April 24th, 2008
Isla de Ometepe - Nicaragua
Location
Some History and Facts
- Ometepe is the largest lake island in the world
- Last major eruption of Concepcion was in late 2005
- Consists of two large volcanos, Concepcion (active, 1610m) and Maderas (inactive, 1394m).
Getting There
If you have a fair distance to travel before heading to the island, as we did coming in from San Jose, I recommend the town of Rivas as an overnight before heading to the island. From Rivas you can catch a $5 USD, 10 minute taxi to the dock at San Jorge. From there you have several options. The easiest is the one hour, 17km boat ride to Moyogalpa. The lanchas cost about $2 USD per person, but you’ll likely be sitting on the deck like we were in the picture below.
There are also larger Ferries that can transport cars for a fee of $17 USD. However they run less frequently and require 72 hours notice if you are transporting a vehicle.
The Trip
The view of the island from the lancha was impressive and the crossing itself rather pleasant, but be aware that the exhaust vent from the engine on most lanchas is right there on the deck so if you sit downwind of it you will be breathing in engine exhaust for an hour.
We arrived in Moyogalpa and waded through the usual throng of locals trying to sell us everything from hotel rooms to tours and made our way the 100 yards or so up to Hotel Ometepe ($30/night). Compared to other accommodations on the island this was rather nice, however, the grounds were in serious disrepair with the pool empty and several of the surrounding out buildings missing entire walls. The rooms themselves were comfortable with fans, air conditioning, and fairly decent bathrooms. The staff was helpful and friendly.
The town of Moyogalpa itself is quiet and contains no real attractions. It reminded us of a town that was built on the hope of future tourism that has yet to materialize. It is replete however with tour companies offering all kinds of useful services. We wanted to hike up Volcan Concepcion but there was a minor eruption only a few weeks prior and the tour guides said they would only take us up half way, so we booked a guide for the hike up Volcan Maderas ($10/person, transportation included).
Several guide books say that this hike is doable by almost anyone, I however disagree. Because you have to get to the top and back down during the daylight hours, the pace is strong and steady. At several points you are doing more rock climbing than trail hiking and near the top be prepared to sludge through knee deep mud while trying to ascend slopes of 45 to 60 degrees.
TRAVELERS TIP: Bring a lot of water, more than you think you would need and some high energy snacks. We each consumed 4 Liters on the climb and made a dash for more when we finally made it back.
About an hour into the hike there is a rest point with benches right before you enter the canopy of the cloud forest. This point offers the money shot of Volcan Conception as evidenced below.
The payoff for your climb is a steep decent into a the lush crater with a cool, albeit very muddy, lagoon for you to cool off in if you so choose.
The next day we took a shuttle down to the Estacion Biologica San Ramon and did the 4 hour hike (2.5 up and 1.5 down) to the San Ramon Waterfall ($2 USD per person). The hike itself is rather pleasant or maybe it just seemed that way after Volcan Madaras the day before. Once we found the start of the trail, which is just an unsigned gate near the Estacion that leads into a car path between two fields, we were off. We didn’t make it far however because there were several cows lazily eating the grass between the two fences. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem but both of the cows were with calves and quite aggressively charged us when we attempted to pass them. Since the space we were confined to was only about 20 feet wide, we had to climb over the fence and pass the animals by walking 50 yards or so in one of the fields before hopping back over onto the path again.
The path becomes increasingly steep and narrow as you approach the Fall and the rock covered trail can be wet and slippery so be careful. The 56 meter high Fall is almost surreal and well worth the hike. I highly suggest going early in the morning as we were the only ones there for almost two hours. The only thing that kind of ruins the experience is the collection of concrete structures that were built to channel the water down to the Estacion and the rest of Ometepe.
Once our solitude was broken by some arriving hikers we decided to head back down. Sure enough the cows were there to meet us but this time they were in a much wider part of the trail so we were able to pass them with only receiving a few warning stomps and threatening huffs.
Budget
The total cost of this trip was extremely cheap at around $70 per person for 3 days and 2 nights. That included transportation to and from the island, two nights hotel, taxis, entry fees, guide fees and food. I recommend this trip for the hiker who isn’t afraid to semi-rough it for a few days. I will definitely be returning to climb Volcan Concepcion.