Yesterday and today have been travel days...
...yesterday we got a bus to a part of Isla de Ometepe that we were told was good (Merida), but it turned out to be VERY isolated and the only hostels in the area were expensive and the staff of the cheaper one were extremely discourteous.
There really was no "town" to speak of - just a tiny rocky road with a few houses, a comodore (local eatery) and these two hotels.
We were disapointed that Merida wasn't what we expected, especially after the bus ride there (an hour of standing up, squished into a tiny bus in the heat).
BUT, a huge part of travel is trial and error. You never know if you don't try...we tried and that is all that matters. You just have to chalk it up to experience and carry on.
In the end we decided to head back to Moyogalpa (the main town on the island and where you catch the boat back to the mainland).
We waited on the road, sitting on rocks and watching the local animals. At one point a troop of piglets gaggled across the dirt road in search of the guava fruit that lay rotting on the ground outside the comodore. They were adorable. I don't think I've ever seem so many piglets just "doing their thing" without being fenced in.
I'd love to explain the other amusment that occured as we waited for the bus...but Trumpapillar really defies explanation. :)
The bus ride took two or three hours, but it wasn't too bad. It gave us a good chance to soak up some examples of island life.
It's fasinating to observe people whos lives are so different to my own. The people of Isla de Ometepe live in small, very simple houses - brick or ply-wood with corrigated iron, and many with a dirt floor. They seem to really cherish family life, like a lot of other traditional cultures. Most keep animals (pigs, cows, bulls, chickens and maybe a horse or two) and farm the land (corn, plantains, maze etc). So often while traveling, I wonder about our comforts and whether we could live without them. I can't imagine living in one of these tiny houses with a dirt floor... it seems so far away from my life..and yet, millions of people live this way...
We stayed the night in Moyogalpa and stayed in the same hotel we stayed in the first night we were on the island.
Today we got the boat back over to the mainland in the morning and then caught a small local bus back to Managua. It's my birthday today, and this hasn't a FANTASTIC way to spend the day, but it is pretty fitting considering travel has been the main theme of my 25th year. Alex and Morgan have done their best to make today special for me though, which I appreciate very much.
SO - TWO DAYS of traveling! Its been alright though. Our aim now is basically to get to the Caribbean side of Nicaragua and visit Corn Island and Little Corn Island, where we will relax for a few days. The beaches there are suppose to be white sand and bright blue clear water. I can't wait to get there.
Oh and a shingles update!! I'm feeling MUCH better now and have almost finished my course of medication. I've gotten back the strength in my left arm (it was getting weak and painful because of the virus) and the horrible rash is clearing up very well. :)
PS: Photos soon, I sware! I haven't been able to upload any tonight becase there is a lock on the computer and I need a password to get into My Computer. I don't know the Spanish for "I need a password"...so I'm giving up. Will upload photos another day.
