Sunday on Ometepe

By the time John, Kathleen and I made it out from below deck, Linda and Al had already disembarked and secured transportation to take us to our hotel, Finca (farm) de Venezia about 30 minutes from Moyogalpa on the eastern side of the island.  Our driver’s name was Maximo and he had a silver-blue van that was clean even though the shocks sounded like a chorus of crickets as we made our way down the only road on the island, one that was shared with oxcarts, motorcycles, trucks, bicycles and pedestrians.  Any paving had long since been chipped away by traffic and the torrents of rainy season, to be replaced by rocks and ruts.  None of this deterred Maximo has we bumped and bounced along.   

Our accommodations were very pleasant, on the western leeward side of the island with protection from the fierce wind that continued to rip across the lake.  We could walk out our door to a nice beach.  In the evenings, we had an unobstructed view of the setting sun which languidly, yet vividly, submerged into the water leaving its rays to paint the clouds above a changing palette of color from orange to pink finally to gray.

The first full day on Ometepe was a Sunday and we had arranged with Maximo for a day-long tour.   Right after breakfast, the silver-blue van pulled up with two women inside.  Maximo had another customer for the day, so we were in the trusty hands of Idelma and Kenia, his wife and daughter.  We piled into the van.  Kenia was driving and Al took the front seat by her.  He’s a large man and needed the leg room.  We strategically placed Linda near Idelma because she speaks fluent Spanish and could interpret for us what Idelma said.  Leaving a black trail of volcanic dust behind us, we bustled up the Finca drive returning to the main teeth-jarring road and headed out.

Our trip that day helped me understand a few fundamentals about Ometepe.  Though it has a modicum of facilities catering to tourists, it is basically uncorrupted by the pace that tourism brings.  It is an island that exists for the families that live there and, because of its physical isolation has some semblance to an oasis.  In fact, the historical revolutions and civil wars afflicting the main of Nicaragua never penetrated its shores, allowing the population of the island to retain a congeniality and friendliness that is readily genuine. Since there were no tourist attractions as such (other than climbing the volcanoes which we quickly formed a consensus against), our excursion consisted of going from place to place and witnessing typical Sunday activities on Ometepe. 

The stops along the way yielded these things.

- A drive through stretches of road with plaintain forests so thick on either side the sunlight couldn’t get through.  The major crop of the island, plaintains grow during the six months of the dry season then are plowed under when it begins to rain.  The trees only live six months so entire plantations cycle anew every year.

- In Altagracia, the next largest municipality to Moyogalpa, there was a the central park where a 200-year old cathedral stood vacant next to its more modern replacement.  The open doors were flung open allowing the music from the service inside to float out and fill the air.  Groups of people in the park hovered around small barbecue grills, preparing food for a Sunday afternoon picnic.    

- We happened upon an open field where grown men were intently engaged in a baseball game.  People scattered around the perimeter of the diamond with coolers and picnics everywhere as they all enjoyed the national pastime of Nicaragua.  It was hard to tell exactly who the teams were.  Nobody had on the same uniform.  But, they all had on something baseball related – one with a Padres shirt, one Boston Red Sox, one San Francisco.  We stopped to watch for a while.  Pitchers and catchers warmed up beside us, readying for the next game. 

- Further on down the road, we passed a spring where women washed clothes while children gathered for a cool swim on a hot Sunday afternoon.

- We bumped and scraped up a hill to Finca Magdelena, where we hiked through a veritable Garden of Eden filled with fruit trees, lemon grass, and plants indigenous to Nicaragua such as the Pochote with four-inch long spines sticking out of its trunk and the Flor de Caquanhoche, the national tree of the country.  Scattered throughout the finca were 2000-year old Petroglyphs only discovered two years ago.

-  After Kenia deftly plowed the van through sand that had overtaken the road, we stopped for lunch at Villa de Paraiso on the unprotected windward side of the island.  It was here we realized how lucky we were to be staying on the leeward side. The wind blew so hard that our napkins floated off the table like butterflies.  The lid on a trash container nearby spun so fast it looked like a gerbil’s cage.  The only things that seemed undisturbed by the wind were the Large White Throated Magpie Jay birds perched patiently on the railings of the restaurant and the chairs around our table.  They looked right at home, biding their time until one of us either left our plate unattended or dropped a crumb on the floor. 

- We stopped by Oho de Agua (“swimming hole”) where young people and families with children whiled away the receding afternoon, many of them swinging on a rope from a tree splashing down into the crystal clear pool below. 

-  On the way back, we pulled over on the side of the road to watch howler monkeys swinging from the treetops above.

By the time we returned to Finca de Venezia, we were tired but exhilarated.  Everything we had done was interesting and fun.  With the exception of the fare for the van, a small charge to Finca Magdelena and lunch, it was all free.  All along the way, we gained personal insights into life on Ometeppe from Idelma and Kenia.  For example, the educational system is free to everyone, but there are not enough schools for the number of children and some families are too poor to take advantage.  They can’t afford shoes or the supplies and in some cases the children have to work rather than attend classes. 

It was a truly delightful day, an unfettered slice of life with no garnishment for our benefit.  Ometepe offered much more than money could buy – beauty, simplicity, energy, warmth- things that tend to get lost in more developed societies. 

What Will I Remember about our trip to Ometepe?

I will remember that the physical beauty of a place is the magnet that gets you there, but the real essence lies in the people you meet and the things you see.

I will remember that people are the same everywhere.  They are about family and playing and making good times out of baseball and picnics and swimming holes.

I will remember to go places and make my own judgments.

Most importantly, I will remember NEVER to ride a lancha again.