From Muddy Volcanoes to Luxurious Lounges on Lago de Nicaragua

On Friday November 22, 2013 I left the Pacific coast and ventured inland for the first time since the start of my journey. I needed a change of scenery and Lago de Nicaragua was the solution. Lago de Nicaragua is the largest lake in Central America and, interestingly, is home to freshwater bull sharks and sawfish. It also contributes to the atmospheric conditions that create the infamous winds that blow out toward the Pacific Ocean 300 days of the year. This phenomenon helped make Nicaragua the surf destination that it is; the consistent offshore winds hold-up the faces of waves until their highest peak, promoting a good shape and a better ride. Four friends from Castaway and I decided to explore two areas on the lake, Ometepe and Granada.

Isla de Ometepe (A) & Granada (B) on Lago de Nicaragua

The five of us boarded a ferry at San Jorge for Isla de Ometepe. Ometepe is an island within Lago de Nicaragua formed by the volcanoes Concepción and Maderas. We stayed at Santa Cruz Hostel & Restaurant, which had a great view of Volcán Concepción - an active, textbook cone-shaped volcano.

Isla de Ometepe with Volcán Concepción on the left and Volcán Maderas on the right

Our view of Volcán Concepción from Hospedaje de Santa Cruz

The first trip we did on the island was to the spring, Ojo de Agua. We borrowed some bikes and set off down the cobblestone streets, past signs outlining the evacuation route in the event of a volcanic eruption and numerous comedors, which are locals' homes that double as restaurants. From what I gathered from the Spanish presentation upon arrival to the spring, the Ojo de Agua is a mineral spring with healing properties. I was told that a 100 year-old local man swam in the spring and claimed that he felt as if he were 40 again. I reckon that the spring does not have magical healing properties and that he was just pulling my leg, for my cold that I had been fighting for several days prior got much worse after spending the day in the water. Nevertheless, it was a blast horsing around in the crystal-clear waters.

Biking around Ometepe

Ojo de Agua

The gang

The next day we hired a guide and climbed Volcán Maderas. Maderas is an inactive volcano with an elevation of 1394 metres above sea level. The top of the volcano is covered in a cloud forest, which has a very eerie feel. Through the mist it is incredibly green with moss and peculiar vegetation, such as a fern shaped like a monkey's tail. It was also much cooler in the cloud forest, like natural air-conditioning. As we hiked we were constantly watched by, and heard the yells of, Capuchin and Howler monkeys high in the canopy. Descending 200 metres into the crater of the volcano we were rewarded with a lake. Despite only being about a 12 kilometre hike, the perpetual mist and rains of the cloud forest made for a muddy and slick trail that took us nearly 10 hours to cover.

Hike through the cloud forest

Guardian of the cloud forest?

Breakfast

Monkey tail -shaped fern

Lake within the crater of Volcán Maderas

On Monday November 25th we got back on the ferry and met Marcos, a local from Ometepe with a van, who offered to drive us right to Granada for 100 córdobas ($4 US) a person. Granada is an old colonial town with beautiful architecture and buildings of various colours. The town was decorated with fake trees, bows and lights in preparation for the Christmas holidays. Numerous cafés, bookstores and the market kept me busy during the day. In the evenings, both tourists and locals would flood one street that was lined with restaurants on both sides with tables spilling onto the street. While we ate, artisans, break-dancers and musicians would wander the street to try and make a buck.

The Christmas tree in Granada's central park

Cathedral in the heart of Granada, right in the central park

Another cathedral

Bustling market in Granada

Break-dancers performing in the main strip

Granada is also a great hub for various day trips, including a tour of the isletas de Granada. We took a boat tour of the various islands on Lago de Nicaragua near Granada, some of which are inhabited. The highlight was definitely seeing the Spider monkeys, one of which was even brave enough to join us on the boat.

Isletas de Granada

Just monkeying around

Spider Monkey

Friendly little dude

The vibe of the old colonial town provoked me to splurge a little more than I was used to at the beach. In addition to all the cafés, restaurants and pubs, I decided to get a hot shave. The barberia was equipped with old-school metal chairs with red leather upholstery, right in the centre of the colonial town. Other than the fact that Nicaragua doesn't have hot water and the damp towel was cold, the straight razor shave was exactly how I imagined it - bad-ass.

My first straight razor shave

To prolong the feeling of being wealthy, traveling businessmen rather than poor, stingy backpackers, we went to Mombacho Cigar Lounge. Here we got a tour of the lounge in which the entire cigar-making process was explained, from tobacco seed to quality, aged cigars. Afterward, we bought a couple of stogies and Toña cervezas and lounged by the complimentary pool reading their expensive magazines full of cars and watches that we'll probably never be able to afford. Nevertheless, we still felt as if we were worth a million bucks...

Cigar-rolling workstations  

Hard-at-work

Drying tobacco leaves

The lounge

Ready to relax

Tom and I enjoying a Mombachito

Just another day

I've had a blast in Ometepe and Granada the past week, but it's time to get back to the beach life. Tomorrow I'll be on my way to one of Nicaragua's most famous breaks, 'The Boom'.

A Day in the Life of a Castaway in Nicaragua

All good things must come to an end, and, unfortunately, after three amazing weeks at Castaway it was time to move on. As a tribute to this fantastic experience I thought I’d paint a picture of a day in the life at Castaway…

San Juan del Sur

As you may have gathered from the previous blog post, Castaway was fairly secluded. About once a week we’d make the trek to San Juan del Sur to stock-up on supplies, get some internet access and re-join civilization. After one night in town, however, we’d be itching to get back to the paradise that is Castaway.

Over the course of the three weeks I had developed a daily routine: surf, fish, cook and, of course, save sea-turtles. The breaks around Castaway were very tide-dependent, with high tide bringing the best waves. Spoiled by the private break just steps from our front-door, the idea of a fifteen-minute hike along the beach to Playa Maderas just to fight the crowds over a wave was ludicrous. Accordingly, I tended to surf the former. When a big swell rolled in, however, the trek to Maderas was worth it. The crowds would thin-out as the waves grew well overhead, people would be getting barreled left, right and centre and you would surely catch the ride of your life.

The private, front-door break

Tom paddling out to our front-door break

Surfing another nice left outside my front-door

The size of the swell on my final surf session at Playa Maderas

As the tide receded and the surf got worse, it was time to try to catch some supper. We’d equip ourselves with fishing rods, spears, snorkeling gear and a mesh-bag tied to a plastic bottle in which we could store our fish while continuing to hunt. Playa Majagual was our favourite spot to fish. It was sheltered within a bay preventing large swells from kicking-up sand from the ocean floor and reducing visibility. It also had large rock outcroppings around the side of the bay providing both places to stand when using a fishing rod, and a habitat for the fish to hide in. Underwater currents, coupled with the poor visibility of the Pacific Ocean, sometimes made the rocks difficult to negotiate; while diving between the rocks I would have to constantly fight the various currents from pushing me into the sea-urchin-coated rocks, which was made even more challenging the days visibility was no more than three feet. However, the jelly-fish, eels, and various types of colourful fish I would see and try to catch made it worth it.

Tom at work

Sea urchins

Guineafowl pufferfish

More ocean life

Stoked to have finally got some pescado

Catch-of-the-day

In times we lacked fresh pescado for dinner, which, unfortunately, was more often than not, we’d be able to rely on the food truck that came twice a week. I would wake in the early morning to the sound of ‘papaya-piña-papas-pollo-banana…’ blaring from the speakers mounted on the pick-up truck. Everybody would crowd around the truck and purchase whatever fruits, vegetables and chicken they desired. No matter how many pineapples, papayas, bananas, chickens and vegetables I bought, it was difficult to get the cost over 100 córdobas ($4 US).

In the evenings we would start a bonfire on which we cooked our dinners. We’d put on some tunes, have some drinks that we purchased from Juanita’s Kitchen next door and start grilling. We had it down to a science – when to put in the potatoes, how to grill the chicken to perfection and even how to make a strong cup of coffee out of the top of a plastic coca-cola bottle. It was always a blast having everyone come over to cook and enjoy the beach bonfire.

Another night at Castaway

Beach bonfire grilling

Finished product

Coca-cola bottle -filtered coffee

Every once in a while I would wake late in the night or early in the morning to help Douglas with the sea-turtles. Over the three weeks I got to see everything from fully-grown turtles climbing onto shore to the baby turtles making their way to the ocean.

Olive Ridley Sea Turtle

More baby Olive Ridley sea turtles

It was a blast, but it was also time to see what else Nicaragua has to offer. For the first time in two months I'll be leaving the beach and heading inland for some much needed rest from surfing.

Food Fiestas in Maderas

Hola todos,

I’ve had several surreal experiences centred around food here in Playa Maderas, Nicaragua. They were so extraordinary that I reckon an entire blog post is warranted to properly share them. I guarantee it won’t disappoint!

Pizza Night at Sergio’s

The first of these experiences was pizza night at Sergio's. Despite all the hype from my pal Ross, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. As we navigated the muddy, pot-hole-studded road using the starlight of a clear Monday evening, the sound of a fiesta grew louder and louder. We walked into the restaurant shortly after 6:30 and I was immediately in awe.

Sergio's Restaurant

This was far from your typical restaurant experience; pizza night was an entire evening, an event. The place was packed. People were dancing and mingling both in the kitchen and the restaurant. It was a great place to meet all the expatriates in the area. After placing the pizza order, people were free to walk into the kitchen, fix themselves a drink and simply tally the number of drinks they’ve had on a piece of paper which they can then pay for at the end of the night. The only area that was off-limits was Sergio’s workstation, where he makes the pizza.

Sergio is both an ex-con and an ex-pat; after fourteen years in prison in Italy, for God knows what, he relocated to Nicaragua. He has been dubbed the ‘Pizza Nazi’ for how seriously he takes his pies. He makes pizzas twice a week, Monday and Wednesday, and only forty in an evening. He’s known to ream people out for arriving before 6:30, for he’s not yet in his role. And if you try to come without a reservation, well, may God help you.

Sergio

Sergio is an artist, and the dough is his canvas. He spends the entire evening making pizzas from fresh, local ingredients in a little area by the wood-fired stone oven. All five of the speakers in the restaurant surround him; there is not one speaker facing the patrons. He blasts classic rock all night and dances while tossing dough in the air, carefully arranging the various toppings and placing it in the oven for no more than ninety seconds.

At 10:30, after enduring much hunger, we finally got our pizzas. I had the ‘Campagnola’, a thin-crust pizza with salame, gorgonzola and funghi. It was well worth the wait as it was quite possibly the best pizza I’ve ever had. After everyone ate, Sergio would light himself a smoke, pour a shot of lemon cello for everyone and, if your lucky, make a dessert pizza for everyone. This was definitely the coolest pizza experience of my life and I plan to attend pizza night every week I’m here!

The Campagnola

Dessert Pizza

Lemon Cello Shots For Everyone

Fresh Langosta at Mark’s

Castaway is a pretty special spot, partly due to the beauty of its surroundings, but also because of the community. Each neighbour brings something to the table: from Douglas, the friendliest local who takes it upon himself to protect the turtles, to Goyo, a Canadian ex-pat who walks around in his Speedo all day, every day. It was at Mushroom Mark’s place that I had the most surreal experience.

Enjoying the well-deserved view after bushwhacking our way up the hill

After an adventurous hike to shark-fin rock, a bunch of us lounged in the hammocks overlooking the ocean when a local strolled by carrying a bag full of fresh langostas, i.e. lobsters. After some haggling in Spanish, we nearly bought out his entire stock. That’s when Mark walked out of the ocean, equipped with his spear-gun and hunting gear, carrying his catch of the day. He saw our langostas and offered to teach us how to properly cook them and was even kind enough to make us a lobster bisque from their heads – something he learned from his time as a chef.

Fresh Langosta

Mushroom Mark with his catch-of-the-day

I spent the rest of the day collecting fire-wood and washing and preparing the langostas under Mark’s guidance. I left for a quick sunset surf session and returned just in time for the bisque which was being served to all the neighbours gathered at Mark’s. I spent a good hour tending to the fire on which we were planning to grill the lobster tails. My skills gained from many years of camping in the great Canadian North were tested in the humid, wet Central American climate. Before long I had a solid base of red-hot, smoldering embers that was sufficient to cook with. The lobster tails were grilled until the shells began to turn red, splashed with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and a squeeze of lime. They turned out perfectly.

Prepping the lobster tails & saving the heads for bisque

Mark hosting the neighbours for movie night

Grilling soem fresh langosta tails

Finished product

To top off a great evening, we watched a double-feature of ‘Elysium’ and ‘Hangover 3’. The thing is, we didn’t watch it inside; Mark had set-up a projector, screen and surround-sound on the beach. Mid-way through the first film it began to pour and streams of water ran down the screen, but we kept on watching from under the shelter of a tarp.

Movie time!

Pizza nights at Sergio’s and enjoying Hollywood-films on a beach in Nicaragua during a down-pour were not expected upon first arrival at Castaway, but if this is what roughing-it as a beach-bum in Maderas entails, I think I may be able to get used to it…