On our last day on Ometepe, we visited Ojo de Agua, a natural (cold) spring pool with restorative properties purported to restore youthful vigor. I'm not sure if I feel younger, but I definitely enjoyed it - the water was beautifully clear and perfectly refreshing, and we were all relaxed when it was time to go.
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| The road to Moyogalpa |
On the way to the ferry, our taxi driver took us to the island's pre-Columbian museum. The price of admission included a guide, which made a huge difference: I've never been able to get too excited by artifacts on display, but with someone there to provide a running commentary and answer questions, it was fascinating. Four different ethnic groups have occupied Ometepe over the last 3000 years, and each one seems to have done a good job obliterating its predecessor. The Spaniards, however, were likely the most thorough and efficient: they enslaved the Nahuatl people, killed off everyone who had traditional knowledge (healers, weavers, potters, etc), and relegated their language to oblivion. (Today the only people in Nicaragua who speak any Nahuatl have learned it in Mexico.) The Nahuatl had writing, and even surgery(!), but almost nothing is left of their vast knowledge: the Spaniards destroyed their scrolls, and no one can read what few scraps are left.
On a smaller but possibly more relevant level of tragedy, our driver told us that gas on Ometepe is $10/gallon, and it's usually so watered down that his little Hyundai sedan (which gets 30 mpg on the mainland) gets only about 17 mpg. Two families control the island's usurious gas distribution system; supposedly they live in luxurious houses and travel a lot.
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| Elliot on board the ferry |
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| Adios, Ometepe! |
At last it was time to leave, and to restart our adventures in Granada - where Lesley and Adam, freshly arrived from Seattle, were awaiting us.
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