The Isletas

What had I gotten us into! You and I were in the back seat of a Jeep SUV, with our luggage gathered about us. It was pitch black as Marco drove, barely above 5 MPH. Is it possible to stay in first gear for an hour? It would seem so. The road, if that's what you call it, was more suited to a tractor. The headlights revealed two brown tracts, separated by a broad band of green growth, nearly two feet high. The rocks protruding from the dirt pack were deeply embedded, often crowding together, not at all disturbed by our passing. Our heads and bodies often bounced into one another, and I'm pretty sure that whiplash could follow. I believe your exact words were "This better be good!"

Marco was the product of a brilliant moment of forethought. We had arranged a pick up, complete with our name on a placard, from the dock at Altragracia, on the island of Ometepe. It has taken us all day to arrive here, including a four hour ferry trip across a portion of Lake Nicaragua. Mysteriously it seems, we are bound to arrive at each of our destinations in the dark. It does make for a surprising morning. Tomorrow we will awaken to a brand new view, and Part 3 of our adventure begins. "I'm certain it will be worth it," I promise, as we continue our bouncy ride.

Hold on, I hear you lament. We haven't shared all of the escapades of Part 2. With four full days at our disposal we didn't just lounge around the Laguna, have massages, and float on inner tubes. There were two volcanos, one active and belching sulfurous smoke, the other with a cloud forest. We tasted fresh coffee where it grows, and saw thousands of bats make their night rounds. Maybe first we could share that day around the isletas?

Granada CathedralThe favored Nicaraguan town for most globetrotters is Granada, only 30 mins drive from our Laguna. It is cultural, colonial, has colorful painted buildings, good food, and it sits at the tip of Lake Nicaragua. This lake is absolutely enormous; someone mentioned it as the largest lake in the Northern Hemisphere. Very close to Granada is a small peninsula with 365 tiny surrounding islands. These little islands, or isletas, were formed when the neighboring volcano, Vulcan Mombacho, spewed big rocks into the sky a long, long time ago. It must have been an incredible event to leave chunks of rocky earth big enough to form islands.

There were eight of us, six remaining from our world vets group, one boyfriend that flew in from California, and a local friend from Granada who offered a boat, an island, and all the connections we would need for a fine afternoon.