Francisco picked us up at the hotel lobby...he was 25 years old, a university student in Rivas, born and raised on Ometepe. His English was fair and he directed us up the trail to Volcan Maderas- the inactive volcano. We wouldn´t be going up to the top but a good 2 horas alta. One of the first things he pointed out were los monos, the monkeys :) They were hanging out en los arboles, sleeping or as Francisco said, ¨taking a siesta´ in the mango trees. We even saw a mama monkey with a baby on her back! So cute!
The walk was fairly easy, although I was glad I took Jill´s advice from last night and wore long pants... there were these little plant dagger things sticking all over me. It was overcast but very humid and the sun was trying hard to peek through the clouds. Butterflies were everywhere...one particularly huge blue one flew out of a bat cave and I freaked out and thought it was a bat, but ´tranquilo´said Francisco...only a butterfly. We also noticed ants marching across our path and termite nests were everywhere. It´s interesting, they make nests in trees and create paths for themselves (that look like thick tracks down the sides of tree trunks) to the forest floor and then go around in search of dead wood to devour. Yuck...I wondered if some might be crawling into my shoes right now. Francisco pointed out trees with pointy things on them...apparently ants live in the pointy things and they also deter animals and people from messing with the ants and/or the plant itself. Good survival strategy.
Francisco told us that banana trees commonly grow alongside coffee trees because both prefer shade, whereas plantain trees need full sun. (the banana and plantain trees otherwise look exactly the same to the untrained eye). He pointed out the coffee plants but most seemed to be harvested already...there were a few remaining seeds left which we dissected, but the real season is November. We arrived at the coffee mill and it was deserted. Francisco said that in Nov-Dec there are about 200 workers here...shelling, processing, drying, separating the coffee beans, but now it is off-season and empty. We stopped at the restaurant and had a cup of cafe con leche nevertheless...we shared some homemade banana bread from Francisco´s hermana and a plate of plantains con queso. We watched as blue magpie birds swooped through the garden in front of us. I kept yelling for Brian to get his camera but he never seemed to grab it in time, the birds were always faster. Ironic- for an Eagles photographer isn´t it? ;)
We saw the nearby hostel where you could rent hammocks (and not much else) for $1 per day. Francisco pointed out the national trees of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Guatemala respectively: Madroño, Guanacaste and Seiba. He pointed out the most expensive tree (muy caro) for construction was the Cedro tree whose wooden flowers littered the forest floor. After our coffee, he made us hike up more to see the 1600 year old petrogylphs which are commonly found on Ometepe. They are symbols of the sun, eternity and other ancient symbols. They are not sure who engraved them but think they may have been related to the Mayas.
We headed back in the direction of the cafe and spotted some almond trees with big red hulls on them...they turn red when they are ripe. I picked one off when Francisco wasn´t looking (shhh) and Brian and I tried our damndest to break that thing open. I expected like 30 almonds in there, but Francisco saw us trying to no avail and came over and hacked the thing with a rock to reveal...just...one...almond. No wonder they are so expensive! I´d be charging a lot too if I had to do so much work. The five of us rationed out the almond...yes, that´s right, we each had a small piece. Of an almond. It was that much work. Just remember this next time you have one :)
Oh did I mention we saw some green parrots?! And a place where they harvest honey...there were SO many bees! He wouldn't let me get a picture because it was dangerous to get too close, but it was this huge field with 'houses' that were basically filled with honeycombs and millions of bees were swarming overhead.
On the way back I started quizzing Francisco about his life, what it´s like here in Ometepe. He said that kids go to school from age 5-10 and it´s free but you have to wear a uniform which can be expensive. At the age of 10 boys earn their first machete and go off to work...they might work cutting down bananas or plantains, help in hotels or on farms, etc. He said that most women deliver babies at home with the help from their families but if something goes wrong they can go to the hospital and have a cesarean birth. I told him that 30% of the women in the United States have C/sections and he laughed as if I were joking. He works 2 days per week doing tours and takes English classes in Rivas. He said Concepcion last erupted 75 years ago but often lets out sulfur gases.
We were all tired after our hike and headed back to the lobby...we invited Francisco to have a drink with us and he helped me with some minor details for my blog! I ran back to the room to change into my bathing suit...was desperately wanting to jump in the pool but by the time I came back Brian had already made plans to go to Ojo de Agua, eye of the water, with Janet and Peter who had their own car and offered to drive us. As we were getting ready I told Brian that our bathroom had tons of geikos all over it when I went back to the room...His response? ´´did they want you to buy car insurance?´
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