By 6:50 the next morning I was up and ready to go hike the beast volcano. After meeting up with two Nicaraguan guys and five Canadian girls that would make up our hiking group, we hopped on a bus and a few minutes later we arrived at the beginning of our adventure.
We began walking down yet another sandy road in between trees and fences and spotted with cows and what they leave behind. Every few minutes we would be ushered to the side to make room for the massive working animals.
We chatted and got to know each other as well as the trees and animals of the Nicaragua jungle thanks to our guide, Elmer.
The terrain was beautiful- first fields and cows, then trees and woods, then thick forest with paths carved between the mud walls.
We continued to climb in the woods; up tree roots and mud cliffs, under monkeys and shrieking birds that sounded like they were trying to shoot us with lasers.
After about two hours of hiking we arrived at a lookout.
The clouds were thick but spotty, and the wind was unbelievable.
The higher we climbed, the deeper we went into the cloud forest. Soon, we could barely see a few feet in front of us. We were disappointed that we were missing the view, but hopefull that the clouds would clear later, and very much focused on the challenge ahead.
As we climbed, the nice woods and dirt beneath our feet turned into steep rolling stones and solid rocks between steep rock cliffs on our sides.
It again crossed my mind that I am seriously crazy and I wondered how it was humanely possible that anyone could ascend the peak and survive. As we carefully stepped over patches of smoking stones that warmed our feet and ankles, I felt as if I was treading on forbidden territory; like I was sneaking around on a sleeping monster and at any moment he could awake like an angry dragon and tear me to shreds.
But as we climbed; our lungs burning with thin air and sulfer an our legs aching with every uphill step, the clouds would occasionally clear and we were reminded of our goal.
We kept going - for four hours almost straight up. At points we were no longer walking but were instead "rock climbing" on our hands and knees. As we climbed, some of our friends turned back. First one girl, then another, then one of the guys, but five of us kept on, and with every step we became a team and a source of encouragement. And finally, finally, we made it to the top! We acted like a team that had just won the race...and this is all we have to show for it.
We stood on the top of the mountain for about two minutes, but as the wind gusted around us we were forced to sit, clinging tightly to our jackets and backpacks. At this point we took out our amazing half-ton sandwiches that our wonderful guide had prepared for us, but after about three bites of bread, cheese, and sulfuric sand, we decided to decend from the peak to avoid being blown to our deaths.
We began the treacherous decent, and after about 100 meters we decided to eat between two crevices. A pretty comfortable area with considerably less wind.
After enjoying our boost lf energy, we again started down the hill, and the clouds slowly began to disappear, revealing to us what we had hoped to see from the top - a breathtaking view of the entire island and beyond.
Words and pictures cannot even begin to describe the incredible beauty of being straight up and feeling as if you own the world.
This is another "you have to take my word for it" experiences...
And, the pictures definitely don't show the steep incline or how we basically descended on our butts because it was too steep to walk down...but you get the idea.
All too soon, our decent was over and we again began our walk on the dusty, sandy cow path.
And then I met this pretty girl!
She was standing alone by the fence, and I figured she couldn't possibly be friendly, but I was wrong!
Turns out, she was quite a social lady. She must have known that I needed some bovine love, because she was more than content to let me scratch her neck and give me slobbery cow kisses.
Unfortunately, my addiction was only satisfied for a few short minutes because my group was hurrying on without me.
When we got back to the main road a short time later, a tuktuk was waiting for us to take us back to town.
After helping push the home/handmade vehicle (made out of a motorbike and who knows what else) to get it to start, the five of us hopped in and headed back through Nicoland to town for a well needed shower and some food!
Despite the shower and food, there is still volcanic dust coating my ankles and I would like a big meaty pizza, please.
Until the next something wonderful, be blessed. :)
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