Nicaragua, part 2

Hello again! Here’s part two of two three about my trip to Nicaragua. I’ll just get right into it.

Tuesday, February 24
We got up super early that morning so we could get to Quetzal Trekkers by 6 am for breakfast and to store all of our stuff in their office. As promised, they gave us all the supplies we needed. After packing, I had: the backpack, my sleeping bag, mattress pad, a portion of the food we would bring, a long-sleeve shirt for the cold night, six liters of water, and some misc. odds and ends (toothbrush, etc). The pack really wasn’t that heavy, but by the time we would be done walking that day I would be more than ready to take it off. Breakfast consisted of peanut butter sandwiches, bananas, coffee, and hard-boiled eggs (hardly anyone wanted their egg, and I ended up eating three or so). As we packed and breakfasted, the entire group introduced themselves a bit. There were eight of us total: the three of us, three other tourists, and two guides.
The first guide was an Australian by the name of Locky (short for Lockland). Locky has been away from Australia for some time now – after volunteering for a few months for the Red Cross in Guatemala, he came to León to volunteer with the Quetzal people for a few months. He was super friendly, and I felt pretty privileged to have him leading the group. The other guide was a local Nicaraguan, named Oswaldo, or Oz, for short. Oswaldo speaks very little English (or so we were told…I never actually heard him say anything in English), but we talked with him plenty and got along great. He knows an incredible amount about the local wildlife and landscape, and it was abundantly clear he really enjoys his job. Oswaldo does a few of these hikes every week, and must be in absolutely incredible shape. He and Locky make a great team, as the two of them are pretty constantly bickering, verbally and physically, much to their own amusement and to that of the trekkers they guide. The other three tourists there were Europeans. One of them, a Swiss woman named Melina, was staying in the same hostel as we were before the hike. Melina teaches German in the area of Switzerland where she lives (she herself is trilingual – English/French/German – with pretty good Spanish too), and is currently on an extended vacation traveling most of Central America. The other two were Dutch – Nico and Claire. Claire is French by birth, but her mother moved when she was 12 or so, and later met Nico. The two of them used to work in human resources or tourism or something (I never really figured it out), and decided to quit their jobs to spend a few months in Latin America, not really sure what they’ll do upon returning. The three of us would get to know all five of these people very well over the next two days, as there was plenty of time to chat about each other’s lives on the (very) dusty trail.
After breakfast we hopped on a camioneta (and with all 8 of us wearing huge backpacks plus a few locals on board, it was pretty packed) to get to a bus station that would take us to the trailhead. Hopping off the camioneta we walked through a crowded market very much alive with the morning bustle of merchants selling everything from rice to gum to DVDs to haircuts, always motivated by the sight of blonde hair and white skin to make a sale. After finding the right bus, we loaded our backpacks in the back (Locky keeping a close eye on them) and took our seats. One of the most amusing parts of my day happened then. Two things for context: First, it’s entirely common to see Central Americans with t-shirts with random English phrases on them, oftentimes making English speakers wonder if the wearer knows what his or her shirt means. It’s also entirely common (and allowed) for vendors to board large buses before they depart and try to sell some things before the passengers head off. Sometimes they obnoxiously stand in front of all the seats and make a short speech about their product. We endured a short discourse by such a person who was excited to tell us about the miraculous effects of some herbal cream which for some reason that escapes me right now would make our lives infinitely better. As for the t-shirt he was wearing? In large print it clearly stated: “My job is to annoy you.” We all had a good laugh.
At about 8:30, we reached our stop…which turned out to be in the middle of a highway with no outstanding characteristics other than a small trailhead off to the side of the road a bit. In the distance (like, really, in the distance) Locky pointed out the volcano we would be climbing – Volcán Telica. It looked like it would take just about all day – and it did. After taking a couple “Here we are at the start” pictures and a few sips of our water, we started off.
The trail was actually in not too bad of shape. For almost the entire day it was wide enough for two people abreast, if we happened to be doing so. The one thing that none of us will forget was the dust. So. Much. Dust. It was absolutely incredible. Melina and I decided about halfway through the day that we had already eaten about 3 kilos each of dirt kicked up from the trail. It quickly became clear that we would be ridiculously dirty by the time we got back to civilization the next day. Many parts of the trail, it felt like walking on flour. Even though the spot where you put your foot was clearly solid earth, at times your shoe would still sink a good half-inch before you got any support.
After about 4 ½ hours of hiking (with very brief water breaks every half-hour or so) we stopped in a shady patch of trees for lunch, which by that point tasted absolutely delicious. It was a simple meal of gallo pinto (a special rice and beans mix which is everywhere in Costa Rica as well), tomato, cucumber, and tortillas. I ate what seemed at the time about five pounds of gallo pinto, and after everyone said they were full had some more. We indulged our legs to another 20 minutes or so of rest, and then started up again.
“Up” is the operative word here. We only had another three hours or so to go, but this second leg of the trek was considerably more inclined than the morning’s portion. Furthermore, the trees became very sparse at the same point the steepness became constant, and so we were in for a hot afternoon. By this point, we had sort of split into two groups – Oswaldo, Ashley², and I would take off at a slightly faster pace while Locky, Nico, and Claire would take a slightly easier pace a ways back. Melina sort of bounced between the two groups at random. We weren’t in any hurry – we just seemed to get ahead and would take a break every once in a while to let them catch up. At one point the four of us in front stopped in a rare patch of shade and waited. Oswaldo distributed some firewood he collected to us, because he said there would be little where we camped that night. After the others reached us, we decided to wait a bit longer for a large cloud on its way towards us to provide some cover before the final ascent to the summit, now very much in sight (and much larger). While we rested, Os showed off his baseball skills by lobbing up chunks of the volcanic rock and using a huge branch to send them flying hundreds of feet away, down the volcano slope. Locky was not able to repeat the feat, consistently failing to make contact with the rocks he lofted to himself, much to the delight of Oswaldo. “¡Búscate una guitarra!” he taunted, employing an apparently common Nicaraguan phrase to ridicule batters – “Get yourself a guitar!”
Then we made our final push to the top. Oswaldo took us up a “shortcut,” which, while walkable, basically meant skipping the last leg of the trail and going straight up the side of the volcano to the crater’s edge. When I reached the top, I got three amazing views all at once. I looked behind me, where I had come from, and surveyed an infinite stretch of rolling land with various shades of greens and browns as forests and farmers’ fields scattered the space between the formidable hills. 180° behind me, there was a vast valley where the land leveled out and the rich volcanic soil allowed a vibrant mix of trees and shrubbery to thrive. Finally I took in the actual volcanic crater before me. Still a few hundred feet off, it was majestic and intimidating all at once. The sun having burned through what remained of our cloud cover, we got a clear view of the crater walls and slopes. The space directly in front of us ran gradually up to the crater’s edge, allowing us to walk straight up the edge itself. To the left and right, the crater wall slowly became higher as its outer side became steeper – it would be impossible to approach the crater from any side but the one from whence we came. Unlike most volcanoes a tourist will find on his or her travels, the total isolation of Telica and lack of road to its summit prevents many people from scaling it, and as such there are no barriers, safety rails, or anything of the sort up there. We literally could peer over the edge (were we brave/crazy enough to do so), though there was no way through the volcano’s steam and sheer depth that we could see anything below other than the fact that it was definitely a drop-off of hundreds of meters.
After appreciating the views for a bit, we headed down the opposite end of the ridge we had just scaled, down into a small enclosed clearing where we would camp for the night. It was about 4:30 and so, exhausted after 8 hours of hiking minus breaks, we simply lay down on the grass or sleeping mats and rested for a good hour or so. Later, Locky led us across the open valley, back towards but keeping below and off to one side of the crater. On the opposite side, we sat down on some rocks and enjoyed a spectacular sunset as the soft yet vibrant light of the sun fell back behind the Pacific horizon in a pleasant medley of reds and pinks. With the darkness came the cold, and when the sun had completely disappeared we headed back to the campsite where Os had made a very welcoming fire and a very welcomed meal of pasta with assorted vegetables.
After dinner we went back up to the crater’s edge to see if we would be able to see any lava below, but the steam was too thick. We waited a bit for it to clear up (while Ashley² and others were freezing), but it never did. We headed back down the rocky slope by flashlight – which was slightly treacherous but no one was hurt. Making use of the coals of our dying fire we had some s’mores (how do you spell that?) and later rolled out the sleeping bags. The stars of the night sky by that point were utterly breathtaking. Nevertheless, my exhaustion didn’t allow me to enjoy them much longer, and it didn’t take me long to fall asleep after a remarkable (albeit tiring) day.

Wednesday, February 25
I woke up only once during the night to the sound of everyone moving about (keep in mind we were not in tents), and when I asked why, they said, “We’re moving under the trees – it’s raining!” I hadn’t even noticed until they said so, and deciding that it wasn’t that strong, I withdrew into my sleeping bag and went back to sleep. The next morning they told me that it did pick up a little bit, but nothing too severe. Also, there was a thin white horse walking around our campus that morning, and most people apparently had woken up again as it plodded amongst our sleeping bags during the night as well. I had no idea. Still, the skinny thing (which Os told me someone had just left up there to die) was happy to hang out with us until we left, eating the hard centers of our pineapple we had for breakfast.
Before we ate, though, Oswaldo woke those of us who wanted to accompany him up the ridge once more to watch the sunrise in the east. Leading us up a hill opposite the crater and overlooking our campsite, we sat down at the top around 5:30 and watched the sun come up just as beautifully as it had gone down the night before. Ashley L. and Locky had stayed behind and slept in a big more – Locky because was tired and seen plenty of sunrises from that point, and Ashley L. because she was unfortunately feeling terrible that morning. We didn’t really know what to do about it; apparently she hadn’t slept much in the night because she was constantly getting due to diarrhea issues. I felt really bad for her, but in the middle of nowhere on top of a volcano, what can you do? We packed up, and headed out.
The trail that day was much narrower, and pretty steep for the first few hours. The dust situation had not improved in the least; rather, we kicked up just as much the day before to add to our already gross conditions. Dust, dust, dust. I did remind myself over the course of the day that it was Ash Wednesday, and despite the fact I didn’t get to a church service that day, the whole “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return” thing rang truer that day than perhaps any Ash Wednesday I’ve ever had. We took a break after getting through the roughest part, breaking out some snacks and starting to down our last bottles of water under a giant mango tree. Ashley was not feeling any better, and hadn’t eaten anything since the night before. After walking another couple hours through wide-open valleys that starkly contrasted the dense foliage we had just exited, we arrived at another tree where we took a rest. Ashley, still feeling awful and near the point of vomiting, finally did. Which was gross. But she felt a lot better afterward! The bad news was that she now had even less food in her system, but the good news was that there was only an hour or so of walking left.
Finally we arrived at San Jacinto, a small town near Telica where the Quetzal folks always take their exhausted customers for lunch at a local diner. Before eating we stopped at a small plot of land outside the town which has some mud pots, very much like those in the geyser area in Yellowstone Park back home. The smell was awful, but it was interesting to see them bubbling away. Much like the volcanic crater we had just left (and unlike Yellowstone), there were no barriers or catwalks to preserve the natural formations or protect the visitor who would be foolish enough to get too close. Os, priding himself on his knowledge of the sight before us, explained to me with a straight face that what I saw below me was not actually mud bud rather a complex series of natural chocolate springs. I smiled and teasingly told him he was an idiot, but he just laughed and told me I was missing out on the best tasting (albeit worst smelling) chocolate in the world. At the restaurant we had a very good meal of very Nicaraguan food, and afterward walked over to where we would grab a bus to León. On the bus almost everyone was either napping or half-asleep, excluding Oswaldo, who incredibly seemed pretty much totally unphased by the fact that he had hiked about 13 hours in the last 30. After getting back to the Quetzal Trekkers office in León, we said goodbye to Nico and Claire, took some pictures with our guides, and walked back to our hostel with Melina.
We originally had planned to take a bus to Masaya immediately after getting back to León, but because 1) we were exhausted, 2) we were filthy and could use shower at the hostel and 3) Ashley L. was still feeling terrible and wasn’t really in a condition to travel a few hours more in buses, we decided to stay another night in León and leave the next morning. All of us took our much-needed showers, and Ashley L. decided she would just take a nap while Ashley H. and I went out to get some dinner. We weren’t terribly hungry, so we just had a couple slices of pizza and cokes at a local place. Back at the hostel, Ashley² and I played some card games before she went back to bed and Ashley H. and I went back out. We went to a bar recommended to us by Locky and Os – and we saw them there – called La Olla Quemada (The Burnt Pot). We didn’t stay long, but we did enjoy some live music by a local group playing some lovely traditional Nicaraguan music. After seeing Os and joining him and his buddies for a bit, we made our final farewells to Oswaldo and headed back to the hostel for an inviting night’s sleep.

I know I promised the second half, but since this post has gotten super long as well I’m going to leave it at these two days and post the final third later regarding our last few days in Masaya and Granada. Look for it soon! Take care of yourselves.