Ward at home on his front porch



Ward’s idyllic lifestyle on Ometepe Island exceeds even his own wildest dreams.  On a lark, back in November, 2006, he decided to buy a house and a slice of waterfront paradise for a mere $30,000 – sight unseen!   When he arrived two months later, Ward knew he had found his dream tropical retirement beneath the rolling dells and verdant volcanic slopes of Ometepe.

Ward had been contemplating a more tranquil tropical retirement for some time, in order to live free of stress, debt, and the toil of our modern world. He knew that Nicaragua was a good options since as Ward says, tongue-in-cheek, “if Ronald Reagan wanted to destroy it, you knew it had to be an ok place.”  He now lives in a part of the island that includes about 30 other expats that in Ward’s words is a community that “is a secret treasure almost exceeding the island itself.”

Rising at 5AM each morning to the sound of howler monkeys, Ward commences his morning meditation followed by a gardening routine with his helper Rafael to tend to his Eden of red hibiscus, beauganvillias, citrus, papayas and other exotic flora.  Flocks of parrots fly around this floral wonderland beneath the slopes of volcano Concepcion.

Ward’s floral paradise







Ward enjoys an abundance of natural bounty in Ometepe. He drinks fresh volcanic spring water straight from the tap, cooks his own food and shares meals with neighbors that often provide fresh yogurt, cheese, and bread.  He also enjoys fresh “Guapote” fish from the lake which resemble lake bass but taste even better than fresh Yellow Tail or Grouper.  Once a week, a truck comes by delivering fresh vegetables and fruits.  Ward enjoys all this nourishment at an average cost of $15 per week.  Best of all, according to Ward, “nobody goes hungry in Ometepe.” With an abundance of natural resources, Ometepe enjoys lower crime rates, poverty and famine than the rest of Nicaragua.

Summer 2007 marked the beginning of Ward’s two year trial period and all indications suggest that he may have found his permanent paradise in Ometepe.  He has since purchased additional acreage on the waterfront next door, which includes a lovely guest cottage.  This land investment was a product of both good timing and great fortune.  After consulting with his astrologer, Ward recalls that “she told me to sell and so I immediately called my broker in New York and sold everything so I could buy this land.”  That was Friday September 12, 2008. The following Monday, we experienced Black Monday of September 15, 2008, when the stock market dropped more than 500 points. Indeed, Ward is a very fortunate man, having narrowly escaping financial mayhem left behind in the USA.  While others may soon catch on to Ward’s secret, for now, he blissfully tends to his gardens and enjoys his lakeside retreat, far from the hustle and bustle of the modern world. 

Ward enjoying the ferry boat ride home from mainland Nicaragua





Mark Twain’s observations of Ometepe, 1867

"Out of the midst of the beautiful Lake Nicaragua spring two magnificent pyramids, clad in the softest and richest green, all flecked with shadow and sunshine, whose summits pierce the billowy clouds. They look so isolated from the world and its turmoil - so tranquil, so dreamy, so steeped in slumber and eternal repose. What a home one might make among their shady forests, their sunny slopes, their breezy dells, after he had grown weary of the toil, anxiety and unrest of the bustling, driving world."