Day 14 - Camping in a crater on top of an active volcano... Why not?!

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This was another exciting day! The plan was to hike Telica, another of the most active volcanoes in Nicaragua with an elevation of 1,060 meters, and carry our tent, sleeping bag, water and everything we needed and camp in the former crater right by the now very active newer crater on top of the volcano. And we were lucky because the previous night, the group that hiked the volcano could not sleep there because the volcano was too unstable and it was dangerous so they slept in a nearby village. 

We packed our backpacks to store them in the laundry room at our hostel, prepared smaller bags with everything we needed to bring with us, had breakfast and headed to the same tour place than the day before. We transferred the stuff we had into the 60-liters backpacks they provided and that already contained a floor mattress, a sleeping bag and Steve also had a tent for 2 people. Also, since there is no source of water at all on the volcano, we had to carry 6 liters of water each, which resulted in quite heavy backpacks for a tough hike. But we were very determined.

We had booked a tour in English but it ended up being mostly in French because we were 4 that were doing the overnight stay and another couple was doing the same hike but was coming back on the same day and the 4 of them were French, so was our guide.

It was cool to be a relatively small group. We were 6 and had 3 guides with us. Louis, the French guide and Julio, the local expert  would both spend the night with us and Dan, a British guide, was going back on the same day with the couple.

The hike was quite challenging. With our big and heavy backpacks, the pretty constant ascent, the intense heat and the very little shade, we cannot say it was easy. But I really enjoyed it. It was very rewarding to push ourselves like that. Because I have to mention that the 4 tourists and the 3 guides were all the age of Steve's sons!

Dan, the British guide, was super cool with us. We were a bit slower than the group and he spent almost the entire time with us, talking about anything and everything, encouraging us when it was harder, singing, dancing… this kid had so much energy! He was very refreshing!

On our way, we stopped once for a quick break and had bananas.

Later, we stopped for wood for our campfire and everybody went into the wood, grabbed tree branches, tied them to our backpacks and continued.

We finally made it to the first crater, which would be our campsite for the night. We were so happy and proud!!! And freakin' relieved! It was about 3:30pm and we were hungry. Let's say that our very solicited muscles had made good use of every little calorie from our breakfast and it was time to refuel. We made good sandwiches from fresh baguettes, cheese dip and vegetables and had a beer. 

A big highlight of this volcano was the magnificent sunsets and sunrises from the still active and smoky crater with the view of all the other volcanoes around. Of course, we didn't want to miss that but we had to hurry a little bit because obviously, if we were going to see the sunset, it also meant that we would come back in the dark. So we had to set up our tent and get everything ready for when we would go to bed. We also had a small 20-minute hike to the crater and another 10-minute walk around it to be well positioned to see the sunset.

Someone asked if it was possible to sleep under the stars, with no tent and our guide said there were a lot of scorpions and tarantulas so it was too dangerous. He said that a few days earlier, someone didn't close their tent properly and had been bitten during the night and it was very bad.

So she didn't insist and we all set up our tents. 

Before leaving, I grabbed our headlamp and my cellphone to have lights on our way back even though Steve said it was not necessary, as well as a bandana and a vest as recommended by our guides, even though Steve said it was not necessary, and we left with the group. 

I felt so light without this heavy backpack! This second shortest hike seemed like a simple walk in the park!

The crater was very impressive and I was super happy to have my bandana because the smoke, sometimes, was getting very dense and strong and it burned my throat and my nose. But with my bandana, it was perfect.

We took a few pictures at the crater and kept walking around it to have a good view of the sun that was slowly going down behind the surrounding volcanoes.

No matter where we are on Earth, the sun is always the same sun and everyday, it sets and rises. But we never get tired of admiring it and it's never the same. Our surroundings, the vibe, the clouds, the people, every little things make every sunset a different and unforgettable one. And this one was exceptionally memorable.

And, to pay tribute to his daddy, Steve put ashes at the bottom of an inuksuk that was right at the top of the volcano. I'm sure he would have liked it here!

We spent maybe half-an-hour there, said goodbye to the couple and Dan who were going back down the volcano by a different and much shorter path and we walked back to our tents. It was becoming darker and darker so I turned on the headlamp and, in fact, Steve ended up being very glad I had it. He didn't admit it of course but he couldn't have returned in one piece without it.

(When I read my post to Steve before publishing it, he complained about my lack of good faith and strongly suggested that I mention that he was right for the vest since I didn't need it.)

Back to the camp, Steve went to our tent, took off his shoes and socks and put on his flip flops. Yep! It was pitch black and our guide warned us about scorpions and tarantulas but my dear lovely husband was wearing flip flops. And on top of that, about 10 minutes after, Louis, our guide, actually saw a tarantula and showed it to us. Believe me, it was not a fake one! I touched it with a long stick and it started running. But what can I do… Steve is 45 and will never learn! At least, he has a good life insurance!

We made a campfire and prepared dinner. We had fresh burritos that we would prepare with tortillas, frijoles, which consists of blended fried beans and a freshly prepared salad with avocados, peppers, corn, onions cucumbers, tomatoes and lime juice. It was very yummy and filling.

After dinner, we sat by the fire, enjoyed marshmallows, listened to the cracking of the fire, chatted and played games.

This night was out of this world! Just try to imagine the scene for a moment… We were sitting by the fire, in a crater on the top of an active volcano, with an amazing view of gazillions of stars and even the milky way, getting to know other cool people and eating the best grilled marshmallows (because Steve is the best marshmallow griller). No light other than the flames in front of us, no human life other than the 6 of us, no sound other than the sparkles from the fire…

And we went to bed at 10 and, since the zippers of the cover on top of the tent were broken, we got to continue admiring the stars from the net.