Learning to ride motorbikes on Isla Ometepe

We reluctantly left La Mariposa Spanish school and headed to Ometepe on the chicken buses. The journey was a bit complicated; we had to get three different chicken buses, and wait at the market in Jinotepe on a hot stuffy bus for an hour whilst it filled up. When we got to the ferry terminal, we found out that due to strong winds and a choppy crossing, only certain boats were running. We waited an hour and a half and tried to get on the next boat, but as soon as the harbour gates opened, local people all flooded the boat, pushing to get on, and the boat was full before we could get there. 

We waited another hour and a half for the next boat, this time standing right at the front of the gate (which didn’t stop people pushing right in front of me). This time we were ready for the mad dash to the boat with everyone else! We managed to get on the boat, but didn’t anticipate a second mad dash from the locals for seats, and in the push and chaos, Ash was pushed over on the stairs. Luckily he wasn’t hurt, just a bit roughed up and dirty. By the time we got to Ometepe we were exhausted and a bit fed up - not the best start! Luckily I had booked a hostel just a short walk from the ferry terminal, and the owner was lovely and kind. 

Ometepe is an island in the middle of the huge Lake Nicaragua, and is actually made up of two volcanoes - Volcan Conception (which is active) and Volcan Maderas. Ometepe is quite large - 276 square kilometres, and it is the biggest island in a freshwater lake in the world! In ancient times the island was considered sacred, as it was believed it was where the gods lived. We stayed for a week in total - 2 nights in the town of Monogalpa near the ferry terminal, and the rest of the week in a lovely hostel near Balgue on the other side of the island. 

Learning to ride motorbikes: 

We were looking forward to visiting Ometepe as everyone we had met raved about it. We also had an ulterior motive - we knew that the island roads are relatively quitet and that motorbikes were cheap to hire, so we planned to learn to ride motorbikes during our time on the island. A few months back, Ash started to formulate an idea which turned into a plan (in his mind at least!) that it would be cool to buy motorbikes in Colombia and travel round the country on them! People who know Ash will know that he had scooters when he was a teenager, and there are countless stories about his mishaps (and ruined pizza!). But I had never riden a bike or scooter before, I always go pillion. And Ash was adament we both need geared bikes to cope with the Colombian terrain - so that was our plan for our time on Ometepe! 

On day one we hired a geared motorbike for Ash and a scooter for me (I wanted to start small!), and set about exploring the island. The man we hired the bikes from, Elmer, was so lovely - he gave us both a quick lesson at the beginning before we set off! We enjoyed riding around the island, watching life in the local villages, and visiting some of the main sights. 

Ash got on very well with the geared bike, after a bit of stalling getting used to the clutch. After two days on the scooter I felt confident to give the geared bike a go, and had a practice on a small farm track - the locals were all very interested and came over to ask what we were doing and offer advice! After that, we drove back to the bike shop to change the scooter for a geared bike and there was no going back for me! Overall I got on ok with the gears, the main things I struggled with were corners (!!), and hill starts using the clutch. 

It turns out that Ometepe is in some ways a good training ground for Colombia because there is one main paved road, and the rest of the roads are dirt tracks. There are lots of hills, and obstacles to watch out for (including herds of cows, dogs, chickens, and one particularly feisty goose). We decided to spend our last day riding the full loop of the island, which was 101km. We took a wrong turn and ended up on a very rough and muddy footpath, which was a really challenge on the bikes, but we managed to find our way back to the main road! It took us quite a few hours to complete the loop, and Ash said it was good training for long days on the bike in Colombia! 

Ojo de Agua hot springs:

Aside from riding the bikes, we also had some time to visit some sights in Ometepe! One of the days we rode to the Ojo de Agua hot springs to have a swim in the water. Unfortunately it was very busy and touristy, we had to pay $10 to get in (which is an extortionate amount in Nicaragua), and the springs weren’t hot! We enjoyed a few hours soaking and chilling anyway. 

Playa Mangos:

Our hostel owner told us that this was the nicest ‘beach’ on the island and so we decided to visit for the day. There was a great view of Volcan Conception, and lots of hammocks to relax in. The acesss was down a steep rough dirt track (so more bike practice for me!). 

 

Charco Verde Nature Reserve:

We visited the nature reserve, which is a laguna adjacent to the lake side. We walked around the lake searching for wildlife, and visited the butterfly reserve at the end. 

Overall we had a really great time on Ometepe. We enjoyed our time on the island and learning the ride the bikes. I’m not going to say it was an easy week for me - it was definitely scary to learn to ride the bike, and I really had to push myself out my comfort zone. But by the end of the week I was feeling more confident on the bike, and I really enjoyed the freedom and rush of riding around the roads.

Ash really enjoyed being on the bikes, and the freedom it gave us to go where we wanted, when we wanted - no waiting around for buses! As we had no kitchen at the hostel and given that we could go anywhere we wanted to eat, we ended up eating some great food over the week - and a shout out to our friend Helen from La Mariposa who paid for one of our meals, thank you! 

Given how it went on the bikes, we’ve decided to go ahead and plan to ride bikes around Colombia - it’s going to be an adventure for sure! 

Our last night in Nicaragua - a bit of luxury in Rivas: 

We left Ometepe for a night stop over in the small town of Rivas to cross the Costa Rica border the next day. After a month in Nicaragua of staying in basic hostels, with basic facilities and no hot water (which we didn’t mind too much!), we decided to treat ourself to a nice hotel on the main square. The hotel had aircon, a hot shower, and even a pool! We enjoyed the rest and the luxury, in preparation for a mammoth day of travel on chicken buses over the border the next day.

Next step: Monteverde in Costa Rica 🇨🇷