Continuing the upload of photos from my trip, these will all be from Nicaragua. In fact, the vast majority of my photos will be from Nicaragua. We were barely in San Jose. Liberia was only a couple of days, and by the time we got to La Fortuna, once more in Costa Rica, it was a touristy place and I was all about zip lining and relaxing in the hot springs. Ha! I digress!
After our departure from the beauty of San Juan del Sur, we made our way to the island of Ometepe, which is in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. If you’re as remotely uninformed as I was before this trip, you’ve never heard of Lake Nicaragua, a large freshwater lake, in fact, the largest in central america. It has a number of islands in it, the largest being Ometepe, home to two volcanos. I’ll state now that I didn’t visit either of them. They were gorgeous from a distance, but an 8 or 10 hour hike did not hit me as how I wanted to spend a day.
When we got off the ferry, we muddled our way to a spot to wait as a group while our guide found our driver. It was a busy little port, being the only real way on or off the island. The first thing I spotted standing there was this lovely sign. The bright colors against the bright sky screamed for a photo. As we were in travel mode, my camera was buried, but I dragged it out anyway.
Deliciosa Aqui!
We stayed at a cute little hotel that would have been on the beach if the rainy season hadn’t just ended. Most of the group went for nature hikes or slogging up muddy volcanos. I decided that neither fit the bill for me. I just desparately wanted to wander some streets, which were nowhere to be seen near our hotel in the midst of a long dirt road. Luckily, there were buses running frequently and my guide was able to hook me up with what bus would take me where…. I didn’t really care where so accepted Altagracia as my destination. I got there on what most of us gringos would refer to as a chicken bus. Called as such because people carry whatever they need to on the bus, be it livestock or other. I experienced a few of these in Mexico. The trip into Altagracia wasn’t much to comment on. Seats were full but there was plenty of standing room. The ride back later would be totally the opposite, hopelessly overpacked by any standards but somehow everyone was cheery about it, even me.
The neat thing was, that these buses were all former school buses from the states. The first one I got on, I took a look, and sure enough, not only was it a Blue Bird, it was made in Fort Valley, Georgia, a hop and a jump from home. Here’s one of those so familiar blue bird buses on the streets of Altagracia.
Blue Bird Bus!
While the streets of Altagracia were cool, it was a small town and my absolutely favorite find was tucked a few blocks off the main square, a small cemetery. Actually, for the size of the town, it was a respectable size. Anyone who’s meandered through my photos know that I jump at the chance to wander cemeteries. There’s something really intriguing about seeing the different burial practices in different places. It varies even in the states, but I digress! I worry when I wander foreign ones, especially where I don’t know the language and might have trouble explaining my purpose, but when I saw the grazing horses and bull, I figured no one would worry about me desecrating anything.
Resting Places
Crosses to Bear
Time on Ometpe passed by quickly and before we knew it we were on our way to Granada, probably one of my favorite places of the trip. A bit bigger and a gorgeous city. I’m just starting on the photos, but here’s one to whet your appetite for the colors and textures of this place.
Worn - Granada Nicaragua
There’s more of course, if you check out the full Costa Rica and Nicaragua album, even a few more of Granada, and of course more of Ometepe!
