There’s something about horse riding that is really special. If there is an opportunity to go horse riding I usually take it, so this morning I headed out with Ayssar (guide) and Rosita (my horse) for a few hours near San Ramón on the southern end of Ometepe.
Specifically we went to check out some of the petroglyphs that can be found in many places around Ometepe. These are rock carvings of various designs, and although the site we visited was very small, it gave an idea of what could be found in the more than 70 other sites on the Island. Looks like tortoises and a caiman to me!
On the way back I had a special bonus – Ayssar asked if I wanted to bathe the horses. Sure! He removed the saddles and in we waded. It was a relief for me to be in the water and the horses definitely enjoyed it (after all, they’d done all the work). It was really incredible to be swimming with Rosita – something I’d never imagined doing!
Time required: ~3- 3.5 hours.
Cost: US$7/hour.
Recommended place to stay: If you are after a peaceful and “remote” place to stay on Ometepe away from the main tourist crowds – I can highly recommend the Finca Mystica. Their staff are amazing! Both this horseback riding and the volcano hike I did was arranged through them and the guides were local people. I stayed in the Communal Cob (got the whole thing to myself because I was the only guest at the time), which is very cheap. It’s an extremely large room (not like a regular cramped dorm), and the shared bathrooms (which are just outside) were also large and very clean. The food is also incredible (best pineapple and passionfruit smoothie I’ve had in Nicaragua) and included things like Thai soup and Indian curry – fabulous if you have been in Central America for a while and are hankering for something a bit different to beans and rice! They also offer 2 vegetarian options each night. Or you can walk the ~25 minutes into Merida for other food options.
