Volcano Sunsets

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I got on the bus in San Jose last Wednesday at 7:15 in the morning, not really having any idea as to what I was in for. I had this bad feeling that it was going to be a free for all at the border, then chaos trying to get to the island...and for the most part, I was right. The border crossing from Costa Rica into Nicaragua at Penas Blancas is an absolute circus show. I have never been bombarded by salesman like that in my life. Aging women begging me to buy pictures of ¨el presidente¨and middle aged men with literally thousands of dollars in their hands offering me money changes. That is the Nicaraguan equivalent of a bank teller- a guy walking around with a fanny pack shaking money at you. Not to mention the countless children tugging on my sleeve asking me for cordobas and colones (nicaraguan and costa rican change, respectively). They made us get off the bus 3 times in order to search for illegal immigrants, then unload all of our baggage and take it through a line where the scanned it through a metal detector, which I noticed was not even plugged in. You are then instructed to press a button, and randomly, a light either emits a green or a red light, which means go through or be searched. I touched it and it of course went red, but I simply handed the border official the equivalent of a US dollar and twenty cents, and I was on my way. The bus took us another hour on to the small town of Rivas, where I got off and met a guy from the UK that was also headed to the island. We argued with a few cab drivers, exchanged obsenities in Spanish due to the outrageous rates, then started walking away until another cab scooped us up for a fair price. I´ve learned that being white with a shaved head and blue eyes automatically makes people assume that I have no idea what I am doing, so it is very often that people try to pull on over on me. They are thoroughly surprised when I start haggling in Spanish, and the price usually drops exponentially. We went from the fare being 8 dollars to getting it down to 75 cents. Anyway, it was then on to the port of San Jorge where we would catch our ferry to Isla de Ometepe. I got out of the taxi and was immediately taken aback by the HUGE twin volcanos looming in the distance. Though they are an hour away by boat, they already took up the majority of the horizon. We arrived on the island at the main town of Moyogalpa, where we stayed for the night at a funky little hostel that was basically deserted. I was not very impressed by this town, as it is the biggest on the island, with a staggering population nearing 8,000(funny how your perspective on big town changes). The next day, I took the ferry back to the mainland to get some money out of the ATM, then came back to the island to start my adventure. I took a chicken bus around the western perimeter of the island, doing almost a full circle of the northern volcano, Concepcion, before getting off in the small town of Altagracia. I got the nicest room I have slept in for at least a month and a half for roughly 4.50 US. Cheap is an understatement here. I woke up the next morning and got on another chicken bus to the small town of Balgue, which is at the base of the smaller, yet lushly forested Volcan Madera. I took off my shirt, strapped on my pack and began trudging roughly 1 kilometer up the slopes of the volcano to my destination, Finca Magdalena. It is an organic coffee plantation that is set up as a co-op involving 27 local families who practice Earth-friendly farming techniques and provide a rich cultural experience for travelers passing through.
I can honestly say that the view here is right at the top of the list for my entire trip. My sleeping accomodations consist of a hammock on the second story of a remodeled barn with 3 walls. I am a third of the way up Volcan Maderas, with a full view of the majestic Volcan Concepcion rising from the water below. The lake is so large that it looks like an ocean, the water goes as far as the eye can see to the horizon. Out of the middle of it surge these 2 enormous volcanos, forming the small island. The lake, Lago Colcibalca, is the only freshwater lake in the world to be home to sharks. They travel all the way up the Rio San Juan in Costa Rica and lurk in the murky water near the river mouth, rarely making it all the way up to the island. The line of the tropics virtually passes through the middle of the island, it is the most amazing thing to behold. From my hammock, I can see down the hill of the Volcano I am on, which is lushly forested and immensely green, home to all kinds of exotic birds and monkeys. Concepcion, by contrast, is an active volcano that is completely barren and brown, scarred by centuries of eruptions, looking more like something out of Mars than Central America.
I took a hike up the volcano, about halfway up, as I was not able to summit, since all I have is sandals, and was not carrying water. It is rises roughly 4,000 feet from the shores of the lake, with African plains type vegetation at the base, then thick jungle for the upper two-thirds. I hiked until I was deep into the rainforest, then stopped to observe a troop of 19 monkees in the trees. I followed them for about an hour, watching the way they interacted and took care of each other. Through the trees I could see Concepcion in the distance, and the sparkling water below, but all around me seemed like such a different world. The monkees took a keen interest in me, but after about in hour, as they started to choose different branches to nap on, I learned that I needed to move on. The alpha male let out a series of LOUD thunderous roars in my direction, while shaking the branches and pointing at me. In no uncertain terms, I was told that visitation hours were officially over. I trampeled back down the volcano to the farm, then settled back in my hammock after a good lunch with a book, where I plan on spending the rest of the afternoon.
Tomorrow it is on to Granada, then San Juan del Sur this weekend, then home the next!
Hasta luego....

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