Central America is hot. I’m not just talking about the air temperature. But what’s just below the surface. There’s 109 volcanoes in the region and 16 just in Nicaragua. But that number seems to vary widely depending on who you talk to. Regardless there’s enough of ’em here you’d have to wonder if the place could one day go off big time!
We miss out on volcanoes down under. So I thought no better opportunity to check one out. I joined a trekking tour on the island of Ometepe. It boasts two volcanoes on the one small island. You can drive around the island in a few hours. Though not recommended on the scooter I had. Poor thing must have wondered what hit it with some of the off the main road tracks I took it on.
I chose the biggest and active volcano to tackle. 1600 metres up. Slight misunderstanding though. I thought it was a 5 to 6 hour return trip. Wrong. Five hours up and five hours down. With steep climbs through tropical growth tracks to slippery volcanic stones near the top, it proved quite a grueling day out. Leg muscles days after were still complaining. Near the top, tiny droplets of water that clung to every hair follicle, reminded us we were in the clouds. But unfortunately that also meant all our efforts to see inside the volcano would not be rewarded. Visibility was just several metres. It’s all about the journey anyway, not just the destination. Right? But there was no question it was active. You can smell the sulfur. And in places near the top, a number of rocks were too hot to touch.
After all that, I thought that’s it for volcanoes. Tick that one off. Until I arrived in Granada. This Volcan Masaya here I was told has real lava. And get this. You can drive right up to the top. So that’s what I did. And I wasn’t disappointed. You can see the video below. It’s a recording of a Facebook live broadcast taken right on top of the volcano.
I’ve also added a bit of a slide show fest up the top to tell the story of this part of the journey. So grab your pillow and let’s go…!
LIVE VIDEO CHATS
Along the journey I’ve had the opportunity to meet some really inspiring people. To now share their story with you real time, we’ve been chatting using a live video broadcast on the facebook.com/myseniorgapyear page. If you missed them, I have left a recording on this facebook page. Thank you to these people, I really appreciate you sharing your story….
This is a inspirational story. It was a real pleasure to spend some time with Kevin and his friends in San Juan del Sur. Kevin was one of the New York City Fire Department survivors of 911. Here he gives a detailed account of his experience. It’s quite long, but worth a watch.
You’ll need to have an open mind to watch this one! Angela and Rick are a lovely Canadian couple I met in Granada. I really enjoyed their company over the several days we were both there. But Angela offered a special twist to our meeting….
I was very excited about this one. A live broadcast from a real active volcano, Volcan Masaya!
Check out the facebook.com/myseniorgapyear page. This page offers My Senior Gap Year updates as they happen. Plus live broadcasts that may be of interest to you.
This is a public page so you don’t have to be logged into facebook to view the content (though they encourage you of course). If you are logged in, please click and follow this facebook page. Also please like and share any of the content to share with your friends.
2 comments On This Place is Hot… In More Ways Than One.
Another interesting story Chris. The selection of photos associated with the article are very varied and striking.
I was very pleased to see you have included the secret picture of the missing monkey from Penang !!!
Not many people would have picked it up, given you placed in the middle of your slide presentation. Now after getting so close to those volcanoes, the only hot stuff I want you to get close to are the two legged variety
Keep well and stay safe in Central America.
Cheers Les and Angela
Ah good to see you found him because he said to say hello you both Les & Angela!
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