Nicaragua Update - Hiking Volcano Cosiguina
(by Aaron Wentzell)
Waking up at 4:30 am is hard enough but thankfully, I had a little help from the neighborhood rooster. After shaking the cobwebs from my brain, I walked out to the kitchen to find that the cooks have already been up for a few hours and gratiously cooked me a plate of scrambled eggs and gallo pinto (rice and beans). It wasn’t too long before the sun started to peak up over the horizon.
The plan for the day was simple; 6 brave souls along with 2 guides were planning on hiking the Volcano Cosiguina. We have been told that this isn’t an easy hike but well worth it. The last eruption of the volcano was on January 22, 1835 blocking the sun in a 150 kilometer radius; depositing ash as far as Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica. It is considered the most violent eruption ever in Central America.
The decision to start so early in the morning was made by our guide Johnathon. He said that we wanted to be finished the hike before the scorching afternoon sun hit us. It was about 6:00am by the time we pilled in the truck and left camp. The girls took the back seat while the guys decided to ride in the box. About 25 minutes down the road, we left the nice, smooth pavement and so did our easy ride in the box. The next 30 minutes was a slow slog of 4x4ing down roads where we needed to dodge rocks and washouts. Along the way, we also had to drive through 4 cattle drives; the funniest being the 30 or so cows that were being led by a young girl no older than 10. I really wanted a picture of that but I didn’t want to let go of my firm grasp of the side of the truck for fear of falling over!
Finally, after about an hour of driving, we finally got to the end of the road and started the hike. Already, it was starting to get hot and I was happy that decided to get an early start to the day. It didn’t really take us long to gain the 700 meters to the volcano rim and wow, were we ever greated by an epic site. After the volcano erupted, the cone sunk in and left behind sheer walls and a gorgeous lagoon in the bottom. I really wanted to go down and take a closer look. After asking the guide, he told me that that trip takes about 2 days and the last time someone tried, 2 people didn’t make it back. I decided that I liked the view just fine from where I was and that today wasn’t a great day to put my life in that much danger, so I decided to just sit and take in the view…
We then hiked to the other side of the crater. From there, we were on the edge of the Bay of Fonseca. From there, we could literally see El Salvador and Honduras. From that perch, I could even make out the surf breaks that were being surfed from the camp from the boats trips that were being arranged. From my vantage point, all I could see was epic surf breaks with nothing around; I imagined myself surfing a hidden break that probably no one has ever surfed before!
By this time, the afternoon sun was upon us and we were starting to really sweat. We made our way down the volcano, found the nearest beer stand and made it home for an afternoon surf. What a day!
