Isla Ometepe, Nicaragua

This island in the middle of the lake is made up of 2 volcanoes. Little villages are scattered along the coasts. The guide book says there are frequent buses that go to various parts of the island. There are not. We (people I met on the rickety ferry) ended up taking a bus halfway, walking for about 30 mins, hitching a ride in the back of a pick-up, walking for another 20 mins, and finally hitching a ride in the back of a banana truck. The road was so rocky that I couldn't really do anything except to hang on for dear life. It was great!

The place we stayed at was incredible. Lake side grass huts with dirt floors and a sheet flapping in the wind as a door. The teenagers wroking there are earning money for school. There are evening classes for the locals in the common area. The students were aged 10 all the way to 30+ and they were learning how to add. Proceeds from the hostel funds these classes as well. Makes you appreciate how lucky you are.

The locals on the island are great. Most of the kids stop and say hello and chat. When I was leaving for another part of the island, it was lunch time and about 10 kids, ages 3 to about 10, surrounded me, going through my open bag, curious about all the books I had. Then they scrounged in their schoolbags and found pictures of Asian people to show me. In horror, I saw the Jehovah Witness pamphlets waving everywhere. Luckily, none of them preached to me. I also had a small jar of peanut butter that I let the kids try. Tiny little fingers dug into the jar. Some liked it, some didn't. I think one kid threw up. I ended up giving away the jar to one of the kids, which he finished off quite quickly.

Well, the bus didn't come as scheduled so I started walking. Some small kid approched me to ask if he could guide me to the next town for a small fee. I declined even though he was holding a machette.

There are farm animals everywhere. You're walking along and you have to cross the street because there is a cow or a pig chillin' at the side of the road. The stray dogs here are so skinny. You can see almost all their bones. Even the kept dogs are alarmingly skinny.

The second day, I headed to Finca Magdelena (finca = farm) on the opposite side of the same volcanoe. As I said above, no bus. I ended up walking for most of the way. About 3/4 of the way to the next town (about 1 hour's walk) I managed to hitch a ride in the back of a pick-up to the next town. This town has a road that splits - one to go to the other volcanoe and the other towards the finca. I jumped off, took 5 mins to rest and have some water (about 30 degrees Celcius) and continued. I got to the fist small village and stopped for lunch.

It was about 12:30 so I had walked a total of maybe 2 hours. And as I was talking to waitress, the bus drove by. Luckily another one was scheduled for 2:30. I sat/slumped down onto a chair in the restaurant/house/hut/farm/movie theatre ( they were showing a movie on their TV and there was a crowd) and waited for my food. Oversalty greasy eggs with rice and beans. I secretly fed most of it to the dogs.