This and That: Ometepe Wrap-up (Part 1)

We're off the island now, but the blog isn't!  I'm going to attempt to rectify that with a couple of catch-all posts, covering all the random things we experienced there - people, places, animals, etc.  This post will bounce around a little, so try to focus, okay?

Let's start with this stunning picture.  I took it with my little Pentax Optio W60, a rugged little camera that I've dropped on trails and dunked in the water I don't know how many times.  My brother-in-law, Doug, told me I have an eye for capturing just the right shot and should think about an upgrade to a better camera.  I'm sure I will do so someday, but in the mean time, enjoy this.

And a polar bear picture won the National Geographic Photo Contest?

Hacienda Merida has a dock and it's open to the village, so it's used by the locals for fishing and swimming.  Each night as sunset approaches, you can find 3-5 people fishing.  This gentleman was having pretty good luck and happily let me take his picture.

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Monkey Island is a short paddle from HM.  It's a small island where several capuchin monkeys reside.  We were told they are former pets that were abused and/or no longer wanted, so they were released onto the island to live out their days.  We went there a couple of times and on the last trip I was able to actually get a picture of one!  I say this because the wind was howling, the kayak was bobbing in the waves, the trees were swaying like crazy.  I paddled upwind, turned the kayak a little, then let the wind blow me past the trees where the monkeys were hanging out as I snapped pictures and hung on for dear life, trying not to get blown over sideways into the lake.  Oy, the things I do for this blog...

"Just admirin' my opposable thumbs"

All that work and he didn't even act interested.  The nerve of that monkey.  (Note:  I bet two of my nieces, Anne and Jennifer, see the picture and say 'I want one!!')  

These  two pics were taken around the point from Monkey Island, where we were protected from the wind.

This swank kayak even had a Nalgene-sized cup holder.

What's Spanish for Selfie?

We saw this really cool dugout canoe on the shore, too!  It was carved from a single big ol' hunk o' tree.

Good camouflage job.

I kinda want to know what this thing weighs.

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I've mentioned the Teasdale's several times.  We met this awesome family from Missoula, Montana and hit it off with them immediately.  Aaron is a travel/adventure writer and Jackie is an ESL teacher, which was a great resource for us.  Their boys, Silas and Jonah, are great kids, even if they are Timberwolves fans.

I apologize if I'm repeating myself from an earlier post...  Aaron and Jackie pulled the boys from school for seven months while they travel throughout Central America.  Don't worry, folks - they are home schooling along the way.  As (our) luck would have it, among the usual travel items brought along on this trip by them, they also brought two inflatable NRS Earl6 paddleboards.  This is another sport we've wanted to try and we were afforded the perfect opportunity to do so.

Being the outdoor-sy sorts, the Teasdale's left HM for about a week so they could bike around the perimeter of the island.  Aaron agreed to do a story for the tourism board of Nicaragua.  They were kind enough to leave the paddles with us and off we went.

When I say 'off we went', I mean two very different things.  For Bex!, I mean that she took to it immediately and was paddling around the lake straight away.  For me, when I say 'off', it means 'off my paddleboard into the lake'.  I was a little tippy...

Wait for it.... Wait for it.... Kersploosh!

Don't get me wrong - I loved it.  We both did, so if anyone wishes to send us belated Christmas gifts, two inflatable paddleboards would do the trick.  This sporting equipment is on the short list of purchases to make as soon as we can work it out.

For her it's an on the water sport, not an in the water sport.

Bex! did awesome at this!  Me, I tended to fall off a lot, but mostly when trying to turn.  I can stand up and paddle a straight line but would get the wobbles when trying to turn.  But - drats, fell into the tropical warm waters of Lago de Nicaragua again.  No biggie, really.

Remember, that's two paddle boards to Bex! & Dave, General Delivery, Nicaragua.

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I think that will wrap up Part 1 for now.  Stay tuned for Part 2, coming at ya soon!