Ometepe

First, a note to Kendra, who asked if Kate and I were kayaking through mnangroves. Some of the trees, like mangroves, have buttress roots that lift them out of the water, probably to let parts of the roots get oxygen. Lake Managua is freshwater, mangroves live in brackish estuaries, with salt water on the bottom and freshwater on tops. We will be seeing mangroves later, hopefully kayaking through them, and will definetly post. There is supposedly a male witch on Ometepe Island who will give you a life of luxury in retun for your soul. At the end of your term, you become a cow in one of his fields. We haven´t encountered him. Today we visited Charque Verde, an ecological preserve that has been reforested after its use as a farm. There were fantastic views of Volcan Concepcion, as well as many new butterflies, red dragonflies, green lizards with blue tails (green anoles), many birds, and howler monkeys. A mother and two young ones were in a tree twenty feet above us, and they seemed to think we were pretty interesting. It is astounding to meet our tree dwelling cousins in their natural habitat... makes you feel like you are dropping all your problems and old patterns, and leaping out to meet the forest. After that we swam at Ojo de Agua, a mineral spring. The Nicaraguan man who sold us the ticket said it makes 70 year 0lds feel like they are 40. I will have to come back when I am 40 to test that hypothesis. All I can say is it was a sublimely relaxing swim. More adventures tomorrow, buenas noches!