Emer, Barbara, Hannah, Sarah, Asaph and I meet early in the morning along the Pan American Highway. This is the start of our day long journey to the volcanic island of Ometepe, Nicaragua

We catch the TICA bus which takes us to the Costa Rica - Nicaragua border. Half way through the journey the engine of our bus begins to stutter, then dies completely. Murphies law might as well have been invented here but fortunately we’re only stranded for about fifteen minutes before the driver and a few passengers are able to repair the engine. Pardon the stereotype but there seems to be no shortage of mechanics in Central American countries. It takes us about an hour to to get through customs and enter Nicaragua. While we wait in line we are constantly harassed by individuals offering to change our money into Nicaraguan córdobas. The first guy that confronts us has some shaky math skills and a rigged calculator, so we decline his offer and change our money with someone else. I manage to get 18 Córdobas for 1 American dollar which is apparently a decent rate. An interesting thing to note if you plan to visit Nicaragua is that it costs eight dollars to enter, after paying admission I kind of expected to see rides and attractions on the other side. Instead we find Rivas, a town that has quickly learned how to capitalize on the tourists that funnel through it. We are badgered by groups of people selling all sorts of goods but manage to squeeze our way onto a school bus that will take us to San Jorge. While on the bus we are still propositioned goods through the open windows.

From San Jorge we board a ferry to take us to Ometepe, which is in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. Lake Nicaragua is one of the biggest lakes in the world and the only place you can find fresh water sharks. During the two hour long ride I meet a twenty six year old guy named Hernando who lives in Ometepe. He agrees to drive us to our hostel in the back of his pickup for three dollars. Riding in the back of the pickup was actually a really cool experience and gave us a great view of the two volcanoes which formed Ometepe: Maderas and Concepción.

Our hostel was a small place on the lake. There was a small private beach where we went swimming. The water was the perfect temperature, refreshing but not cold. Sarah and I swim to a nearby island but keep back about twenty feet since neither of us are entirely sure what kind of dangerous wildlife could be living on the island. We eat a very generous dinner that night and go to bed.

The next morning Asaph and I woke up early for our trip up the Maderas volcano. The hostel owners son is our guide, and him and I sing Bob Marley and Michael Jackson tunes while ascending the volcano. I hadn’t anticipated it but the actual climb was probably one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done in my life. It involved a forty minute hike to the base of the volcano in the blistering Nicaraguan heat. Then an uphill hike for about two hours through dense forest which got increasingly difficult to navigate as time went on. Then as we neared the ceiling the forest turned into rain forest and the steepness of our climb increased significantly. At times we had to climb up six foot patches of dirt and rock. Everything was soaking wet, including us. We finally reach the summit where it is freezing cold. All we can see as we look past the trees is a pure white background of cloud. We catch a few glimpses of the lake that has formed where the crater of the volcano once was. Then after a quick lunch we begin our descent. The way down was quicker but just as perilous. The whole trip took us about five and a half hours. The hostel estimates about an eight hour trip so we made pretty good time.

That night I get really sick from the food or the water or the exhaustion or the exposure to the sun and go to bed early. The next morning we start reversing our travels to get us back home. I’m still feeling sick so the trip seems even longer and more uncomfortable. We get back at about eight at night and I go straight to bed. We ended up spending more money then we wanted to and were ripped off by our hostel but it was still a good trip, and worth it to climb the volcano.