Running with the...Cows?

Needless to say, my sleep wasn't as good as it could have been after the discovery of the frog. It wasn't too bad either though, I was just on edge every time I used the bathroom. We were disappointed in the room though, as there was no wifi, as promised, and of course, critters were able to maneuver their way in. We woke fairly early and went to have breakfast in the adjecent restaurant. I wanted  to have the french toast but Jan pointed out that having protein would be better, so we ordered scrambled eggs and toast. It was.....ok. BUT, they serve black tea and it was such a treat to have  that. The owner came in while we were eating, coming around, introducing himself. Coincidently, the apearance of the owner also meant the appearance of the wifi! hmmmm.....He recommended a lookout point which was a short, hour and a half, hike up Maderas, one of the volcanos. We asked about a waterfall, but since the rainy season has been dry, he didn't recommend it, suggesting instead, the Ojo de Agua, a natural spring pool which they've cemented in. It wasn't too far from our hotel, if we had bikes. We decided to do the volcano first, before the heat of the day. We set out at 10:30, so actually in the heat of the day after all. It didn't take long before we were both super sweaty and regretting the climb.

After about 45 minutes, both of us totally drenched in sweat, I told Jan we could turn around, we'd gotten a bit of a view of the volcano. She said we should go for 10 more minutes so we did....although after 2 she asked how long it had been! We ran into some hikers who said the lookout was just up the hill a bit. We finally made it!

The view was stunning and while enjoying it, we downed a protein bar and guzzled water. Though we had been told it would take an hour and a half, it only took us an hour. The walk back down was much more luxurious. However, we kept coming to forks in the path that didn't look familiar at all. We thought we were on the right track when we passed some cows, which had been there on the way up.

When we found ourselves in a farmer's field though, we knew we'd gone wrong somewhere. The farmer offered to show us the path, and brought his 2 foot machete along. It made me a little nervous, so I rushed ahead of him and Jan on the path. He seemed to be friendly enough talking to Jan, and I doubted I'd have to run for help anytime soon. He showed us the right way just as another farmer on horseback rode past. He whistled at the rider to let him know we were there and off we went on the correct route. I could hear the farmer whistling and yelling at the cows and when I looked back, I realized that they were all running in our direction. WTH! I yelled at Jan that the cows were coming and we both started running down the volcano. Now, the path here was fairly flat but lots of rocks and boulders made the way slightly treacherous for 2, exhausted, sweaty girls running from a herd of cows. Every time we looked back it seemed that they were getting closer. Who knew cows were so light and nimble on their feet! Finally, we reached a part where the cows were no longer breathing down our necks. We were able to slow down and catch our breath. Alll of a sudden, the expression on Jan's face changed and she yelled "cows!". I turned to see the cows quickly coming down the rocky path in a single file. I was sure I was going to break an ankle, or my neck, as we careened down the side of the rocky volcano, at top speed. Keeping in mind how sweaty we had been on the way up and now we were actually running! This is not what I signed up for! We finally made it to the bottom of the path, and moments later the farmer appeared with his herd of cattle behind him. He's lucky he wasn't smiling though, becuase that would have been the end of him! I honestly think he was oblivious to his cows chasing us down the path.

(cows all rounded up)

I can say though, despite this life threatening ordeal we had just been through, we were laughing the whole time. So, at least if we had died, it would have been with smiles on our faces! After we finally made it back to our hostel and we had settled down a bit, we decided to have some lunch. Afterwards, we walked around to get some wifi and book the accomadations for our next stop. We were so tired but since we only had the one day on Ometepe and wanted to make the most of it, we stopped to rent some bicycles and started pedaling the 6 km towards Ojo de Agua. Thankfully, the first portion was downhill. We passed some interesting sights: a few trees, completely wrapped in spider webs, some chickens, cows and horses were heading in our direction too! 

At long last, we arrived, having just biked the last 5 minutes on an extremely rocky, bumpy path. We had to pay an entrance fee but asked if we could just look instead. I really just wanted to get back to the hotel and have a shower. And Jan hadn't wanted to swim at all.

("swimming")

(not sure about this water!)

So, we basically looked and then turned around and went back the way we had comeWe returned the bikes after an hour and a quarter and both desperately needing a shower. We did just that and decided to eat at the hotel again since we were too tired to walk anywhere else. After a nice dinner, we headed back to the room to chill. Jan got up to use the bathroom and once again I heard "Kirsty! Get in here!" What was it going to be this time? Well, my friends, it was a scorpion.

That's right, staring at us, at eye level, just sitting in the door jamb, waiting for some unsuspecting hotel guest to pass by, was a freaking scorpion. I took pictures while Jan freaked out on the other side of the door! Thankfully, the woman from the restaurant was still in and she came, with a broom and some kitchen tongs, to get rid of him for us. She scooped him up in her tongs, and as she talked to us in spanish, his tail was flinging about trying to stab at something! She left and Jan went to wash her hands, only to find no water. She went back to ask the same lady about it and all she said was no water until morning! What??? It was barely 9 pm, but after our day, we were both exhausted, (but grateful we'd already showered). However, as soon as we turned out the lights, I could just feel creepy crawlies all over me. And with every gust of wind from the fan, I was sure something was on my legs. Needless to say, I barely slept! We both woke up at about 6:30 and Jan went to check the time on her phone only to find a lizard had pooped on it during the night!

The day before, she had found lizard poop on her bed and on her luggage! I had nothing, no poop anywhere. The lizard did not like Jan. Jan was officially ready to get off of Ometepe. We ate at a leisurely pace, enjoyng the wifi, which was on early. We had already packed and were ready to go. A taxi was coming to pick us up and we were sharing it with a couple from Holland. We got into the decrepit white van once it arrived and made our way to the ferry terminal. We had only one roadblock on the way, a herd of cows, taking up the entire road.

What is it with the cows on this island!?!?! We finally made it to the boat on time and, who should we see, the american woman with her family of 15! The ride passed much more quickly than last time and before we knew it we were catching a taxi with our Dutch friends to San Juan Del Sur. A short 40 minutes later and we had arrived at our hotel. We were very happy with these accommodations...It felt good to be in a critter free space! We took a walk around the small beach town, stopped for some cheesy (ick) fish tacos, and explored some shops and markets.

We enjoyed the sunset from the roof top terrace at our hotel, before heading out for some mediocre and not too satisfying italian pasta. We walked to a gelato place and enjoyed our dessert immensly. Thankfully there is no excitement tonight as I really just need a good, bug free sleep! Tomorrow, horseback riding on the beach!