Volcano Hikes and Real-life Paradise...

Next up - Nicaragua! By the time we left Playa El Tunco it was already early afternoon and after a bumpy start, a breakdown at a gas station and a sketchy border crossing, we finally arrived at Bigfoot Hostel in Leon at the unreasonable hour of 2am. The next day we switched hostels to be with friends at Poco a Poco - we took a taxi as there was no way I was lugging that bag of mine across the city in 35 degree heat, especially not when every taxi ride charges only C$20 per person (about 50p!) before 7pm. In the evening we found a couple of other volunteers and headed out to find some food, stumbling upon an adorable french bakery to which we just couldn’t say no.

Despite being the second largest city in Nicaragua, we found it quite easy to navigate our way around the centre of Leon, although this was probably helped by the fact that nearly all streets will eventually lead you to the central square and the beautiful ‘Catedral de la Asuncion de Maria’. The Cathedral was given World Heritage Site status and it's not hard to understand why; it stands tall and proud, its stark white walls and lion statues watching over the central square which was laden with Christmas lights, life-size nativity sets and an enormous tree at the centre of it all. While you can visit the tombs of some very prominent Nicaraguans beneath the Cathedral in the crypts, you can also buy tickets and climb to the Cathedral’s rooftop. From there, the 360 views mean you can see how the city sprawls out in all directions, reaching out to the base of the surrounding volcanoes. This has to be one of my favourite views so far as when we went, it was just as the sun was setting, and the fading light cast long golden shadows which stretched across the rooftop’s 24 white domes, making it a truly magical experience.

After spending a few days in Leon, we learnt that it was a crime to leave without doing the volcano boarding and hike, so we quickly booked ourselves onto the boarding as well as the overnight hike. The hostel staff warned us that the hike was not an easy one so we soon headed out to load up on the required 6L of water and prepped for the next day...by eating an embarrassing amount of the hostel’s homemade brownies :))

Volcano day!! We all got up early, wolfed down some banana pancakes and then bussed over to Via Via hostel to meet the guides and our friends as well as collect the hiking gear and rucksacks. After an explanation of what the day was going to include and having our nerves eased by the good-humoured guides, our group of 15 hopped in the back of a truck and drove to Cerro Negro.

Cerro Negro is an active volcano (which terrified me but our guide Eric reassured us that the last eruption was in 1999 so we were going to be fine…still wasn’t entirely convinced but hey ho). It is pretty hard to miss as its 728m high slopes are covered in black basaltic cinder which stand out against the surrounding green hillsides. We were given our boards and a bag containing our boiler suits, goggles and gloves and were sent on our way. While it is about an hour long climb up, it only takes an average of 3 minutes to board down, depending on how fast you go. The view at the top is incredible, but make the most of it while you’re up there because when you are speeding your way down, you don’t really have a lot of time to take it in. As we put on our neon yellow boiler suits and tied bandannas over our mouths to protect our faces from the ash as we flew down the slope, Eric gave us a quick explanation of what to do, wished us luck and then launched himself off the top of the volcano, running all the way down to the bottom. Insane. Then, it was our turn. He had told us that to slow down you dig your heels into the ash and sit up, whereas to speed up you lift your feet up and make sure to lean back - simple. And it really was, and boy was it fun.

Once we had all made our way to the bottom of the hill and were sufficiently covered in soot with shoes full of gravel, we stripped off the boiler suits and headed back to where we had left our hike packs. A quick rinse, bag adjustment and final check up and we headed off on our hike of Las Pilas, the volcanic complex next to Cerro Negro. Our group was relatively small which was lovely and meant we really got to know each other and our two tour guides really well. If you want, you can hire pack horses to carry your packs up to the campsite for you which is a mice choice to have. I won’t lie - it was brutal; the heat was nearly unbearable and the majority of the first day of the hike was in the sun; the mountain sides were made up of volcanic ash so you felt as though you were sinking with every step you took for the first couple of hours. Halfway through the day we took a break where a black hornet decided to terrorise me by landing on my shoulder. I wouldn’t have worried so much about it if Eric hadn’t told me that it was one of the top 5 most dangerous hornets in the world and should feel very privileged to have seen it, so lucky me whoohoo!... From our lunch spot we could see where we were going to camp for the night and with that we set off for another couple of hours before reaching it. As we came over the top of the hill, the sun started to set and it was a stunning thing to witness. We set up camp next to a ginormous crater in the mountainside from where we were able to look out over the mountain range and could spot the volcano El Hoyo and Cerro de Asososca with the lake at its base which was where we were going the next day.

That night was spent setting up tents, cooking dinner over the fire, chatting and star gazing. I had never imagined that I would be sitting next to a campfire after a day of volcano boarding, about to spend the night on the side of yet another volcano. Crazy.

We woke up before 5am to pack up and enjoy breakfast while watching the sun rise behind El Hoyo. This second day of hiking started off by scaling the side of the mountain. It was so steep and covered in loose rocks - I was so sure someone was going to deck, but the gods must’ve been watching over us as we somehow all made it down in one piece. We spent the rest of the morning trekking through the jungle as Eric pointed out tarantulas and poisonous plants; his seemingly endless knowledge of Nicaraguan wildlife was incredible and he kept us entertained, and distracted, with his stories about growing up on his grandad’s coffee farms and how he had been using a machete for as long as he could remember...Sam’s transformation into a kid in a candy shop when handed the machete to hack through the foliage was amazing. It reminded me of my students back home and how desensitised I have become to seeing my 6 year old students swinging the giant blades about, somehow managing not to slice off a friend’s finger...Despite Eric’s constant assurances that we were ‘nearly there’, it took us about 5 hours to reach the bottom of Cerro de Asososca and even further before we arrived at the lake. The relief of seeing the brilliantly blue body of water after a long day of weaving through the jungle was incredible. It was a welcome reward for the last 24 hours, and from the lake we could spot the crater and the spot where we had camped - it now seemed so far away, making us all very proud of what we had achieved.

(that tiny black hole on the far hilltop is the crater we camped next to!)

After the gruelling final leg of climbing the steep side of the lake’s crater, we were met by the truck and a cold beer and headed back to the hostel where we were welcomed by a FEAST. We walked into Via Via only to be greeted by a spread of Nicaraguan traditional dishes and delicacies and we couldn’t have been happier. After recovering from the hike, we spent the rest of our time in Leon wandering the streets and sussing out the best places to eat and shop. We had loved the atmosphere of Via Via hostel so much that we made the great decision to spend more time there. The hostel itself is wonderfully designed with an open flow from the front doors and bar all the way back through the hammocks to the dorm rooms. We spent trivia night with our hike tour guides and spent the night dancing to Reggaeton and after everyone eventually went to bed, I stayed up until early morning chatting to the lovely hostel owner who told me all about Nicaragua and Leon as well as what I am doing with Project Trust.

We were sad to say goodbye to Leon, but after a quick goodbye to the rest of the volunteer girls who had arrived at Bigfoot Hostel the night before, Eleanor, Esther and I booked a taxi to take us to Hostel Paradiso on Laguna de Apoyo. We were still exhausted from the hike and our salsa dancing that where we were headed was a welcome retreat.

Hostel Paradiso is quite literally paradise on Earth with its private beach and gorgeous views over the lake, not to mention the incredible food and laid back vibe. It truly is a perfect place to lay back and relax for a little while, which is exactly what we did. Laguna de Apoyo is also a nature reserve and is a little off the beaten track so it's very peaceful, however there is still so much that can be done including kayaking, scuba diving, paragliding and more. The only downside was that I learnt the very important lesson to never again fall asleep in the sun…

While by the lake we took the chance to visit the nearby Masaya Volcano. There is a viewpoint from where you can look down into the caldera; we went just after sunset and so were able to see into the glowing, growling mass of magma down below. Yet, due to the large amounts of sulphur dioxide emitted by Masaya, you are only allowed to be near the crater for about 20 minutes before the fumes start to make you feel a bit dizzy. Sadly I didn't get any worthwhile photos so you'll just have to believe me when I say it was pretty cool :))

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