A Nicaraguan Safari on Ometepe

I’ve never been on a safari. It’s just not currently on my list of must-do travel things. However, I know that at some point in life, I may want to experience this. Perhaps when Matt and I go to Tanzania to trek Kilimanjaro later in life, we will treat ourselves to a luxurious trip into the wilds of Africa. (I really hope that happens. I’m aching to climb that mountain…) Until then, my time on Ometepe in Nicaragua will be as close as I get to a proper safari.

The animals on Ometepe may not be nearly as exotic as the animals in the Serengeti, but they are free to roam about their island as if they were lions on a savannah. Chickens, pigs, tropical sheep, and monkeys roam around fields and roads. Cows wander together with their owners down the road to greater pastures. Wild birds fly freely from tree to tree. Horses trot down the dark sand beach for a drink of lake water. Dogs make their daily rounds around town looking for both friends and scraps.

This is natural pace of life on Ometepe. It was a thrill to be surrounded by such well balanced animals at peace with the freedom they have to travel about.  Of course, there was that one cow that may or may not have snuck up on me while I was reading a book and caused a minor panic (you know who you are cow), but for the most part, the wandering animals were some of my favorite things about this wild island. And I definitely felt like I was on my first safari – only with misty views of Central American volcanoes in the distance.

Damn you cow. You should wear a bell so you don’t freak people out when you come up right behind them.

And a Cambodia look a like to end this photo collection…

Check it out: TravelShus’ Interactive Guide to Nicaragua