There's been 25 to 35 mph winds the last couple of days, with no change of forecast in sight. This is making the ferry schedule irregular and unpredictable. Last year about this time, ferry service was suspended entirely for over a week due to high winds. I sure hope we can get off the island tomorrow as planned...
We skipped the hotel's breakfast this morning, knowing we could pick up something at the Saturday market in Santa Cruz. There we bought a couple of tasty bean and veggie burritos, served on an eco-friendly banana leaf.
Food vendor at the Saturday market
After the market, we crossed to the Volcan Concepcion side of the island to check out Altagracia, Ometepe's second largest town, with a population of around 7,000. There's not much here to draw a tourist, but the town's municipal park is quite colorful.
Parque Municipal
Non-scale model of Ometepe Island
Easter all the time!
Across the street from the park, in the courtyard of Iglesia San Diego de Alcala, is a display of pre-Columbian statuary dating from 800-1000 A.D. The statues are supposed to represent human figures and their animal alter egos.
Ancient artifacts
All available info
Next, we went on a crazy-balls quad ride to Puerto de Gracia in San Miguel, where once a week a ferry travels between Ometepe Island and Granada. The “road” we took was eroded, rutted, and almost non-existent. It was AWFUL! I thought we were going to tip over, but apparently Tom has mad four-wheeling skills, and we made it through unscathed. It was nuts!
Volcan Concepcion
Capilla San Juan Bautista
Puerto de Gracia
To celebrate our survival, we stopped for lunch on our way back to Santa Cruz at Mirador Los Volcanes. The clouds had cleared, and we were treated to majestic views of both Volcan Concepcion and Volcan Maderas, as well as a sparkling blue Lake Nicaragua. The food was good too, with no extra charge for the fabulous location.
Lunch with a view
Lake Nicaragua
Volcan Concepcion
Volcan Maderas
After lunch, we returned to El Encanto for a short siesta. The view of Volcan Concepcion from the hotel is phenomenal, especially with all the lush vegetation in the foreground.
Jana and Tom at El Encanto
Later, we took out the quad for one last spin. To the east of Santa Cruz, in the hippie town of Balgue, we stopped to climb a random treehouse by the side of the road. To the west, even on a Saturday, men were hard at work on very labor-intensive road construction.
Roadside treehouse
Improving the road with concrete pavers
Back at our local tienda, we noticed one of our tires was almost flat. It was almost sunset, so this was our last stop anyway. We rode up the hotel driveway and left the quad for its owner to pick up.
A little later, we walked back down the hill and had dinner at Los Cocos for the third and final time. Tomorrow, we leave for the mainland, if the wind isn't too strong for the ferry to sail...