Isla Ometepe, Nicaragua

Tweet

Nicaragua 

Isla Ometepe and the Monkey Hotel

A 2 hour bus ride, 15 minute taxi ride to the harbor, 2 hour boat ride, and then another 2 1/2 hours bus ride and finally we arrived at Monkey Hotel. 

Hammocks, beautiful lake view, private beach access, constant breeze and sun, welcome to Monkey Hotel.

This place is beautiful, peaceful, and ever so cheap. $8 a night for a private room, fan, and mosquito net, what more could a person ask for? We spent our days in Ometepe swimming, lounging around in hammocks, hanging out with the local kids, and kayaking around Monkey Island.  

The one down side to staying in the middle of no where is there are NO stores, no food, no drinks. We were lucky enough to find this little shack of a store with a cut old man and spunky parrot to buy some basics; bread, chips, bulis (ice-cream treats that cost .10 cents each), and oatmeal.

Crazy monkeys stuck on an island. Some "Genius" thought it would be a great tourist idea to take a bunch of monkeys and put them on these two small islands in the lake. BAD idea buddy!  How would you like to be stuck in the middle of a lake? These monkeys are mad, vicious, little creatures but on the up side quite entertaining. 

Mike and I spent the day kayaking around the islands watching the little buggers grunt and growl and do funny little tricks

Isla Ometepe is EXTREMELY poor! The houses are some of the most humble habitations we have seen so far. The daily life here is survival.

There were these 3 kids, one about 11 the other two about 7 years old, fishing . The older one would throw the net into the lake then swim down to fetch it. Once he got it he would hoist it out of the water to the two younger ones whose jobes were to untangle the fish who got caught. They were very successful catching 1 -2 fish per throw.

My favorite little guy, Daniel

Some of the humble homes