In my voracious reading over the years, I’ve come upon literary scenes of women washing clothes in rivers and in lakes. But it was only now, at the age of 62, in Merida, Ometepe, Nicaragua, that I finally witnessed the scene with my own eyes.
The settings in the books have always been so exotic- the jungles of Africa mostly. And thus, so too, seemed the act.
But when I actually saw the women, in two different groups, over two days and at two different beaches around Merida, washing their clothes in the lake looked both normal and fun. A social event. With laughter and camaraderie while children run and splash in the water.
But then, Ometepe and Nicaragua in general, are in the jungle and pretty exotic. So maybe it’s just me who’s growing exotic?
In the plaza of Altagracia, there is the most attractive fruit and smoothie stand. And the smoothies we had were delicious.
Ojo de Agua, a beautiful mineral springs swimming hole, is typically crowded, or so it’s appeared in the tourist photos I’ve seen. We were there on a Sunday, which I’m guessing would be their busiest day since Sunday is typically the only full day off for Nicaraguans. And the skies had just cleared. There were five Nicaraguan families there, and ourselves.
Mayogalpa, the port town, is a lovely town. It reminded me of the Nicaraguan version of Friday Harbor, in the San Juan Islands of Washington State, USA. A very Nicaraguan version. But still, it had that hip, island life vibe, and it made me smile.
And finally, we visited the Eco-lodging-farm of Zopilote, which is probably our 26-year-old son’s favorite place in Nicaragua. It’s on the northeastern flank of Volcan Maderas and is a ten-minute hike up a narrow and stone stair-cased path up the mountain. We were given a tour of the grounds and we climbed up a lookout with views over the jungle and across the lake to the horizon.
We’ll be back Ometepe. We’d like to take our own kayaks and circumnavigate the island. Paddle boarding on the west side would also be really nice. And we still have museums to visit and petroglyphs to find and a waterfall.
But move to Ometepe? No.
San Juan del Sur has our heart and I was really happy to come home.
