week 1, part 1

Somehow a whole week has gone by since I got to Nicaragua.  It seems like it went quickly, but also like I've been here forever.  I love it. 

I left Granada last Thursday and went to spend a night at a hostel on Laguna de Apoyo, which is a lake in the crater of an old volcano.  The area is now some type of nature preserve, with a few options for lodging and eating but largely undeveloped.  Lovely place.  The water is crystal clear.  My hostel had a floating dock about 45 feet offshore, which was an absolutely perfect place to lay out and have a drink and visit with other backpackers.  My overall impression of that day is of being the perfect temperature all day long - the water temperature was cool enough to be refreshing but warm enough that it would be impossible to get cold (which, if you know me, is important).  The air temperature was also just perfect, never too hot or too cool.  My idea of paradise.

At the hostel at Laguna de Apoyo I started chatting with two Irish guys, Ruairi and Paddy, and as it happened our plans were similar so I decided to travel with them.  It turned out to be a great decision, they're super nice and very fun, and they've been in Central America for a few months so they know how to get from point A to point B much better than I do.  I followed them to an island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua known as Ometepe.  It's a volcanic island about 31k long and 10k wide at its widest point.  The larger of the two volcanoes, Concepcion, is a gorgeous cone shaped volcano that has about 10 different shades of green on it if you can catch it on a clear day.  Stunning.  Maderas, the smaller volcano, is less impressive from a distance but is still quite a sight.  The island as a whole is small, quiet, friendly, and overall pretty laid back.  We spent a day exploring the island, checked out a local beach, and found our way to the Miss Ometepe contest on Saturday night, which was more like a disco with an occasional girl walking across the stage in a beauty pageant sash.  Our hostel was possibly the most colorful place I've ever been, someone appears to have had a bunch of red and yellow and blue paint and a little too much time on their hands.  Out back there were 4 monkeys, 2 deer, and 2 squirrel-type critters.   Like a petting zoo.  There were also no fewer than 9 cats in our dorm room.  Somehow we managed to sleep alright in spite of it all.

We left Ometepe on Sunday morning and headed down to San Juan del Sur, which is a tiny surf/tourist town on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, about 2 hours from the border of Costa Rica.  We've been here ever since.  I'll tell more about that in my next post though.

I'm starting to get the jist of the backpacker culture that I'm suddenly part of.  There seems to be a steady stream of people from all parts of the world traveling through Central America, most of them headed south from points north.  Because most everyone is traveling to the same spots in the same order, you quickly start to run into familiar faces as you go from town to town.  Everyone is a friend but even when you are with friends you are still on your own.  You make your own agenda and if it so happens that someone you get along with is doing the same thing, then you go along together.  But then your plans diverge, and you have a quick hug and go your own way.  I find it to be a pretty cool way to live.  On your own but never alone. 

Tomorrow I plan to travel north for a few days to a town called Leon that comes highly recommended by everyone I've met.  More to come on San Juan del Sur when I find myself with a computer and some free time!