The Savage Sounds of Go Zombie Records

After a week in Merida, on the island of Ometepe in Lago Nicaragua, we have now returned to Granada for one last night in the colonial capital. Why? Because there’s a big Central American death metal show here tonight, which I wouldn’t miss for the world…

Ometepe was incredible, and I think it is largely responsible for Nicaragua being so many travellers’ favourite country down here. From Granada, we took this rickety old two story barge across the lake towards the island. The trip was over four hours long, and we were lucky enough to make it on a beautifully clear day, with calm seas and a brightly shining sun making the water sparkle off into the horizon. Around 6 PM, the sun started dropping behind the shoreline, and turned this incredible glowing shade of crimson that you could stare directly into without so much as squinting your eyes. To our south, the two massive volcanoes that form Ometepe appeared through a thin mist, painted almost impossible colours by the setting sun. And the scenery only improved as the week went on….

It was already night time when we came ashore, and it took another two hour bus ride down dirt roads that resemble the surface of the moon to reach our hostel. I think I’ve mentioned before that you tend to run into the same people over and over again down here, and Hacienda Merida was no exception. It was pretty strange, having travelled to the middle of a lake, in the middle of Nicaragua, arriving at an island in the middle of nowhere, driving for hours past village after village with neither cars nor electricity, on to step off the bus and hear someone say HEY TRAVIS!

Apparently Chad and I have been accidentally stalking two Dutch girls through most of Honduras and Nicaragua. We entered the open-air kitchen, and Martin, our roommate from two months ago in Guatemala, was sitting there smiling his big goofy grin. It was a really fun reunion, even if only for one night, and Martin provided some great free entertainment by stuffing around a dozen giant flying insects in his mouth, then letting them all fly out at once. Later, when he found a spider slightly larger than my hand, he wasted no time in picking it up and letting it run all over his body while everyone watched in awe and horror.

We spent almost every afternoon there in kayaks, exploring the hidden islands and coves and waving hello to the local fishermen paddling around in dugout canoes, checking their nets and swimming to cool off from the Nicaraguan sun.

Kayaking was a great way to see the island. The volcanoes always loomed over head as kids led cattle down to the shore to drink, women washed the laundry on big stone slabs in the water, and men and teenagers tended to their nets all day long. On one island, known as Monkey Island, two insane spider monkeys keep constant vigil, charging down the dock or onto the tree limbs that stretch over the water, screaming and baring their teeth whenever you got too close. A wooden sign next to the dock reads “THE MONKEYS BITE!” in Spanish, German, French, and English.

On Sunday, our German friend Manuel, who went with us on our insane monument-quest in Leon, showed up unexpectedly with two wonderful Swedish girls named Anna and Frieda. After our time in San Pedro with our other German and Swedish friends, I have decided that they must be the two happiest countries in the world. We were out on the lake one day, and Anna and Frieda were singing the worst American pop songs they could think of, periodically changing the words to be about kayaking, laughing hysterically every time they finished a line. I finally asked them why all Swedish travellers seem to be so happy, to which they replied “Because they are away from Sweden!” I was once again sad to say goodbye to our new found friends.

And now here we are, only three weeks left and a whole lot of ground to cover. Tomorrow we will go to Managua to catch a 5AMa bus the following morning all the way up to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. From there, we will spend a week snorkelling in the Bay Islands (Utila), a week in southern Belize, then head west to Palenque, Mexico, taking a few days to explore Mayan ruins while slowly heading southeast to Flores, Guatemala, and our flight back to the states. I hope these weeks pass slowly. I am not ready to come home yet.