The water transport entrepreneur and “Ometepian”, Milton Arcia is hoping to introduce his new Ometepe ferry called “Ometepe No. 4” in time for the busy four day finale to this year’s Easter Week. While it might not be the most romantic name for a boat, as with the ferry, it will do the job.
Arcia’s latest build is only waiting for the formality of permits from the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, better known by their acronym as MTI (or Ministerio de Transporte e Infraestructura in Spanish).
Once approved, Arcia will put the ferry into service on the San Jorge – Moyogalpa route for the Easter period. Following that it will depend on negotiations with the MTI as to which slot it will take on the ferry schedule serving residents of the island, as well as businesses and tourists. The typical trip from San Jorge (a few kilometers east if Rivas) to Moyogalpa on the island takes about an hour. Add ten minutes for the trip to San José.
The new Ometepe ferry cost US $2 million ferry and was built at the Puerto Asese shipyard in Granada and can carry up to 300 passengers and 29 vehicles (depending on the commercial vehicles on each trip), capacities which are higher than the previous three versions. Arcia noted that local labor followed Dutch technology in the design and build which took 18 months and as its name suggests, it’s the fourth for Arcia since 1998.
Ometepe is one of the most unique places in the world and an important stop for tourists visiting Nicaragua. It’s made up of two volcanoes joined by a thin piece of land called an isthmus. The two volcanos are the larger and active Volcán Concepción in the north and the smaller Volcán Maderas in the south which is considered dormant (has not erupted for a very long time) or even extinct (cut off from its magma supply).
