes the complete opposite direction to Ojo de Agua, which is basically just a big swimming hole of blue water. (Thankfully it was off of the main paved road, which made the biking a bit easier). It was cute but very crowded, with people drinking out of coconuts and jumping off of platforms into the water. If we ever make it back, I’d like to try getting there earlier to beat the crowds. After returning the bikes, we spent the end of the day back on the beach resting our legs and our minds, watching local kids play soccer and wild horses frolic in the ocean. Looming behind us was the volcano we had just climbed, a reminder of the productive, adventurous days we had spent on the island. The whole place had such a peaceful and welcoming vibe, we easily could have stayed longer and never tired of the people or the environment. Our time there was well spent and we would highly recommend it.
Just a side note, this place is remote! There is only one paved road, which doesn’t even go around the whole island. At least that was the situation in 2015. You even have to stop driving at times for cows to cross the road! Ometepe, at least where we stayed, was very off the grid. We barely had Wi-Fi the entire time. We assume that as time has gone on this situation has probably improved as many people consider wifi mandatory. We also know that some cafes, bars, and restaurants had wifi. We didn’t seek these places out though, it was nice to disconnect and just enjoy one another and everything that nature had to offer.
All in all, our time on Ometepe was a true pleasure. Everyone was very hospitable and wanted the best for the island and the people who live there & come to visit. The island may be becoming more popular in recent years, with the intent of allowing more people to come and experience the wonders that make up the ancient island, without destroying any of its natural charm. Our time there was more than memorable, and we were excited to see what our next stop in the city of Granada, Nicaragua would bring.
Plan for me dani 