back in Granada...on Friday the 13th

arrived back in Granada mid-day and felt immediately at home, a nice and generally rare feeling. rather than spend the day on the bus from San Juan del Sur to Leon, myself and the newly acquired traveling buddy opted to stay the night in Granada and head to Leon tomorrow. so now, as we escape the pending storm (again) we are online...even at the same cafe as before!

clearly there is so much that has happened in the week that i have been through Ometepe and San Juan del Sur. but at the moment i am not sure where to start or even what to say...so i will start with some photos and hope that they will help me along.

we start with a view of the ¨chicken buses,¨this one going to Managua. took this photo from the van i was in on my way to Ometepe. i will be taking this bus, or one like it, tomorrow since there is no direct bus to Leon. So at the least, we will be on 2 buses tomorrow.
this is the ferry i took across Lake Nicaragua to the island of Ometepe. it is 15km from San Jorge (where i picked up the ferry) to Moyogalpa, the main city on the island.

this is my first view, from the ferry, of the volcanos- Concepcion and Maderas.

this is from inside the crater of Maderas. you can see the lagoon-lake to the left. it was a tough and muddy climb through cloud forest and with our group of 11 plus a guide it took us 10 hours total. we were sweaty, dirty, wet and sore by the end...of course we all had a wonderful time and were bonded for life!

this was one of the views of the lake, the island and part of Concepcion.

this is from the next day, a day of rest which included a walk along the lake and a visit to the cold water springs of Ojo de Agua. that is Maderas behind me.

Ojo de Agua...so beautiful and refreshing. perfect for the day after a big hike!

the rim of Concepcion. experienced sweat and chills up there at the rim as the wind blew and the sulfer heated the rocks below and a combination created a phenominal mist. an amazing experience and a challenging hike. i am proud to say we made it to the rim in 3.5 hours (9:30am) and came down in 3 hours...it was not easy and much of it was climbing rocks at quite steep angles but undoubtedly it was worth it. also, Maderas was a great warm-up for Concepcion.

so i met some fantastic people in Ometepe and specifically at Little Morgans, a wonderfully rustic and welcoming location with dorms, hammocks and casitas (great for any budget traveler!)...not found in any books just yet because it is so new this was definitely one of the best places i have stayed so far. mainly due to the people, both travelers and those that run it. great conversations, many laughs...good times overall and on this amazing island. i am so ridiculously lucky.

o