two volcanoes in Lake Nicaragua

I visited Ometepe on a trip over the border from Costa Rica. It was a sleepy island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua with absolutely gorgeous scenery. We went swimming in the lake, visited a couple little villages, and were too lazy to climb to the top of the volcanoes (though one could).

Quick Tips:

We found a lot of fellow travelers on the island- people from all over the world. I definitely recommend trying to meet people here. One of the girls I was with continued north with a group of people we met while the rest of us went back south.

Best Way To Get Around:

We got to the island by taking a ferry from San Jorge - the trip takes about an hour. Once on the island, there are a couple bus routes that circle around the island. The buses are slow, appropriate for such a sleepy place.

The hotel, one of two on the Santo Domingo Beach, has several four-person cabins hidden among the trees and some rooms in the main building. The cabins were nice, with private bathrooms, little porches, and views of Lake Nicaragua. The hotel had nice grounds and stairs down to a little beach on the lake. We thought the food was a bit overpriced, but there was a bar/TV lounge where a bunch of international travelers met and talked - it was a great place to talk to people traveling through Central America. The hotel was also able to set us up with one of several tours they offered around the island, including climbs up the volcanoes.

We took a several hour-long ride along the beach to see some petroglyphs (figures carved in rock) scattered throughout some fields on the island. The guide was nice (though he identified one of the carvings as an elephant- not likely on an island in Nicaragua) but the scenery was gorgeous and the horse and I even managed to get along.