Day 37. For some strange reason we decided that it would be a good idea to climb one of Ometepe’s two volcanoes. The tallest volcano is called Concepcion (we didn’t question the Nicaraguan choice of name). Concepcion looks and smells like a volcano, is still very active, and last caused trouble in 2006 by causing a major earthquake due to a build-up of pressure. We chose to climb the other volcano instead.
Volcan Maderas is believed to be extinct and is lined with forest all the way to the top. A 6:30am start ensured that we would reach the crater and return before sunset. The view as we climbed was a little hazy but none-the-less stunning.
Extreme measures to prevent cow on side of volcano escaping through fence
Lucy, Mikey, Celine, Safe and Annie in the cloud forest
As we climbed, we passed through dry farmland followed by woods then squelched through wet and muddy cloud forest until we reached the summit. We decended into the misty crater to reach our prize – a lake lined with lush forest. Naturally at the first sign of water (and after a hot four hour climb) we went for a dip.
What we didn’t quite appreciate about the lake was that it was filled with volcanic mud, a fine silty mud which is thick but doesn’t actually support your weight. The first 10 or 20 metres were spent doing an impression of Frankenstein moonwalking through cottage cheese until the water was deep enough to float in.
Frankensteins wade into the crater lake
I guess your skin should be as smooth as a baby’s bottom after your mud pack. How did you remove the volcanic silt as you emerged? This is much more exciting than those dull wedding photographs we never saw! Trek on !!
P.S. Poor Cow!