Saturday, July 31, 2010

Hammock heaven

When people asked us what we were going to do in Nicaragua, we said that we were going to sit on the beach. We have sat on the beach. From Granada, the Islands of Ometepe are a 1 1/2 hour bus ride, 15 minute taxi, 1 hour ferry, then 30 minute bus to the beach ¨Playa Santa Domingo¨, so once we had arrived we figured we might as well stay a while. There are two volcanos on the island, both active! Our hostel was right on the beach, with complementary hammocks to lounge in:) We stayed here happily for the first night, paying 20 dollars US per night (both American money and Nicaraguan Cordobas are accepted everywhere here), but soon after realized that we did not have much cash, and we had no access to a bank or ATM. That´s when we started counting our pennies because we really wanted enough to get off the island. Our next home was a little place which was comfortable, yet there was no water!
Day one we walked 6km down the street/beach and stopped in at all the little shops to scrutinize prices. Almost every house has a store in the front room, or advertises rooms, horses, or bikes for rent. I guess if you have the items already, you might as well make money off them! It is uncommon to see a bike with one person on it here. Most times a person (or a dog) sits perched on the metal between the seat and the handlebars. Everyone on the island was super friendly and we recieved a lot of cheerful ¨holas!¨ as we walked.
For the rest of our time on the island we became food connoseurs (sp?). We only ate at the same place once. We think we should sell our info to Lonely Planet:) Only being able to afford 2 meals a day meant that we were very picky, and that we had a lot of time on our hands.
The beach was a dark sand beach with water warmer than we´ve showered in since we left home. There were thunder and lightening storms every night, and sometimes during the day. It is the rainy season here which explains why everything is so green. And with the rain comes the mosquitos! The worst ones are the little flies that are so small that they are dead when they fall on you (or your food). Yuck.
Now, we are back in Granada. Flipflopless. Someone nabbed both our flipflops as we were swimming:( Tonight for dinner we decided to eat only street food, which turned out to be a delicious idea. We purchased a fresh, sliced mango, a raspburro (ice covered with a sweet, raspberry sauce and milk glaze), and two quesillos (corn tortilla filled with hot chilli, tomatos, cheese, and a sour cream sauce) for the equivalent of 1 dollar and 10 cents each.
Before this disappears on me,
!Hasta luego!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thankyou!