Great yoga on the house deck and then laundry in the lake: so refreshing and pleasant! After a failed attempt to get wifi at the local library the destination is Catalanica, a hotel 1hr jungle hike away where Carmen, the Spanish owner of our house, is making us paella for lunch: not to be missed! The refreshing dive in the lake from the hotel dock is the perfect appetizer and the meal is worth the hike. Nap on the hammocks and then coffee with homemade chocolate cake, I mean made with the toasted cacao seeds grown in their backyard! Recommended.
The hike back is easier and shorter, as it often feels. Finally wifi is working, maybe because it's sunny ;)
Dinner was ordered earlier at the comedor of Hotel Mancarron, and the pleasant surprise is a candle lit, elegant, 3 course meal, banana flambé included! $8 each
Full moon is gorgeous and bright on the village dock, and the multitude of huge frogs jumping around town seem to know that a well...btw they freak me out! I don't care about spiders, snakes, tarantulas or Iguanas but please no frogs!! : s

_I woke up at 5am and i just couldn't sleep: a lot of thoughts running in my head, typical of when full moon is approaching. The lake was as flat as a table, not a breath of wind, light gray sky. Surreal.
Later I discovered a strange phenomenon: apparently when it's cloudy in Isla San Fernando wifi doesn't work. This is the explanation that several serious locals gave me  today when I tried few times to reset the connection...so bizarre!
Then i went for a walk along the shore and I discovered that Sunday is bath day here in Solentiname, especially for males: kids and adults are all in the lake semi naked and full of soap... I felt i was intruding their privacy : s
Early pm ride to Isla Mancarron on a private lancha for $15 and almost forgot camera and laptop in the hotel. The new island is the main one of the archipelago and Sunday is baseball day: everybody is having a good time at the local game, dancing and eating. Actually it's the first time that I see locals partying: so far Nica people seem to be more quiet than the other central America neighbors.
We found a great room at Viacom, a new albergue just right of the dock. We have the whole house and deck all for ourselves: there are only 4 tourists on the island including us.
When we arrive at the comedor for dinner we get informed that we should have ordered it in advance and they have nothing for us to eat, anywhere in the island... Moments of panic... Then reason comes back to me and we end up basically buying goods out of their pantry! Cans of tuna and peas and an onion made our dinner.
Note: every day we encounter a lot of wildlife, take a look at the picture page!

I woke up nice and fresh at 6.30am: it's easy to adjust to the rhythms of Nature without the city distractions. Yoga on the dock was peaceful and quiet. Lovely surprise: birthday flowers back in the room, thanks Robbert.
While canoeing around the islands nearby we saw more howler monkeys; a big fat spider fell on the canoe and went under my seat..haaa!! Pit stop on land to get it out and then nice swim in the lake. Note: The water is not as clear and blue as the lonely planet says but still clean and worthwhile.
In the afternoon i enjoyed the bday wishes online (thanks friends!) and a walk to the local museum, where the history of the island is shown along with beautiful local paintings. I also met few artists along the way that were painting on their porch in the lovely sunset. Sweet life.

_8:30am 2hrs yoga with Dana on the terrace at El Zopilote was fantastic: relaxing, invigorating and fun! She teaches a mix of Anusara and Vinyasa, but she'll be gone at the end of Feb so they are in need for another teacher!
At 3pm we are ready to go to Altagracia to take the ferry at 6pm, better go earlier... Well, there were supposed to be two buses stoping by within an hr: after 2hrs none of them passed and no rides were available! Transportation is so random in Ometepe...
Eventually we had to take a taxi ($10) and we realized why nobody wants to go to the port in Altagrazia...it's a 15min unpaved road! Unbelievable.
The ferry is 1 hr late obviously. We set up our double hammock in the last spot available and realize immediately we may be underequipped: these locals have a thick waterproof plastic cover all around their hammocks because apparently it can get pretty wet and it did. Dealing with wind and occasional splashes was ok with ponchos and blankets but then a pouring rain started! What a disgrace... everything wet even our underwear!
So we had to move inside where the entire floor and benches were covered by semi-sleeping people and Jeepers Creepers was playing on the TV...so weird! They love cheesy scary movies down here! Luckily we could lay our backs on somebody's backpack, it was almost comfy, I could sleep a little.

_Am kayaking to Islas the Monos: two little islands with owler, spider, and white faced monkeys. Don't step on land thou or you would get attacked by an army of them! Just stay on the kajak and look from the water while they follow you ready to fight for their territory.
Afterward we visited Finca Sagrada, the best stable in Ometepe, and had a delicious vegetarian lunch at comedor Margarida. Recommended.
The hike back to El Zopilote took 2hrs even with a ride half way... This island will change very soon with the coming paved road... Nice cabana for the last night at Zopilote $16 total.
Dinner at Comedor Mi Casita in front of the guest house. We waited a hour for the fish and 45 min for fresh fruit juices, but it was worth it.
In the meantime there was full entertainment around: the whole family with friends and neighbors watching cheesy soap operas, dog of any size and shape playing in the yard, ducks with ducklings and a huge pig sniffing around the kitchen and at times trying to approach our table : s, a kitten sitting and pouring on my laps... Priceless

_Yoga at El Zopilote is currently taught in spanish at 8.30 am by Dana, an Anusara teacher with a very nice smile! She is pretty good but unfortunately it started to rain and we had to stop. Location: a terrace overlooking the jungle. After breakfast (homemade bread and hummus, and locally grown coffee, all for sale at reception), we start walking towards Merida convinced to get a ride along the way: not one car passed by in two hrs of walking and for some reason the bus didn't work today. All the roads are unpaved on this side of the island, and there are way more pigs than tourists! I kind of like it.
Once there we decide to stay for the night even if all our stuff is at El Zopilote; we find a room for $5 each at El Caballito de Mar, a cute place right on the lake.
Kajak to Rio Istiam for rent in front of our room $15 all day. Nature and especially the trees are gorgeous, so much variety! On our way to the rio and the natural reserve we see a lot of women doing laundry in the lake on stones with their kids swimming and playing around them. At the rio there are over 75 species of birds and all sort of aquatic plants, great little lagoons and dreamy landscapes between the two vulcanos. Must see.
Great sunset in front of lake at El Caballito, interesting conversation with the only other guest, a chiropractor acupuncturist from Maiorca with similar views on life to ours, followed by an absolutely delicious grilled fish. Recommended.

_Early am yoga practice at the patio in front of the lake, excellent. Breakfast and visit to Charco Verde, which is a lagoon that recently became a natural reserve. The highlight of the visit was the family of owler monkeys that hanged out on the canopy above us: there was a mother with the baby on her back that was holding himself with his tail around hers! Adorable.
Back to our Finca, we start talking with the manager about the island opportunities realizing we still were missing few good visits: we couldn't leave without going! So..change of plans: San Carlos on Thursday and few more days in Ometepe! We found a ride to Altagrazia and then to Santa Cruz, sitting on rocking chairs in the back of a track...fun!
El Zopilote doesn't have a room for us... Only 2 hammocks left! And guess what? We took them! I never slept in a hammock all night, so it's a new experience! Dinner at El Descanso, where we had a delicious plate of linguine with carbonara di zucchini ... Yes the owner Ferdinando is Italian too! 15min walk in the dark back to our hammocks... Ready for the outdoor night...
Tip of the day: in Ometepe hitchhike as much as you can!