SchoePrints: Puns About Islands Do Not Amuse Me Atoll

This weekend, my coworkers and I took a trip to Las Isletas in Lake Nicaragua. The Isletas are a collection of 365 small islands that dot around the Asese Peninsula. The islands were formed when the Volcano Mombacho erupted and launched its cone shaped top into the air. The islands have since cooled off a little bit and are now home to a variety of plant life, birds, and even some monkeys. Landmarks on the islands include the Fort of San Pablo which was erected by the Spanish to protect Granada from Pirates. Granada was once thought to be the best site for the creation of a pan-American canal.

Many of the islands house vacation homes and restaurants for tourists; the smaller islands, however, form a community of local Nicaraguans who live, attend school, and worship on the islands. All of this is accessed solely by boat and forms one of the most interesting neighborhoods in Granada.

My co-workers and I hired a boat for the day to show us the more local side of the islands. We saw people coming back from the grocery store, tending their gardens, and doing laundry in the lake. We stopped for lunch with an amazing view of Mombacho. Today was a day to live the Nicaraguan motto of: "Vaya tranquilo" or, "go, and be chill."

Afterwards I walked back into town from the port. The lake can be dangerous at night but on Sundays families dot the beach with picnics and umbrellas as they soak in Nicaragua's natural beauty.