Blissfully Wanderlost

We came for the pizza. But there was no pizza.

We came for the volcanoes. But they were shrouded in mist.

We came for the full moon party. But we were a week late.

Instead, we got a lovely private cabana, tons of different butterflies, and some very damp clothes.

Here's a short video tour of our lonely waterworld for the last four days. Note: this was taken during a few dry minutes.

(We're now off the island and drying our clothes out in Granada. More info to come, plus some more videos and photos from the island thanks to Liz.)

From the largest city, Moyogalpa, we have traveled (by rickety bus) across this small island to Playa Santo Domingo, which is located just north of Santa Cruz.

This is a very small town (population 46 we estimated) with an ideal view of the eastern side of Lake Nicaragua.

We rented some bikes to travel to El Ojo del Agua (Eye of the Water).

This is a famous mineral spring that has miraculous healing powers. It makes women look 9 years younger and bald men leave the waters looking like Bob Marley (or so the proprietor said). Kevin has had three haircuts since our visit and people have been asking him why his daughter isn't in school.

The next stop was Finca El Zolpilote, which is a small communal farm just north of Balgue that focuses on growing fruit, vegetables, distilled liquors (like lemon grass and chocolate-coffee), and has on site a fantastic oven in which they make pizza three days a week. We are eagerly awaiting Tuesday when we can feast!

Jan, since you requested it, here is a vid of the composting toilets and outdoor showers!

It has been raining so much that we have had to cancel our hike up the volcanoes. Our trip to the waterfall near San Ramon may also have to be postponed. But we are finding there is still fun to be had and broke the monotony last night by heading to another communal farm to watch "Some Like it Hot" dubbed in Spanish.

Here is a "monkey-raccoon" creature we saw at Finca Magdalena, a communal coffee farm where we had lunch one afternoon.

At each hostel/hotel we have visited I have had to ask if there is a refrigerator on site so I can store my injections. Inevitably, I have the question asked, (in Spanish), what are these for? Kevin reminded me yesterday that I'm not going to make any friends if I just point to my head and say, "Tengo una problema con mi cabeza" (I have a problem with my head). So I'm going to have to do some research to learn how to say, "I have a big problem with my head." I am hoping to have that sentence completed by the time we hit Panama in a few weeks!

So we decided to take a short side trip up north to Nicaragua to see what all the fuss is about. And when you're world travelers like us, what do six extra buses, a taxi, a ferry and a border crossing matter?!

Ometepe Island is formed by two volcanoes in the center of Lake Nicaragua, the huge lake in the southern part of that country.

(Aerial side view)

Google it and you'll know why we came.

(It's not for the drinking water.)

(Or the unwinnable staring contests.)

Okay, now we're off to leave the port town of Moyogalpa for further exploring of volcanoes, rivers, waterfalls and hippie communes.

Our great Canadian friends helped make our last night in Samara one to have a hard time remembering...

Warning: drink contains alcohol and may cause you to oversleep and miss your first bus.

We only have two more days here in Samara, and it's going to be very hard to leave this cozy nook of Costa Rica.

My parents asked me today what we have been doing recently. It has been a lot of this:

As well as checking out the bars frequented by the locals such as this:

We have also been to reggae nights at local bars, cheered on the Costa Rican futbol team as they played Brazil, and had locals spin us tales about mermaids and mafia lords.

Oh, and let us not forget the art around town!

The sign says, "The work is bearable when many share the fatigue."

Otherwise, our days are punctuated by daily thunderstorms (which vary in duration), my online course work (for a post-Master's certificate in Nursing Education), walks on the beach at night, and naps. Lots of naps.

Life has really been reduced to the basics: What shall we eat today? Do we have to run errands? Will we nap for so long that we miss our yoga class again?

We have a few more challenges ahead of us over the next two days, such as hiking to the island at low tide (see the beach picture above), trying to capture a few monkeys with the camera (we have only had a good look at them once so far), and saying goodbye to the great friends we have met here.

We have both really enjoyed Samara and I can't imagine a better place to visit again!

This is our soundtrack.