pictured. This allowed for a more accurate record of sites that by necessity were photographed in less than ideal conditions and lighting. In addition to the remote area and poor lighting, on Ometepe Island, the depth of the engraved lines on petroglyphs thus far recorded varies from “immeasurably shallow” to around three centimeters (Ometepe Petroglyph Project Website, 2006). Wildlife Ometepe harbors large populations of the white-faced capuchin monkey, also called white-headed capuchin, (Cebus capucinus) and populations of the mantled howler monkey (Alouatta palliata). Efforts are being made to study and protect these animals. The Ometepe Biological Field School is situated on the Maderas side of the island. Here, students and scientists from all over the world come to study the unique flora and fauna of the area. The lake surrounding Ometepe harbors many species of aquatic animals, notably the Nicaragua shark which until recently was thought to be a unique species of freshwater shark but has since been shown to be continuous with ocean populations. Small populations of spider monkeys (Ateles s.) inhabit very small islands within Lake Nicaragua. These populations exist solely due to humans and many of the local fishermen routinely stop by to feed these troops. The local form of the rice rat Oryzomys couesi is distinctive and may represent a separate subspecies. Transportation Ometepe La Paloma Airport (OMT) serves the island with service from La Costeña. The airlines offers flights to Managua, San Carlos, and San Juan de Nicaragua (Greytown). Flights to Managua are operated twice a week, every Thursday and Sunday. There are three ferry ports on the island and there are regular ferries and lanchas to and from San Carlos and Granada twice a week (seasonally and at night) as well as several times a day to and from San Jorge near Rivas. The roads on the island have recently been paved with concrete pavers for all the major roads on the island. the secondary roads outside the cities are all dirt or gravel and often heavily washed out and not passable without 4WD or a motorcycle. Tourism Current estimates have about 60,000 visitors to the island every year. The majority arrive between mid-November and mid-May. The majority of the visitors arrive via ferry from San Jorge to Moyogalpa. Gallery Notes References Baker, S. (2006). The Petroglyphs of Ometepe Island, Nicaragua. Retrieved October 24, 2006 from the World Wide Web at Healy, P. (1980).