Lake Within a Volcanoe Within a Lake

There had been much drinking since the 20 km walk to the beach and it was time to do something active. This involved a hike up the 1,400 meter (4,575 ft) Maderas Volcano. It had rained the night before and was extremely muddy. The Asics running shoes were muddy and my feet were wet. The terrain goes from shrubs to cloud forests making the hike spectacular and really giving one's self the feeling of moving somewhere. According to Wikipedia it is one of the few places cloud forest grown on the pacific side of Nicaragua. At the top is a lake within a large crater making for an awesome photo.
The place we were staying at was recommended by a guy we met on the boat en route to the island. It turned out to be an ecological farm which is a flattering way of saying a place for a bunch of dread-wearing hippies to make bracelets. Diner was eaten in a communal area with a small set of speakers. Despite protest from the vegans, 14 of Lynard Skynard's greatest hits were played right from my ipod. Take a cactus hippies.

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