~ Nicaragua: Land of fire! ~
I could not believe it was nearly time for me to head over to the next country, two months into my backpacking journey. I had quickly fallen in love with Nicaragua, and although I am always excited to embark on a new adventure, I noticed I was a bit hesitant to leave this amazing place.
I did an array of great activities and met even more great people, but I think what truly captured my heart were the county’s volcanoes. Nicaragua has an impressive collection of volcanoes – a chain of more than 50 volcanic cones, 19 of which are full sized volcanoes and seven of them are active. Rising off a flat coastal plain just above sea level, they are striking to look at and accessible for travellers like myself.
Some volcanoes are sleeping peacefully, others rumbling, smoking, exploding – they are one of earth’s most awesome natural powers! In Nicaragua, I had the unique chance to get up close and personal with a few of those sleeping, rumbling and smoking giants. Climbing for hours through their jungles, slipping on their sandy slopes and finally standing on the rim of their craters – a place of immense power and beauty – had made me feel a sense of awe. I was left feeling humble and terribly proud of myself for conquering these challenges.
My volcanic experience in Leon was no different, though it might’ve been my favourite volcano-experience thus far. With a group of four very different people I had met in Granada, I stepped on a bus bound for the second largest town in Nicaragua. Andrew was a mellow and adventurous guy, who works an array of jobs to satisfy his travelling ambitions. Alec, a self-admitted introvert, was easy to like and hard to get to know. Chris was a sincere and interesting individual, who could talk for days; and German-native Simmy, who I initially found hard to talk to, won me over with her directness and wit. (I will probably also visit her Jamaican family one day.)
It still amazes me how travel connects you to people you might not have run into or truly tried to get to know back home. (If you guys read this, I hope you all come visit me on Sint Maarten!)
We had no specific plans for Leon, but Simmy and I ran into the start of our great adventure a few minutes after our arrival at our hostel. A handsome Rastafarian named of Donte, approached us and said, “You should do our overnight tour to Telica volcano.” After hearing out his sales pitch, it sounded like something we needed to do in Leon so we agreed we’d go. Donte then tried to charm us even further, but Simone and I stood our ground (somewhat) as we negotiated the price. Then it was our turn to use our charms to convince the rest of our group to come along and to our joy, they did.
The next morning, we realized we had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into. When we showed up at the tour-company’s office with just a change of clothing and our toothbrushes, Donte asked, “Where are your backpacks? You need to carry six litres of water, food, a tent, a sleeping bag and a matt!” “Lawd!” I thought to myself, “How was I to carry that much weight on this three-hour hike?!” I wouldn’t call myself completely unfit, but all the other hikes I had done so far were with a small backpack carrying some water – never with a backpack of 15 kilos on my back.
An hour later, we were walking with backpacks and all over fairly horizontal terrain. Keeping up a steady pace, I thought to myself, “I can do this!” An hour later, the terrain had changed, growing gradually steeper. Every step felt like an intense squat. Sweat was dripping on every inch of our bodies. “How much longer?” I now wondered as my previous resolve faltered with each step.
BUT although we were having a hard time with each step up the slope, it was not unrewarding. The higher we went, the more impressive our surroundings became. Bright yellow flowers led our way up the path, and views of valleys, towns and other volcanoes motivated us to keep on walking. “We are almost there,” our guides said, as we passed a sign that said, “You are entering Active Volcanic Hazard Zone.”
There she was: Volcano Telica! We were indeed in an active volcano zone! Large grey roles of fumes gathered above her large round crater and slowly drifted away in the wind. I couldn’t wait to get a closer look. First thing first, though; getting to our campsite and finally taking off our heavy backpacks. We walked down to a valley, right below the crater and put down our backpacks. I instantly felt 15 kilos lighter, which made walking, running and jumping feel strange and freeing. After I was done frolicking, it was time to take a closer look at that crater!
Just 15 minutes later, we stood on the edge of Telica’s boiling pit of fuming lava, too close for comfort, according to our guides who kept telling us to get back. If there were any virgins present, I might’ve been worried too, but it made no sense to sacrifice anyone in our group, so we inched closer. Once we had had our fill of crater-views, crater-pictures and inhaling toxic crater gases, we headed back to the campsite for lunch, to set up our tents for the night and take a short nap.
I have seen countless amazing sunsets, and they never get old. It is hard to remember them all, but the sunset that we witnessed on the slope of Telica would definitely remain engraved in our minds for a long time. We looked out over the Pacific side of Nicaragua and could see Leon below us, and as far as the Pacific Ocean as the setting sun cast hues of red over the landscape and our faces. Telica, awake as ever, reminded us that we were in her presence by obscuring part of our view with clouds of smoke.
With a view that vast, colours that intense, and a neighbour that powerful; I felt boundless and humble at the same time. That night, we huddled around a campfire, drinking box-wine. (Yes, although we already had heavy backpacks, we all had also foreseen how great this wine would taste after a hard hike up a volcano. And it did taste great!) Our guide made us some soggy, spicy pasta that probably wouldn’t normally have satisfied our taste buds, but now tasted scrumptious. After chasing a curious tarantula away from our tent, we called it an early night, knowing we all wanted to get up at 4:00am to see the sunrise from the other side of Telica.
I carefully followed the rest of the group up a steep, undefined path through the brush. Alec helped me uphill as my fear of heights took over on slippery parts. Last of the group, I was just in time to see the golden rays of the sun slowly light up the dark sky. We saw before us a line of other volcanoes: Cerro Negro, Momotombo, Masaya and Mombacho; in the back of us, simmering Telica and taller, angrier and livelier San Cristobal. I was in volcano heaven.
With less water and food in tow, the walk downhill felt easy. Once back in Leon, after a warm, much-needed shower, we celebrated with well-deserved huge margaritas. The next days, we explored Leon, enjoying the tasty and cheap food; the many interesting, political street-art pieces, visiting a few of its impressive churches and having more celebratory huge margaritas. It was hard to say goodbye to Nicaragua, with its many surprising and imposing volcanoes and great people. But it was time for a new country and new adventures on my Central America backpacking trip.
Adios Nicaragua! Hola Honduras!
Follow Laura’s travels on her Instagram: laurasxm and every Saturday in the The Daily Herald’s WEEKender.
