GRENADA TO OMETEPE - OMETEPE (October 20and 22, 2014
October 20, 2014
GRENADA TO OMETEPE
Was still dark and Tom was up and gone in pursuit of the finest coffee in the world. I chased him down and went for breakfast where we met an expat living in Panama, quite a character and he was just ripped off by a hooker at San Juan Del Sur where we are heading, so he gave us heads up so to speak and Tom asked him if it was worth it and he said every cent...... Went back to the dive we were in and packed and headed out to Ometepe. Tom was pulled over cause he passed on the solid line in front of a police check point, a $22 fine but then sent him packing either cause of the language barrier or he could not hear them.......... Got to the ferry and Tom would not board cause it was listing a little, well actually a lot. So of course I boarded , and he would follow on 3 hours on a real ferry. I made it across with all the other riff raff and got a beautiful room in a hostel $17, price was a little high but I splurged . Took a lovely cold shower and the toilet paper you use you don't put in the toilet but a bin beside it !!!!!!! You get what you pay for OK , not quite like the Quinta Real in Zacateca , no wonder why our El Salvador friends did not want come with us any further. Went down to the slip way and picked up Tom and took him back to the Taj Mahal.
October 22, 2014
OMETEPE
Biked around the island which is only like 40 km , people are very poor but still friendly. Great talking to the younger travelers , one guy from US sold his house and all his possessions and now has a 40 litre backpack and has been everywhere was just sick of the daily grind and then met a couple who have been travelling on their bicycles for 8 years, very intriguing. Caught the big ferry back to Rios and then drove 45 km over to San Juan Del Sur and credit in at the Elizabeth Hostel, another fine establishment ! A nice cold shower does the trick cause I just constantly stink due to sweating like pig in my gear. Tom has BMW gear which is real nice of course and has venting and then he bought a bunch of gear in San Salvador from Good Price Nelson, so he is sorted.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.