El Hoyo

OK, so this post is unbelievable late and also out of date order but I figured I should write about our first (of many) hike(s) with Quetzaltrekkers. At least this time we were clients so we got to enjoy the hike rather than worry about everyone else.

It all starts with a quick 45 min hike up Cerro Negro (literally Black Hill), Central America's newest volcano. It appeared out of nothing 150 years ago and the last couple of eruptions have made Volcano Boarding possible (allegedly the only place in the world). You basically sit on a plank of wood and hold on for dear life whilst you sledge down the 45° slope in under a minute. It's the place of the land speed record on a bike (172kmph), although the guy broke nearly every bone in his bone that day, however his nurse turned out to be his future wife.

After that it's on with the backpack and a gruelling hour climb up the next volcano, although fortunately a dormant one this time. It was damn hot and crazy humid so we were all dripping, but we had a great group and everyone kept each other's spirits up. Another couple of hours hiking we reached the camp spot, just below a massive sink hole (El Hoyo - The Hole). We had a beautiful sunset, with the sun disappearing behind the line of volcanoes stretching out across the flat land.

It was an early start (4:30am!) for a gorgeous sunrise, this time over the lake punctuated by Momotombo Volcano, and then about 3 hours downhill to (crater) Lake Asosoco for lunch and a swim. Another hour on and we were on the bus back into León.

After a much needed shower the whole group met up at a rooftop bar to watch another sunset. The cheap beers did their job and everyone ended up in Oxygen, the cheesiest nightclub in town until 2am!

We had great guides, a really nice group of fellow hikers and fantastic weather so it was an awesome hike and inspired us to apply to be guides ourselves.

The next day we retired to the Las Penitas beach half an hour down the road for a few days of much needed R&R.Read more