Ometepe, Nicaragua

My first experience with a chicken bus was..neat.  Chicken buses are the main mode of public transport in many Central American countries.  What exactly IS a chicken bus, you ask?  Well...it's a school bus. Literally. Normally a retired school bus from America with some additions, including a roof rack, interior ceiling racks, and sometimes huge speakers.  Many of them are painted bright colors and have the name of their permanent route written on them.  

The buses seem to be run by 2 or sometimes 3 people:  the driver, and a helper or 2.  The helpers are in charge of collecting money, and getting people and supplies (backpacks, baskets, whatever people are transporting) on and off the bus.  The driver speeds down the roads, honking and swerving around slower traffic and frequently slamming on the breaks to pick up passengers on the side of the road.  When someone needs to be dropped off, they (or the "helper) whistle loudly and the bus comes to a quick halt again. The system seems to be very efficient - I might even consider hiring some of these guys to run some school bus routes if that was my department!

So - we took a chicken bus to Rivas, where we caught a taxi to the dock and walked the plank onto the ferry.

The ferry set off for a nice, slow ride across Lake Nicaragua to the island of Ometepe.  The lake is the largest in Central America, making the views from the ferry look like that of a vast ocean.  The hour long ride provided wonderful views of Ometepe, the world's largest volcanic island inside a fresh water lake (2 volcanos).  Arriving in Moyogalpo, we caught a taxi to our hostel, Zopilote, in Santa Cruz.  The hostel was a bit of a hike from the main road, but was set right in the middle of nature.  Our dorm was a little 2 story hut on stilts.

..and the bathrooms were...........earthy.  Most of the plumbing in Central America is not strong enough to handle toilet paper being flushed, so a bin is always provided next to the toilet for paper.  (yeah, that took a little getting use to) But these toilets were closer to a porta-potty.  They were composting toilets - which required a couple cups of saw dust after each use to help in the decomposition process.  

But the property offered several nature paths and a couple of observation decks with a spectacular view of the smaller volcano, Maderas.

That afternoon we met several people, including a German couple, one of Sean's friends from years ago (small world), and a couple of older guys from Florida.  For dinner, we all sat around eating too much pizza, drinking beer, and sharing random stories about life and travels.  

The next day, we chose life over death (not to climb the volcanos) and opted for the less strenuous San Ramon Waterfall.  We met up with the German couple from the night before and rented bikes (since we missed the early bus) for a "short ride" to San Ramon, while 2 others decided to wait around until they could rent a motor bike.  Off we went...on mountain bikes...for a 1.5 hour ride up and down the steep hills of the unpaved roads between Santa Cruz and San Ramon.  I think we can all agree that this wasn't the best idea ever...

But the scenery was nice....and despite having to stop and walk up several hills, we made it to the base of San Ramon.  Except - then we had to hike another 1.5 hours.  1.5 hours to go 3k.  That's the kind of incline we are talking about here.  My buns were burning from the bike ride, my legs were burning from the hike.  Up we went...The trail started off nicely, but eventually turned to rock, and then to river bed.  

At one point we stopped to admire a waterfall we could see way higher up...obviously we weren't going that high.  But we were.

And then...we arrived.

The 160 ft waterfall has a small, shallow, freezing cold pool at the bottom.  We all jumped in and welcomed the coolness after our 3 hour adventure of dirt and sweat.  We laughed and enjoyed a snack...

...but we stopped laughing as soon as we realized we were only half way done.  The hike back was easier, as expected.  We were able to enjoy the kaleidoscopes of butterflies

and the views of Lake Nicaragua

...making it off the mountain in an hour, just before a thick cloud covered the top.  The ride back was easier for me than expected.  I shot ahead of the others- a new found energy helped me cruise to the top of the hills, only walking up 3, and my lack of decent breaks kept me from slowing while going back down the hills.  We made it back in once piece, took a much needed shower, and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Was the waterfall worth the 3 hours of biking and 2.5 hours of hiking?  Sure.  But I wouldn't opt to do it again.  Perhaps one OR the other, but not in combination with eachother.  My legs are burning just THINKING about it!

~Jac