From Managua to Ometepe

Our first night in Managua was short. We were wide awake at 5.30 a.m. Harvey from Colombia couldn’t sleep either and we decided to go to the island of Ometepe on Lake Nicaragua. We found ourselves on a chicken bus to Rivas an hour later where we ate our first “Gallopinto”, rice with beans. Later on we grabbed a taxi to San Jorge, then the ferry to Ometepe and then a taxi again to reach the other side of the island, Santa Cruz. Our hostel was located on a hill with a perfect view and we were welcomed by a relaxed vibe and Bob Marley tunes. Ometepe is a very chilled island with a lot of nature. Unlike everybody else we decided not to do the eight-hour volcano hick due to the heat. Instead we explored the island by bicycle and by Kayak.

Don’t miss:

Explore the river and swamp land of the Rio Istián by Kayak. It’s an aquatic garden with carpets of floating water plants, where you see lots of birds and big trees hung with vines and mosses. There are different types of tours. Ours took a few hours and we were dropped and picked up at the river mouth by a motorboat.

Things to watch out for:

Bedbugs!!! Seriously they are deadly