Tip of the Iceberg

   Crossing back to Costa from Nicaragua required four buses, and a ferry ride...by 8am Steph and I were holding on for dear life off the back of a chicken bus literally overflowing with bodies headed for the boarder. Somehow they managed to stuff Katie into the 6 inches of cubic space remaining. The locals thought it was absolutely hilarious that the gringas had to hang off the side like regular ol nicas.

Adios Ometepe con agradecimiento...

 ¨Now that my heart is open it cannot get closed or broken.¨

-taken from Ivan in La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Even though there are times when this statement may not seem entirely true, there are experiences that continue to open our hearts and create space for more love and compassion.

El ultimo atardecer en Ometepe

"Out of the midst of the beautiful lake Nicaragua spring two magnificant pyramids, clad in the softest and richest green, all flecked with shadow and sunshine, whose summits pierce the billowy clouds. They look so isolated from the world and its turmoil, so tranquil, so dreamy, so steeped in slumber and eternal repose. What a life one might make among their shady forests, their sunny slopes, their breezy dells, after he had grown weary of the toil, anxiety and unrest of the busteling, driving world..."
             Mark Twain, 1867 'The Twin Mountains' on his trip to Ometepe

It is easy to forget that there is a world outside the island of Ometepe... The sun rises and sets, and the days pass with a fresh breath of tranquility. Digging in the dirt brings about a childlike nostalgia...memories of times when being covered in mud was an accomplishment to be proud of.

Ometepe: A Land of Wonder

                                                                             October 27, 2010           4:58 pm

We've just caught the ferry from Ometempe and we are headed towards the mainland of Nicaragua.  From atop the ferry, two breath taking views battle to captivate our senses: on one side we have the volcanic island of Ometepe located in the heart of Lake Nicaragua; on the other, the setting sun, lighting the sky with warm colors of orange and pink, like fresh brush strokes from the hands of an abstract artist.  The two volanoes that make up the island, Conception and Maderas, are often depicted as the breasts of a woman--pressumably Mother Nature who nourishes the land and the people.