We Could Run Away

Slight change of plans...B's not coming to Starkville this week. Instead he and his mom are going on a cruise to Mexico! I know...lucky them. I love the Caribbean Coast of Mexico. Anyway, that means a delay on getting the photos, but I suppose we can move on and I'll just post some pictures later.

ANYway. We left off in Granada. The first afternoon, we wandered around, seeing if it was possible to walk to the waterfront (it's not really) and stumbled upon an eco-adventures tour company. There, we declined an offer to go climb Volcan Mombochu at night and see the bats (not worth $25, thanks) and instead applied our monies to a kayaking trip the next day. It was $35 for four hours, and the person selling us on the idea warned that maybe I'd be better doing a two hour trip. But he also said we were likely to be the only ones, so it wouldn't matter if we went slow.

Boy, was he wrong.
There were at least six others with us, as well as two guides. I got in the water and immediately fell behind. I don't know what it is, but I cannot for the life of me make a kayak go in a straight line. It kept desiring to go to the right. Even when there were rocks there. I sailed into reedy patches and did battle with shallow waters. Birds flew about in panic. My egg sandwich grew soggy. I was pitied by our guide.

But we finally made it to our resting point...a bar/restaurant on one of the 365 islands of Nicaragua. I walked about ten feet and found that I was better suited to hammocks then kayaks.
Overall though I am so glad we went kayaking. The islands are beautiful, and many wealthy Nicas have homes out there. And one American who chose to decorate with inflatable snowglobes, santas and an American flag. We felt that he didn't really need the flag to convey his nationality!

The next day was New Year's Eve, and although many backpackers seemed to want to stay and party in Granada for the holiday, we thought that we might get stuck there if buses didn't run on El Dia Primer (and they dont). So we decided to push on to Isla de Ometepe. Ometepe means "Between two hills," in Nahuatl, which is the indigenous language of Nicaragua. An apt name, considering the island consists of two volcanos and the flat space between them. Here's a model:

Ometepe is the largest inland island in the world, at 31km long, 5km at its narrowest point and 10km at the widest. More than that, though, it is beautiful, relaxing and friendly, and since I'm probably losing your attention already with the long post, I'll wait and post Ometepe adventures in a different blog.
Hasta luego!