NICARAGUA
GREAT ESCAPE
GREAT ESCAPES
TANDING UNDER A PICTURE
of the Archangel Michael,
Captain Donald Jarquin rests his
hands on the tiller of the ferry
El Rey del Cocibolca, scanning
the horizon beyond the steel-grey waves.
Some way ahead, two mountains rise
leviathan-like from the water, their summits
crowned with wispy haloes of cloud.
‘Ometepe is almost a different country to
the rest of Nicaragua,’ explains island native
Donald, throttling the engine. ‘People are
different; the landscape is different – even
the volcanoes are different.’
Nicaragua has dozens of volcanoes, from
soaring peaks to squat little lumps of lava.
None have shaped the country’s landscape
as exquisitely as Concepción and Maderas,
two volcanoes that surged out of boiling
water long ago and joined to form the island
of Ometepe (meaning ‘two mountains’).
This mini lost world has long been a
retreat for those wishing to escape the busy
cities along the lake’s shore. Ferry-loads of
Nicaraguans arrive at weekends to hike to
remote waterfalls, kayak lagoons and paddle
the pebbly shallows of the lake, stalked by
the twin summits of the volcanoes wherever
they go. In truth, Ometepe has always
possessed an almost mystical power over
the Nicaraguan imagination. Aztec settlers
from Mexico thought they had discovered
the promised land when they saw the island
- they were proved right when they found
its fertile volcanic soil yielded giant crops.
Following a footpath along the island’s
- Ometepe
Set a course for an island of twin smouldering volcanoes, black-sand
beaches and ancient legends, set in Central America's largest lake
southern shore, Ometepe today still seems
a place of almost Eden-like abundance.
Gardens of mangoes, watermelons, chillies
and bananas shade trails that meander
between the lakeside bungalows, passing
stacked sacks of coffee beans and tangled
tree roots as they go.
Pre-Columbian legends have thrived here
too. Before long, the path reaches Laguna
Charco Verde: a little emerald-green lagoon
mirroring the pyramid of Concepción,
kingfishers swooping along its shores and
spiny cedar trees growing along its banks.
The waters are said to conceal an entrance
to the underworld, guarded by a swimming
witch who barters for mortal souls (and
who also has a penchant for turning them
into farmyard animals). It is not the only
legend on Ometepe: one story tells of a little
stream whose waters are said to trigger an
instant sex change – though this doesn’t
deter the women who come here to wash
their laundry.
There are geological hazards as well as
mythical ones on Ometepe. It’s not long
before the trail reaches a yellow sign
reading ‘Ruta de evacuación’ – with regular
eruptions of Concepción, the government
occasionally orders islanders to evacuate
(though they struggle to persuade a good
portion of the 30,000 inhabitants to leave).
By the time the last ferry hauls into the
docks, Lake Nicaragua sparkles in the
afternoon sunshine, and the twin clouded
summits blush in the slanting light.
Kayakers on Lake Nicaragua haul theirThe active volcano Concep-
ción, shrouded in cloud – it
last erupted in 2010boats onto the black-sand beaches, and
groups of friends sip rum at ramshackle
beachfront bars. One by one, lights from
distant villages emerge, twinkling like
fireflies in the dusk. For now, at least,
worries of scheming witches, volcanic
annihilation and accidental gender
reassignment could not be farther from
anyone’s minds.Totoco Eco-lodge has seven thatched
bungalows on the slopes of Maderas. The
restaurant serves simple but satisfying
Nicaraguan food (from US$87; totoco.com.ni).
The ferry from San Jorge on the mainland to
the port of Moyogalpa takes one hour (from
US$1.50; ometepenicaragua.com). The Laguna
Charco Verde is set in the Charco Verde nature
reserve, close to the town of San José del Sur
(admission US$0.60).Essentials
Back in San Jorge, it’s a seven-hour drive to San Carlos
at the head of the San Juan River. Alternatively,
board regular buses for a two-hour trip north to
Managua and catch a plane.NICARAGUA