Road and ferry from Granada to Moyogalpa, Monday & Tuesday, 19th & 20th October

The evening before I had some tie to kill and I wanted to see the market so despite the thefts that we had suffered I went for \ walk by myself but with only my camera. I found the market, not the grand building I had expected which it may have been once upon a time but a rather run down affair in a poor neighbourhood.

 I took a circular route back to the hotel passing ladies that wore too much make up and not enough clothes who all seemed to want to talk to me plus small groups of young males sitting or lieing on the ground offering the opportunity to get high for $5.

Back in the nicer part of town young children walked past making shapes out of palm fronds to give away in the hope of getting some money. Two examples, a cricket and a flower.

There was time for a lie in with back locker at 8.45am. However Seb couldn't drive Betsy to the hotel so we had to carry our bags a couple of blocks to load then into the back locker so we we re late leaving but it was only a short drive of some 70kms down the shores of Lake Nicaragua to San Jorge.

 The cemetery just out of town that I would have reached the evening before had I not took a shortened circular route to get back to the hotel.

A typical highway scene.

 A view of the countryside between Granada and San Jorge.

 The ferry between San Jorge and Moyogalpa. At San Jorge we boarded a ferry for the journey across Lake Nicaragua to Moyogalpa on Ometepe, an island in the lake formed by two volcanoes, one of which Volcan Concepcion is active and constantly spewing out steam and sulphur.

The ferry journey was pleasant enough in bright sunlight across a millpond lake for an hour to Moyogalpa, always with a view of the volcano on the horizon shrouded in mist. From the port we carried our bags a hundred metres to our hotel, Hotel Ometepe. We had a local guide explain to us various options.

Despite already having seen various volcanoes, I wanted to walk up Volcan Concepcion but is was a difficult trek, in the heat and with no shade or water en route, starting at 5.30am lasting twelve hours and there was a minimum of four trekkers required. Needless to say there were not many takers so other options were explained, none of which appealed so I was set for a relaxing day.

That evening we hired two pickups and went out to Punte Jesus Maria which is a spit of sand pointing west from the island from which is an ideal place to view the sunset.

 A rather nervous me standing up and holding on for dear life in the back of the pickup.

The hotel was a pleasant place with loads of communal space and character.

 And on paper it looked good but the pool was there but not quite as you would expect.

Looking up and down the main street in Moyogalpa.

 There is a church at the top end of the street and several bus stops with chicken buses parked in the side streets.

And the harbour at the other end of the street with a ferry just leaving for the mainland.

The next day after a leisurely breakfast and whiling away the morning some of us hired scooters or dirt bikes and went for a spin around the island to end up at some springs with the idea of cooling off.
Most of the roads were paved but we did come across a dirt track dual carriageway.

A photo of the springs...not that they are not hot springs...and some were put off by the leaves in the pool.

 Across one end was a tight wire for the adventurous...I made about two metres before falling off...and no photos to prove it!

 It had started to rain and the sun was behind clouds so it wasn't that hot so the idea of cooling off was less appealing to go for a swim but that is why we went there so I had to have a swim...plus a coco loco drink, made from coconut milk and gin and served in a coconut. The white bits in the photo is the light from the flash reflected in the rain as it poured down.

 My easy rider picture...I was nervous as it had been several decades since I last on a bike but it was great fun.