After leaving Tyler’s home in Playa Maderas, we began our free travel by spending Thanksgiving Day in nearby San Juan del Sur, where people could call their families at an Internet Cafe while others were able to secure transport and reserve a few nights at a hostel to our first destination. After a number of discussions, our group decided to all go to Isla de Ometepe, an island formed by two volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua. Ometepe is famous for being the largest volcanic island inside of a fresh water lake in the entire world, and many people we met in Nicaragua told us it was a must-see while we were there.
After first getting off a ferry and then a bus to get there, we arrived at out hostel in a rustic area on the island. Everybody was able to advantage of the many different activities that the island offered, from renting bicycles to kayaking, or simply relaxing in one of the many hammocks available and watching the sunset against the backdrop of the lake. Elise and I hopped on a chicken bus, the local public transportation, to find a nearby beach and spend the afternoon there, while Tom, Jesse, Kaki, Kendall, and James even managed to finish an 8-hour hike up Volcan Maderas to see the lake at its crater. Everybody was able to do exactly what they wanted, but at the end of each day, we still were able to come together and spend time with each other. After spending three nights at Ometepe, we said goodbye to Nicaragua and continued on to the next phase of our free travel.
Victoria