14: Ometepe: Island Paradise

Lake Cocibolca is one of the largest fresh water lakes in the world. To the east, the huge river of San Juan connects the lake to the Carribean Sea. On the other side, only a ten mile stretch of land separates its western shore from the Pacific Ocean. A long time ago when the world's oceans were higher, the ocean spilled over these ten miles and connected with the lake. This made the lake salter and allowed aquatic animales to swim freely between the two. When the sea level went back down many, many years later, some sea animal were trapped in the lake. Over the millenium, these animales adapted to the increasingly fresh water water of the lake. Now, for example, Lake Cocibolca is one of the few places in the world inhabitated by fresh water sharks!

After two days of travel we were all incredibly excited to see the two volcano peaks of the island of Ometepe grow on the horizon as our ferry chugged closer. Most of the kids had never had the opportunity to ride on a boat before, so the experience was all the more exciting. Freddy's sister met us at the dock. All twenty-four of us lined up along the railing to wave at her from the top deck as we waited to get off. After living so far from her family for many years, I wondered how she felt to have so many of decend upon her house all at once!

Freddy's sister, it turned out, lives with her family right on the edge of the lake. From their patio you can look right down into the enticing waves crash along the lake shore. From the moment we woke up our first morning and crawled out of our tents, the kids wanted to be in the water. Over the next several days, some of them stayed in the water so much of the day we began to think they were turning into big fish themselves!

We all had a wonderful time swimming in the lake. It was fun to jump over waves and fall back into the water without ever getting salt in our eyes or being pulled under by strong currents. Because there was no sudden drop off, it was safe for even the littlest kids to play by themselves in the waves. I enjoyed our time the most when we ALL got into the water together: kids, teenagers and adults together as family. For a few, this was their first time ever swimming in big waves. It was fun to support them feel safe and watch how their confidence grew. Together we ventured out into deeper water, lifting the little children u over the high waves, played animated games of catch and chased eachother through the waves in exhausting games of tag. In the evenings we watched the sunset while eating dinner together in the patio, played games of triominos and finally had time to just sit and chat and catch up on what everyone has been doing!

We were all sad when it was time to pack up our tents and get back into the minibus for the long journey back home. It had been wonderful to have time to enjoy together as family far from the worries of daily life back in Pueblo Nuevo. Our time at Ometepe had truly been an island paradise.