Santa Teresa

Its another early start for another day on the road but thanks to the rain last night its cool. We stroll to the bus stop and jump aboard a waiting chicken bus to take us to Rivas (one of the main bus terminals).

We jump off and negotiate a taxi to take us to the ferry terminal. We've made good time but just miss the large ferry so opt to take the next small food transport boat called a Lancha (even though Trav was doubting its bouyancy after the amount of goods loaded on-board).

An hour later we arrive in the island of Ometepe (Isla De Ometepe). On the boat we had a great view of the 2 volcanoes that form this island. A swarm of friendly locals try to offer us taxis but we persist and catch the local chicken bus. Cool journey travelling through the local villages with the highlight being the enchilada that we bought onboard for 10 cordobas each (50 cents). Best street food we've had to date.

After checking into our hostel (Lazy Crab) we travel to Ojo de Agua (eye of the water). We had high expectations but we're a little disappointed. The area was quite man made but still a nice place to relax and cool down. With a Tarzan swing and quality food we had relaxing arvo.

Walking back to the bus stop we saw some huge mango trees - Trav jumped the fence to collect some for our fruit salad. We were waiting for the bus back when some Nicaraguan tourists pull over in their ute and signal is to jump in (it's seriously easy to hitch hike here). They take us 3/4 of the way home and drop us off at Playa Santa Domingo - this was one of the beaches that everyone raves about but the sand was grey and water choppy. Hard to appreciate when you live in Australia. Just back along the road we came across 2 British girls we had crashed their scooter over a speed bump. They're grazes all over their legs and arms looked pretty bad. We have them some baby wipes and tissues to clean themselves up until their mates arrived but they would of been in a world of pain. Later on we found out that they got charged $500 for a few minor scratches on the scooter.

With 4kms left we started to walk then flagged some local who dropped us even closer. No one even bats an eyelid when your standing up in the back of a ute over here. The final walk was interesting seeing all the local animals (dogs, pigs, horse, cows) roam the street at their own accord.

The next day we hired a guide with another couple and hiked Volcano Materas. Francisco was a great guy who showed us numerous howler monkeys, birds, a crab and even a turtle along the way. We were in struggle town before we reached the top and almost costumed the 3L of water we had taken. The scenery changes a few times and although the thick rainforest canopy blocked the sun the humidity drenched our clothes. At the top we reached a large lagoon (common theme for these volcanoes) although Trav was the only one to swim in the muddy waters from our group. Francisco surprised us with mangoes - they are tiny but way sweeter than back home.

The trek took another 3.5 hours to return with everyone slipping and sliding down the paths. We run out of water but are given a top up from our guide and our new friends. Near the bottom we approach a farm and almost run to order an ice cold 2L water and 2L of local beer.

Later that night we catch up with our friends Vishnal and Kitty and buy an monster BBQ takeaway feed from a local shop.

Tomorrow we're off to San Juan Del Sur for some much needed time to kick back, relax, surf and drink rum.Read more