If You Visit One Place in Nicaragua, Make it Ometepe

Ometepe is no ordinary island.

Two magical volcanoes rose from a lake, creating a twin volcanic island with a natural land bridge, forming a tropical hourglass shape.

The home of Ometepe, Lake Nicaragua, is impossibly vast. The lake stretches as far as the eye can see, making it hard to believe it’s not an ocean. There are even small waves lapping the beaches.

A ferry transported us across the lake from the mainland. The view was so unbelievably striking that I had to get out of my seat every few minutes to go and stare at it again and take yet another picture.

Some of my favourite memories of our entire Central America trip are scooting around Ometepe. I was sitting on the back, arms wrapped around my boyfriend, tropical air blowing through my hair, a volcano looming to my left and another volcano rising to my right, sweeping past palm trees and banana plantations, beaches, and of course the immense lake.

I fell in love with Ometepe on the back of that scooter.

I fell even deeper in love when we arrived at Ojo de Agua, a popular natural swimming spot. The turquoise water sparkled under the green canopy, and we were lucky enough to spot a family of howler monkeys right beside the pool. The baby was so adorable I could have cried! These beautiful creatures with black, shining fur and kind, round faces. It was impossible not to fall in love with them, too.

Another romantic date with the island was kayaking in the mangroves. We set off from a truly lovely, quiet little beach. There’s nothing quite like kayaking on an immense ocean-sized lake with a tropical beach on one side and a volcano on the other. I would have happily stayed there, but our trip wasn’t over yet.

Our guide found the mouth of the river and we began our way into the river from the lake. It was hard going against the flow of the water, and I was getting quickly tired out. It was the kayak equivalent of being on a treadmill. But luckily, once we were deeper into the river and the mangroves, we could relax and no longer had to fight the river flow.

Things became tranquil paddling past the lily pads and mangroves, watching water birds swoop past and spying the yellow, evil eye of a caiman in the undergrowth.

Our final day of this fleeting love affair we visited Charco Verde, a small lagoon, but as we were wandering through the forest, the heavens opened, and I mean they OPENED. Torrential rain. Within seconds, the torrential rain drenched us, forcing us to run back to the visitor center for cover.

You wouldn’t have thought this would become a special memory for me, but it did.

Something about the rain stirred up the howler monkeys into a frenzy. Their howling was deafening. We were surrounded by a frightening chorus as if we were to be abducted by a dangerous cult. It was primal.

I could feel my heart thundering in my chest as my feet splashed through the sodden leaves, the rain drops drumming on my back like bullets, my ears drowning in the deep, all-encompassing howling and grunting, spotting the families of monkeys huddled together in the trees, both hiding from and screaming at the rain.

I’ve never felt more alive. It’s moments like this that I live for. Moments like these are why I travel.

Ometepe is nothing short of magical even in torrential rain. It’s the rush of warm wind on a scooter ride, the shimmer of turquoise water under the jungle canopy, the eerie thrill of howler monkeys screaming at the sky.

You won’t only fall in love with the island, but you’ll fall a little more in love with life itself. If you only visit one place in Nicaragua, make it here.

Thank you for reading! Hearts and tips are always welcome and your support is very much appreciated.

This story was originally published on Medium

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