Climbing the Volcan Maderas

15 June 2009

Ometepe has two volanos: el Concepcion which is the higher one and still active and Maderas which is inactive. The 1400m high Maderas can be climbed. Presumably you will be rewarded at the top with great views across the giant Lago Nicaragua and with a refreshing swim in the lagoon inside the crater. We arranged for the highly recommended guide to pick us up at 7:00am at our pension (100m altitude) to start the ascent.

7.00h We enjoy our breakfast of fresh fruits. After a night of heavy rain, the morning is bright and clear. What a perfect day for a hike – hard to believe that this should be the rainy season. Definitely no need for rain-jackets today, especially not with 35 degrees heat.

7.30h We start our walk. The hotel has prepared a lunch bag for us: four mangoes. Our guide is called Guillermo and wears a t-shirt and rubber boots (hmm...). The path starts right behind the pension.

8.30h We walk through green fields. The path is well-defined. We learn that we are still on the farmland which belongs to our hotel.

8.45h The path steepens. We sweat in the heat, a lot (even our knees are sweating). We start to hear the noise of the rainforest: crickets, birds, and monkeys make a hell a lot of noise.

8.55h We spot dozens of howler monkeys. Whole families. Mothers carry their babies on their backs as they walk from branch to branch. The nature is beautiful.

9.00h We take a much needed rest at a viewpoint with great views on La Concepcion and the beaches of the island. We can hear the monkeys in the trees. Not a dry spot left on our t-shirts.

9.15h We enter the forest. More cute monkeys, this time with white faces. They take great interest in us.

10.00h As the path continues to become steeper and steeper, we sweat profoundly. Not only out t-shirts are completely wet, but also our trousers. In fact, every part of our bodies is covered in sweat. I really look forward to cooling off in that lagoon on top.

10.15h We enter the cloud forest. The view is now obscured by dense forest.

10.30h Three hours into our walk, Natasha asks the guide how far up we are . . . we are halfway up – at 700m . . . oh damn can I make this Natasha asks out loud.

10.45h After walking in the cloud forest, we now enter the clouds themselves. It's getting much cooler now. The view is obstructed by fog.

11.15h We take a rest, eat one mango and offer a second one to our guide. We ponder to turn around, but our guide explains that we'll be descending on a different route, apparently a shorter one (as we'll find out, it will be no easier).

11.30h The path is narrow, very steep, and muddy. We try not to get our shoes too dirty (a few hours later, this will be the least of our problems).

12.00h We reach the top of the mountain. A little turn-off leads to the lagoon. It's about 10 degrees cooler here than it was at the hotel. Guillermo and I undertake the steep decline down into the crater, while Natasha (wondering how the hell she will make it down this volcano) takes a rest and will wait for us here. She eats a mango.

12.30h After crawling on all fours over rocks, holding on to roots and branches, we manage the decline into the lagoon. It is unique. We're the only people here. However, clouds are closing in. I ponder a swim, but in this humidity I would not dry (not that I was dry). I decide against it, as it would be inconvenient to walk with slightly wet socks. Little did I realize that I would be soaked in a matter of minutes.

13.00h We arrive at Natasha's “resting” spot. The drizzle has turned into rain. Natasha is shivering under a tree. While she was waiting, a single hiker without guide passed by, heading for the descent via the path we came up on.

13.30h Now it is pouring down. Again we are soaked to the bone, but this time not only by sweat. No rain gear but not sure it would have made much of a difference.

14.00h The rain has turned our steep downhill path into a small stream. We walk ankle-deep in water. Now the choice of shoes of our guide shows its advantage over our soaked hiking boots.

14.15h Another group of tourists pass us. They enquire about the single hiker that went down the other path. He seems to have gotten separated from this group.

15.00h We spot a large crab in the middle of our path (well no big surprise as our path is really more like a river . . . with rapids)

15.30h More cute monkeys in the trees above us, looking down. We ignore them. We just want to get off this bloody mountain.


16.00h We run out of water (and mangos). Gaudi fears that we won't return to the hotel in time and will miss dinner again! Not another dinner of Oreo's and beer, please. Natasha's fears are of a different nature (will I ever make it down :-) At least the rain has stopped.


17.00h Finally, 10 hours after we started, and 1 hour before dark, we arrive at Finca Magdalena, which is 8km by dirt track from our hotel. We ask the staff to call us a cab, or any mode of transport that can save us this additional 8 km walk. I would be happy to settle for a horse. We are advised to walk the kilometer down the access road to the “main road” (a dirt road with more holes than anything else) and check there.

17.15h We learn from the lady at a fruit stand that we just missed the 5pm bus. Natasha refuses to walk one more step and asks the lady if she could help us find a taxi. Ah her son has a taxi but she has no way of contacting him. Luck has it he passes by on a motorcycle and says he will return with the taxi.

17.30h He returns in a red pick-up truck. It must date from the early 70's. Natasha sits in the driver's cabin, Guillermo and I jump on the platform in the back. Natasha bargains down the fare from 250C$ to 150 C$.




17.45h We realise that bargaining down the fare got us down the priority list. The main reason to get the truck was not to assist us, but to actually tow another truck out of the dirt. We drive down a farm road to where the vehicle is stuck. The farm workers quickly tie a rope around the vehicle and we pull the truck out of the mud. After that manoeuvre, we are on our way again.

18.00h We arrive at the pension. Luckily, they have counted on us having dinner, and prepared some very tasty chicken. What an eventful and strenuous day. Our clothes and shoes are dripping wet and we are covered with dirt head to toe. In retrospect (after a nice shower, dry clothes, a good meal and night's rest) we agree that it was worth it though we would not repeat the experience.




On a tragic note: the hiker that passed by Natasha and took the path down on his own did not show up at his destination that evening. Although a search party looked for him in the mountain until 2am that night and the whole of the following day, he had not been found by the evening of the following day.



Fotos and Videos here:

Volacan Maderas