Ometepe – Day 2: Spas, Scooters & Swamps
OMETEPE
Day 2: Spas, Scooters & Swamps
January 10, 2023
We had a jam-packed day with a lot of going around to do. Being somehow, inexplicably devoid of tuk-tuks (I still can’t, for the life of me, understand why this is so on such a would-be-tuk-tuk-friendly island), we had to rent a scooter.
Still unable to ride even a bicycle (blame my parents for that), Amelia had to be the designated driver. The second they handed us the scooter and we got on it, we were nearly tipped over to one side – probably my fault given my weight, but also, in part, due to Amelia not having ridden one in ages. Granted, I was in no position to judge. After telling the rental guy she did, in fact, know how to ride one, we started on our way.
I clung to the handgrips with all my strength, every rock threatening to flip us over. The more she rode, the more confidence she gained, the faster she went and the harder I clung onto dear life, the wind swiping away the tears from my eyes, m knuckles white from all the clinging.
Ojo de Agua: Nicaragua’s Jungle Spa
Our first stop was Ojo de Agua, a natural pool fed by the volcanic waters of Concepción and surrounded by rainforest. The water, apart from being rich in electrolytes and minerals, is a deep shade of turquoise – very reminiscent of some cenotes I had visited in Mexico.
Here we bathed for a few hours with a couple of mojitos and piña coladas, relaxing in the waist-deep water, sitting on the swings and jumping from a rope swing as we enjoyed our best White Gurl life. Oh, and getting our feet nibbled by the ever-hungry fish – just like being at the spa!
After, we went around a trail that surrounds the reserve, passing through a plantain field that offered fantastic views of both volcanoes in the distance, accompanied by spider monkeys and butterflies along the way.
Kayaking the Istián: Into the Swamps
Back at the pool, we got back on the scooter to continue our adventures. We stopped by a pizza place (Italian food is, for one reason or another, incredibly popular on the island!) and had one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had in Latin America, with a flock of white-throated magpie-jays eagerly awaiting the crumbs we left on our plates.
With little time on our hands, we drove around the southern ring of the island to see as much as we could, then made our way to Playa Mangos to meet up with Michael – the German guy we had met at The Treehouse in Granada.
Here, we’d be getting on a kayak to tour the swampy Istián River, which meanders inland through the isthmus – yet another mystifying feature of this island. Amelia and I took a double-seated kayak, while Michael and Marcos (the guide) took singles. Having driven around the island the whole day, it was finally my turn to pay it forward to Amelia by paddling the kayak myself – a feat I could only manage for a few minutes given the strong opposing winds, before recruiting her help.
Despite the exhaustion, the view of Concepción right in front of us was reinvigorating, with the trees and vegetation along the banks harbouring some of the most beautiful birds – white and grey herons stealing the show. On and on we paddled until we reached the estuary nestled in the middle of the island, bumping into countless trees and getting drenched in the meantime. Here, Marcos told us, we might get to see caimans and turtles. We sifted through carpets of floating water plants in the marshes without luck, but I can’t say we were disappointed. This was something we hadn’t planned on doing, so even just seeing a leaf felt like more than we were expecting!
