Sleeping Volcano

Before my recent trip through Central America, I read all over the Internet that one should not under any circumstances travel through Nicaragua. The year before, hundreds of people had been killed in demonstrations against the policies of President Ortega, and the protest mood in the country did not seem to have been quenched at all. I met several travellers who had passed through the country without any problems, as I approached it from the south. Thus, about nine months after the bloody riots, I crossed the border from Costa Rica and found an extremely peaceful-looking country without tourists, where the people seemed very pleased with my presence. On Isla de Ometepe, an island in the middle of the deep blue Lake Nicaragua, I enjoyed the silence, the nature and especially the wonderful view of the perfect cone from the Concepción volcano. I stayed away from the capital Managua, but throughout the country people often told me about the brutal actions the government had carried out. Nevertheless, during those weeks of travel, Nicaragua became a favorite country of mine in Central America.

Isla de Ometepe (Nicaragua), April 2019