It Takes a Village...

click to enlarge

Even though this is an illustration of a small island, it still fits the bill for village. The Illustration Friday theme. On Ometepe, there really aren't any towns large enough to be considered a city. That's part of its charm. Horses really do frolic on the beach, with no humans in sight. Monkeys fly through the trees, cows roam the earth almost unrestricted and two volcanoes loom eerily over everything. 

Ometepe is an island off of Nicaragua. A real Garden of Eden. My illustration only scratches the surface of its rural treasures.

If you look close, you can see the twin volcano in the background. When I took this photo, I was waving goodbye to Ometepe. Hello is sweet. But good bye always tastes bitter. 

P.S. Say hello to Panama over at my creative writing blog The Chorus of the Crows

Keep Calm and Ferry On

Rivas beach and Concepcion Volcano in the background

I didn't expect to take my favorite photo in Nicaragua after they lost our Ferry reservation to the island of Ometepe.  But I did.  We don't speak Spanish.  And when we arrived in Rivas to take the Ferry we experienced our first trip hiccup.  What would that mean?  Sleeping in our car?  Bribing a ferry worker?  Well, luckily it only meant waiting, drinking a Tona and walking on the beach by the Ferry station.  We made it on the next boat.  But things can get pretty confusing pretty darn fast when you don't know when, why or how things go wrong. 

Our vehicle.  I remember wondering if we would get on when I took this photo.  It seemed like such a crap shoot.  When we got on they had Spanish soap operas on the T.V.  And the locals all bought homemade snacks that ladies brought on in big baskets.

The good news.  We arrived on Ometepe at sunset.  The bad news.   We had to drive to our lodge on the other side of the island in the dark.  And if you have ever driven in Central America you know it is not recommended to drive after dark.  The funny thing is that it is not necessarily because of crime.  Every person, cow and dog like to hang out in the road.  It's dangerous! 

Well, I've already posted some of the things that we did on the island. Hit my labels at the bottom to check out some other Ometepe island adventures. 

This post is all about the coming and going.   Now we are trying to figure out the return trip.  Dean is talking with some other gringos.  Hmmm.  Hopefully if we work together we'll get on.

I took this photo of a kiskadee standing tough in the concrete jungle while waiting.  And waiting.

Here it comes.  Do you know that Nicaragua has 19 Volcanoes?  And I just saw on the news that they were hit by a meteorite!  Good grief.  When it rains it pours.  Anyway, we were staying on an island with two of them.  And there's another one peeking out in the right hand corner.  I think it might be Mombachu.  

Ometepe is slowly fading away. The rear view of an amazing adventure is always bittersweet.  You can see both volcanoes in this photo.  Concepcion is on the left.  The cone peaks at 5,280 feet.  Which makes it the world's highest lake island.  And Maderas volcano is on the right. 

It was a beautiful place.

And if you haven't already, please click here to see my illustrated map of Ometepe!  It's published over at the cool travel website TheyDrawAndTravel.

The end! 

Saturday's Critters

Wild Bird Wednesday

Ometepe Island

Ometepe.  What can I say.  It is a very special place.  They even filmed a season of the T.V. show Survivor here.  Here is the low down on this exotic island off the coast of Nicaragua. 

 Ometepe is an island formed by two volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua in the Republic of Nicaragua. Its name derives from the Nahuatl words ome (two) and tepetl (mountain), meaning two mountains. It is the largest island in Lake Nicaraguaas well as the largest volcanic island inside a fresh water lake in the world.

The two volcanoes of Concepción and Maderas are joined by a low isthmus to form one island in the shape of an hourglass. Ometepe has an area of 276 km². It is 31 km long and 5 to 10 km wide.^[1] The island has an economy based on livestock,agriculture, and tourism. Plantains are the major crop.

We stayed on the beach in Santa Domingo. And the walk we took on this day spoiled us for all other beach walks. Why?  Because of the view.  The top photo was taken while heading down the beach towards Maderas Volcano.  

Something old.

Local cowboys heading down the beach with a couple calves.  Not your normal beach sighting!  Ometepe is not your normal island.

Two local horses were out on their own.  Frolicking and rolling in the waves.  It was a wonderful sight.

Birds were hard at work though.  Catching a meal.

An egret.

A creepy vulture cleaning up the beach.  Everyone has a job to do.  Except us!  We were just on a photo safari.

Wow!  When you head back you get a double treat.  An excellent view of Concepcion Volcano.  Yup.  Just spoiled for life I say.  I'll spout off more Volcano information before I go...

Volcán Concepción, once named menstruation volcano; before the Spanish conquest; is the northwest half of the island. Concepción is a symmetrical cone, and is an active volcano (Baker, 2006). Concepción volcano rose in the early HoloceneEpoch and, through continual eruptions, now reaches an altitude of 1 610 m making Ometepe the world's highest lake island. Concepción is considered the most perfectly formed volcano cone in Central America. Although it went through a long quiet period, on December 8, 1880, Concepción came back to life. This eruption was extensive, and the volcano remained active for a year. More eruptions followed in 1883, 1889, 1902, 1907, and 1924. In 2005, an earthquake measuring 6.2 on theRichter scale occurred as a result of increasing pressure within the volcano. Cracks appeared on roads throughout the island and an advisory to leave the island was issued. This was the first minor eruption since 1999. The most recent eruption was in 2010 and though extremely violent, few of the inhabitants heeded the order from the government in Managua to evacuate the island.

The southeast half of the island consists of Volcán Maderas which has a crater lake and supports a diverse rainforest environment. Maderas also arose in the Holocene Epoch, and rises 1 394 m above sea level. It is considered extinct or dormant. A large lagoon formed in its crater was discovered on April 15, 1930, by the farmer Casimiro Murillo. It is mainly covered with coffee and tobacco plantations while the remainder is rain forest. Maderas Volcano is a perfect destination for theecotourist with a notable hike originating from Finca Magdalena.^[4] Much of this part of the island is now a nature reserve.

The volcanic ash has made the soil of this island extremely fertile, allowing continuous planting without fallowing. The volcanoes are visible from everywhere on the island, and life on Ometepe revolves closely around them. They also play an important part in the myths and legends of the island, which once served as an Indian burial ground

For more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday  For one more photo of Ometepe beat feet over to Toemail!

 Plus, I've updated my website.  I changed the template and for better or worse my art is bigger and badder than ever.  Visit Sharon's Studio and let me know what you think.  And to see my newest illustrated recipe click Pick Pecans For Breakfast  Nate and Salli are having a fun new contest.  You'll be Glad you did!