The big, active volcano is called Concepción and the little one is Maderas. I spent a night in the lovely area of Charco Verde and met a Brazilian guy and German girl. Turned out there was some zip lining in the area...I had such a good time zip lining in Monteverde that I decided to do it again! The Nicaraguans are a touch less safety conscious than the Costa Ricans...here is a video of me zipping along while the guide bounces the ropes up and down!
The rest of the day was spent walking in the national park. We saw lots of wildlife and hiked up to a mirador, looking out to a small green lagoon in the middle of the island.
On the way back we saw a large group of howler monkeys sitting in a tree eating berries. They were eating berries and throwing the seeds into the lagoon below. Every time a seed landed in the water a little head would pop up and a turtle would devour the seed. It really was a wonderful sight to see.
The next day myself and Neda headed over to Balgüe. We'd planned to stay at a hostel but it was full by the time we arrived. The guys at the hostel suggested a place called Zopilote, some huts on an organic farm owned by a group of hippies. Hippies usually scare me, but it was 42 degrees and we'd already walked a couple of miles, so we headed to the farm. It was the best decision ever. The place is beautiful - lots of straw huts dotted around the farm and connected by winding stone paths.
A personal highlight was the Japanese showers, basically a tap surrounded by long grass. It was important to remember to turn the Ocupada sign over otherwise you might get some unexpected company!
The farm sold awesome home baked bread, jams, oil and even chocolate. They also cooked amazing pizza (Francesco, the owner, is from Italy) three times a week in the pizza garden for everyone to eat together. One upside of hippy places is that there are usually a couple of fire jugglers, so there was even some entertainment thrown in.
The next day we rented a scooter and cruised around the island. First stop was Museo El Ceibo, where ancient petroglyphs from the island are housed. Apparently, this one is either a snail or a map of the island. I think they need to employ an archaeologist.
Next up was Punto Jesus de Maria, a huge sandbar jutting out into the lake. The sandbar was somewhat mesmerising as small freshwater waves crested from both sides, hitting into each other. Walking along it felt a bit like Moses parting the Red Sea.
The ferry back was broken and replaced by a small boat that listed heavily to the right. It also seemed to direct all the petrol fumes into the boat instead of away from it. This is less than ideal for someone who suffers from sea sickness, but I made it to dry land without throwing up. Hurrah!
The big daddy - Volcan Concepción
Looking over Lake Nicaragua from a disused pier at Charco Verde.
Lovely vistas at Charco Verde...
Zip lining Superman style!
A gorgeous sunset from the viewing tower on the farm.
Burial pots. Apparently they cut you up and buried you in different urns. These were for your feet. Lovely.
Looking back to land from the sandbar. Even though I am in the middle of the lake, the water is not even knee deep!
I took this picture of Concepción on the boat back. The volcanoes did strange things to the clouds. The sky was completely cloudy except for a large circle right above the volcano. Other times they would be blanketed in a thin swirling mist. Mysterious.
The longest line on the course. I took a video flying down here, forgot to break, and almost smashed myself into the tree at the other end!
This kid asked me if I wanted to buy his donkey. His opening offer, my camera and mp3 player. His father was less than impressed when he caught him up. He asked me if I wanted to buy his kid.
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