Ometepe Day 2

After a deep sleep, we woke up the next morning to breakfast of a delicious omelette and fresh pineapple juice. The hostel we were saying at included breakfast; I love when other people make me breakfast! Lathered up with sunscreen, we were ready to hit up the kayaking voyage. Zipping up our life jackets after checking all the pockets and crevasses for scorpions, spiders and any other creepy crawlies could have been in them, we hopped into the kayaks and started rowing along the island coast.

Another hot and sunny day in Nicaragua, it was about 31 degrees and a great day for a tour of the Languid River - the small river (though actually more of a mangrove swamp) that winds between the two volcanoes. After nearly an hour of paddling against the wind, we eventually reach the mouth of the river. Just before turning inland, my friend Jess was stung by something on her hand and then her head; in a moment of panic she tried to duck her head into the water and in the process, capsized the her kayak! Our guide went over to the shore and jumped into the water as well, having to swim out and pull her kayak back to shore and dump out the water. Other than being a little rattled, Jess ended up being okay, aside from a couple of stinging bumps...

We regrouped and pushed on, into the dense jungle. The river was pretty cool, we saw many different birds and howler monkeys, as we paddled through mangroves. It was a good three hours in the river until our arms couldn’t handle it anymore, and we headed back. With the wind on our backs we had expected an easy ride home; unfortunately not all kayaks are built the same. Both Mark’s and my own were without a rudder, as we are both fairly comfortable in a kayak. The downside to no rudder however, is that there is nothing to keep the boat straight when the wind hits from behind - it just spins you around in circles. After another hour of hard paddling, we made it home.

Kayaking Ometepe is an absolute must if you ever find yourself on the island, it takes a little effort, but is more than worth it. After the events of the previous day on the bikes, we were now doubly exhausted and more than welcomed a few bottles of cold beer. Following another beautiful sunset swim and a dinner of amazing pasta, we all had a nice, early bedtime.