This is the story of how I accidentally spent the night on a volcano, prayed more purposefully than I ever have in my life, and left an island a better version of myself.
Sometime Sunday – Cameron, Matt, Mike, Micheal, Marah, Mary, Emma, and Rachael decide to do an overnight adventure at Ometepe, volcanic islands in the largest lake in Nicaragua.
5am monday – Adventure team meets up to grab snackies from the kitchen and walk to the bus stop.
5:45 am – The first bus arrives, we make it to town.
6am – Breakfast in a panaderia and waiting for bus number two. Team bonding occurs.
7am – Load bus number two, hoping to be in Rivas (the port town) by 9am at the latest.
8am – Bus number two departs, packed to the brim. It keeps filling up and up and up and finally, at
10:15am – Make it to Rivas, where two taxis are providentially waiting to take us to the port to purchase tickets for the ferry which leaves at – yikes!
10:30am – Arrive at the port, ferry doesn’t leave until 11 – whew. We then try to decipher where the heck we buy our tickets and how to actually get to the volcano…
10:32am – Jorge from San Jorge, the only tour salesman at the port, convinces us to take a ‘sweet deal’. He would get us a taxi to the hike, two guides, and a campground all in one deal! We didn’t want a guide – turns out that’s illegal. We wanted to camp on the volcano, but Jorge informed us that between the ticks and the boa constrictors, it would be much safer (also more legal) to sleep on the beach. Already pressed for time, we decide to climb the smaller volcano – if we left at 11, that would put us at the start of the trail at 1, the top of the volcano at 4, half and hour to swim in the lake at the top, and back down by 7:30 or 8 – perfect timing for pizza and a bonfire on the beach and a full night’s sleep before we head home for Tuesday Sabbath.
10:48am – We take the deal and race to the ferry – there are no spots left.
10:50am – Convince the gate-keeper to let us on. Nicaraguan buses are packed, are you sure you can’t fit 8 more on somewhere?
10:54am – Remember that’s not how boats work and decide to eat at the port pre-hike.
11am – Sit down for brunch and fill up before our big adventure, plan on not eating again until dinner post-hike.
11:37am – Load the ferry. They aren’t leaving without us this time!
1pm – Arrive at the island and track down our taxi.
2pm – Park at the base of the hike, and debate whether or not it’s safe to leave our gear/clothes/food in the van. The men take clothes and food, the women decide to just take it all. No, we don’t need it, but we’ll do it for the gains, right???
2:13pm – Meet our guides, Francisco and Eric, and set out! The sign at the bottom says it’s an 11 kilometer hike up 1400 meters – both ways, that’s about 12 miles. I’ve never done 12 miles in one shot in my life, let alone on an incline with a 30 pound pack, but I’m stronger now than I was before. I work out. I got Holy Spirit. I also have a significant amount of pride. But that’s beside the point. Let’s do this thing.
2:15pm – Every man and woman on this hike is pouring sweat.
2:40pm – Enter the nature reserve and the actual start of the hike.
2:50pm – Stroll through some wildflower fields and discuss the differences between noise and sound.
3pm – The terrain starts to change, and the women start to regret their big packs. The gentlemen make it clear they would be more than willing to carry them. The women refuse.
4pm – By this time, we have seen a white faced monkey and taken a picture next to a tree that’s older than the United States of America, and have been introduced to all sorts of delightful flora by Francisco, who (praise the Lord) speaks English.
4:30pm – Finally reach the extraordinary lookout point, where one can see all of Ometepe and at least half of Nicaragua. We indulge in some snackies and wonder if it’s worth it to try to summit.
4:35pm – Inquire of Francisco how much time we have left. “Oh hour, hour and half.” We decide it’s worth it, that maybe if we book it we can see the sunset (which starts at 5:30) while we swim in the crater lake.
4:40pm – Mike asks if I want him to take my bag, as his is much lighter and he wouldn’t mind at all.
4:41pm – Marah digs her own grave with the words, “Yeah right. I’ve got way too much pride for that. You’ll never get me to give up my bag.”
4:45pm – Francisco offers to take my bag. I refuse. What am I, weak or somethin’?
4:46pm – Begin phase two.
5pm – We are rejuvenated and ready to tackle this volcano. We are more than conquerors through Christ!!
5:09pm – This is freaking hard. What the heck were we thinking? We start discussing the good blogs that will come out of this as a way to justify our aching bodies and sweaty clothes.
5:17pm – COFFEE PLANTS! We pick some berries to snack on.
5:32pm – Francisco has to use his machete to cut his way through the bush to continue on the ‘trail’. At this point, we’re rock climbing more than actually hiking.
5:40pm – I consider crying, and then remember I don’t have enough fresh water available to me to waste it on tears.
5:50pm – The sun is setting, and we’re starting to feel a little anxious. Francisco informs us we have another hour to the top. But we are tired. We are hungry. We have to pee. We are running out of water.
5:51pm – Marah falls behind, literally falls, and is caught by Eric. She calls to Francisco, “I think it’s time…will you take my bag?”
5:52pm – Holy Spirit whacks Marah over the noggin with the full weight of what it means to give our burdens to Jesus.
6pm – We have been quoting Scripture to each other for the last half hour. We are quiet more often than not, which helps us to hear the jungle surrounding us.
6:02pm – The realization that we’re going to sleep with the snakes on this volcano is fully realized.
6:08pm – Francisco confirms. We strap on our headlamps, and press on….
Tune in next week for the continuation of the Ometepe Odyssey….
