Ometepe, Nicaragua

After taking it easy in the comforts of the gracious colonial town of Granada, we finally were able to move on. We spent days feeling too bored to stay but too comfortable to leave eventually the boredom won out and we got moving. We made our way to Ometepe a small island created by two volcanoes in the enormous lake Nicaragua. We put the bike on a car ferry without too much fuss and took the hour trip to the tiny island. We spent one night in the port town of Moyogalpa, I (M) had a slight cold and wanted to sleep it off before we set out exploring the island. We then went to Charca Verde a beautiful peaceful spot with horseriding, kayaking and hiking. We took a long hike around a peninsula of the island and sat gazing at a family of monkeys going about their daily business of hanging upside down and munching on fruit. The trees were pale green and had thick knotted roots you felt like you were walking in the setting of a children´s fairytale. We even took a gentle paddle on a couple of kayaks out onto the lake and watched the sunlight fade. We were lucky enough to see some local dances and celebrations at the one restaurant in our town, if our spanish was better we would have known what the celebrations were about, still the costumes were colourful and it was beautiful to watch the teenagers performing the traditional dances step nervously onto the stage.

After Charca Verde we decided to head to Santo Domingo a point between the two volcanoes. We had the good fortune to meet another couple travelling on a motorbike similar to our own, Emma and Hamish. We met them quite literally on the road and we decided to head to Santo Domingo together. It was fantastic to meet other motorcycle travellers, they understood so many aspects of our trip in a way that only other motorcycle travellers can. For me (M) it was fantastic to meet another woman on a motorbike journey, the struggles and joys are so unique. Emma and Hamish really understood the challenges a trip like this poses and it was inspiring to hear their stories. They were on a two year epic voyage and had spent five months travelling around Australia their understanding of our home country was humbling and also inspired us to look closer to home for our next adventure. We spent a couple of days together and enjoyed their company before sadly we had to part ways. They were making their way north while we were about to head sout from Nicaragua into Costa Rica. I know we will see them again either in the UK or in Australia sometime.