2019-10-01 Wanderlust

144 wanderlust.co.uk October 2019

averitablemenagerieofanimals

cometodrink,includinghorses,

cowsandplumppigsonstringleads.

Butit’stheisland’stwovolcanoes

separatedbyafertileisthmusthat

dominateOmetepe;fiery,rocky

Concepción–at1,700m,it’sthe

secondhighestofthecountry’s

19 volcanoes–anddormant,

muddyMaderas.Theycanboth

beclimbedinadaybutneither

shouldbeunderestimated.

Thefollowingmorning,Itookan

easier,butnolessbeautifultrek.

Tuckedintothesouthernslopesof

Maderas,thetrailtotheSanRamón

waterfallwindsuphilltotheedgeof

thecloudforest,wherebutterfliesflit

aroundtreesdrapedinoldman’s

beard,awispylichen.Myrewardfor

reachingthefalls–red-facedand

coveredinmud–wasamuch-

neededdipinitsnaturalpool.

Easierstillwasthetrailaround

CharcoVerde,aprivatereservefilled

withvibranttropicalblooms–torch

organiccoffeebeansfromFinca

Magdalena,acooperativerunby

morethan 20 localfamilies.

LunchatCaféCampestremeant

afarm-to-forkfeast:pizzafromthe

volcanicclayovenorsourdough

breadwrappedaroundporkthat

onceroamedfreelyaroundthe

Britishchef’sownbiodynamicfarm,

withsaladfromitsfertilesoil.

Passioninthearts

Myfinalhavenwastheisolated

SolentinameArchipelagoatthe

southernendofLakeNicaragua,a

stringof 36 tropicalvolcanicislands.

Onlyfourareinhabited–Mancarrón,

SanFernando,LaVenadaand

ginger,hibiscus,bougainvillea–

limpidlagoonsandtroopsof

vociferoushowlermonkeys.Legend

hasitthatdemonicChicoLargo

turnederstwhilehuntersintocows

andpigsaspunishmentfortaking

foodfromhislagoon;someisland

butchersevenclaimthey’vefound

cowswithgoldteeth.

Ometepe’sbucolicbeautyhasalso

attractedeco-consciousexpats

searchingforaself-su—cient,

simplerwayoflife,who’vesetup

organicfarmsandsustainable

lodging.AtXalliOmetepeBeach

Hotel,stepsfromthelakeshore,they

cookwithseasonalproduce,bake

theirownbreadandroasttheirown

Painting nature
(below) Balsa-wood
chickens, Mancarrón
Island

‘The choppy waters of Lake

Nicaragua made our boat buck

like the meanest bronco’

AWL Images