moyogalpa (isla de ometepe) nicaragua.

My last night in Monteverde and Costa Rica was spent with M, without my brother,...but the dinner we whipped up was awesome: spaghetti with tomato sauce and green olives, salad and tortillas. We ate so much, and so relatively late, that I didn't hear my 3:30am alarm, so I opened my eyes at 4:28, hurried and ran...but I ended up missing the 4:30am bus! It wasn't too bad though, since I caught another one at 6am, which got me to the Panamericana early enough to catch my bus going into Nicaragua...I had been ripped off on the price of the ticket, but the comfort of an air-conditioned bus with big, comfy seats that doesn´t stop every 10 minutes is a luxury that reconciled myself with the world, since at that point I was sad for both having missed the bus and for continuing my trip on my own, after over 10 days with two other people.
The nice bus made the border crossing very easy, although Penas Blancas on the Costa Rican side was pretty hectic anyway! Before I realized it, since I had been sucked into watching a bad American movie dubbed into Spanish, it was time for me to get off...luckily two locals were going the same way, so we all packed into one taxi to the pier, and it was a very easy transition...the hour boat ride here was very very bumpy! The combination of early afternoon sun and big waves didn't have me feeling all that well, but the view was definitely worth it!
The island of Ometepe, where I am right now, was formed throughout time from the lava produced by the two volcanoes that eventually created an asthmus of land. The big "lago de Nicaragua", also called Cocibolca, is special because it's one of the very few places on Earth (together with Parque Corcovado) where one can find freshwater sharks! They are almost impossible to spot, but they are a variety of the bull shark, which have a special membrane that allows them to "switch" from saltwater to freshwater and vice versa!
Moyogalpa is a nice little town of a few thousand people, very relaxed, a convenient base to explore the island...tomorrow I am trying to go up the highest volcano, Volcan Concepcion, at 1610 meters...the way up is supposed to offer great wildlife spotting opportunities, as well as magnificent views...Moyogalpo being at the foothills of the volcano, no matter where one is in town, one can see the volcano overlooking everything. The view on the boat ride here was great, I got the chance to watch a spectacular sunset, and I hope tomorrow won't be too cloudy!
It's only been half a day, but I am already loving Nicaragua a lot! There are no tourist rental cars, no overpriced tourism, no hordes of people everywhere...it's a bit "rougher" but definitely much more enjoyable, I think...the prices are unbeatable! Almost every means of transportation I took today was $1 each, my dorm bed is $3, my dinner will be around $2...it's great!
Next to my guesthouse is a disco-resto-bar where music is really loud today, and bright pink balloons are hanging everywhere...I thought it might be someone's birthday, but I later realized it was a "quinceanera" (the celebration of a girl turning 15, and supposedly entering the "adult world", whatever that means) when I witnessed the parade of 15 couples go down the main street in town...I don't know if they were headed to the church, but I am sure they will end up next to my guesthouse!
I also noticed some "FSLN" (Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional) flags, so I stopped to talk to two men hanging out by the street...we had a nice conversation...one of them was asking a lot of questions about Italy and so on, and told me about his experience as a garbage man in the US, where his son has been living for 25 years...he declared himself as a convinced "Sandinista" and was proud to show me the statue of the "General"!

Soundtrack of bus rides: Jack's Mannequin "The Glass Passenger"
Soundtrack of my bedtime: Copeland "You Are My Sunshine"