Ometepe, Nicaragua (2015)
A short ferry ride across Lake Nicaragua from the mainland, Ometepe Island feels like another world. Away from the bustle, the chaos, the loudness of the city, it is alive with a quieter, slower sort of life. The landscape is lush and gorgeous: formed by two volcanoes and surrounded by freshwater, the island is home to green forests and a myriad of wildlife.
A recent ploy of the Nicaraguan government to build an interoceanic canal straight through the country is threatening Ometepe’s beauty. The proposed canal would slice through the freshwater lake, forever altering the ecology of both lake and island. In communities where they would be forced to leave their land, many Nicaraguan citizens have been protesting the project. The government has remained silent through all of this, releasing little information and keeping the plans largely behind closed doors. No one is certain whether the massive undertaking will actually come to fruition in the next few years.
In the meantime, Ometepe still slumbers quietly.
