Volcan Mobacho puts my head in the clouds

It's testimony to the pulling power of Volcano Mombacho that we headed back for a second look.

Last time we nipped up and down and, in between, we zoomed around the Crater Trail.

We returned, specifically for two attractions: spending the night on top of the volcano and doing the Puma Trail.

Firstly that night in the clouds.  Earlier we'd taken a short walk in the darkness - our torches like light sabers in the darkness.  Later it was just so good to sleep when you're just about, very nearly, almost, a little cold. 

So good to be snuggling in your blanket as opposed to bemoaning the fan's limited power. 

We asked the guide in the morning how he slept, he replied bueno, es fresco y tranquilo.  Quiet and cool - a duo you can long for at times in steamy Granada.  I also wondered, in my room at the top of the biological station, was I the highest sleeping person in Nicaragua?  Maybe. 

In truth, I needed a good night's sleep, we had the Puma Trail in the morning.

In my experience guide books, like embassies, overplay the danger.  My Moon Handbook described it as "challenging" and having "several difficult climbs". Friends who had tried it pooh poohed it as easy but then again they were young, thin and, in one case, horrifically teetotal .

I could build the tension here but, in short, I made it and with probably quite a lot of energy to spare. But wow.

A 4K route may not seem so far but we climbed and plunged our way around the craters with our guide. Each step was cut into the cloud forest floor and fantastically maintained.  It is phenomenal in it's own way.  Like a kind of Nica-scale equivalent of the Great Wall of China. What a feat.

I'm told it took 18 months to build and as walks go it is one of my most memorable. 

Dripping wet from the low morning clouds we kept inching forward through this incredible green tunnel. The guide could hardly go a hundred yards without finding another creature or plant to point out. The info was valuable. The rest was priceless.

It's no secret that Nicaragua fancies itself as a eco-tourist hotspot. I hope that works out - the right way. No Costa Rica paradoxes (Hunting and Fishing EcoLodges), no over development.

What Mombacho offers is a small slice of the kind of flora and fauna that is rapidly disappearing elsewhere.  How fantastic if Nicaragua, as a whole, can gain from Mombacho's current and future conservation.  Who wouldn't want to see this incredible green kingdom?

For the record, on our trip we saw green tree frogs, salamanders, humming birds, two kinds of snakes (here and here) and a million bugs and birds besides.

For someone who was once awed at the comparatively piffling Eden Project it was a revelation.

Top Tip:  If you need a guide then try asking for Alfredo.  Incredible enthusiasm and fantastic knowledge.  Great kid.

* Pic set here.

Comments

[ozlady]

Wow - that looks awesome!
I would love to do something like that!

[minxlj]

amazing photos, I can only imagine how lovely it must have been falling asleep there :-)

[Allegra]

Gorgeous pictures. I was at Mombacho when I was little but hardly remember any of it.. I am dying to get back to Nicaragaua. I was born in Managua and lived there for five years. I really want to see/explore Granada, Pochomil, and more.

[ourman]

Pochomil has seen better days I think. I spent a couple of days there and its beautiful but if it's been a while since you were last there then you might be surprised by the chances.

It's all good though. I hope you have a great time.