Volcano Conception

Did I tell you what time I went to bed? Well....let's just say it's not enough sleep. I woke up at 4:15 am and jumped in the shower. Then I got ready. I'm still half sleep when we got into the bus. Verena didn't come in the end because she couldn't find shoes to wear (she hadn't brought any hiking shoes and couldn't find any that fit). Joshua rode to the volcano with us but then did not go on the hike (like he had told us he would). Why? Because he had stayed up to late....kind of like a couple of us. Our group consisted of 5 people (Mike, Florian, Anna a girl from Germany, Daniel, and I) and our tour guide and his 2 sons who were also tour guides I guess. So we started around 5 am. Now I don't know how to put into words the difficulty of the volcano... Let's just say it was hard.

Some parts we hiked, some parts we were almost like bouldering and crawling up rocks. The wind got pretty bad and you couldn't stand up at some parts. Basically it was difficult. Daniel went ahead of us because I guess we were too slow for him.

I struggled for a good part of the volcano first because I was half sleep at the beginning and also because it was hard. Mike kept talking about if he faints to leave him and keep going. The other thing was the backpack. Like I said it was so heavy. Mike and I shared one because I don't have a backpack besides my large one. Mike carried it most of the time, like a gentleman, so I know he must have almost died. Thanks Mike! First we were hot then it got cold so we put on jackets. We stopped several times for breaks and to eat. When we got to the top we couldn't see much because of all the clouds.

We all went to the top. There was an option for staying in the middle but we all decided to brave it and keep pushing past exhaustion. One of the guys from another group did a headstand at the top of the volcano. I didn't see it but I am impressed since it was quite windy and I'm not sure how he accomplished this task. So the way up was hard...well the way down was difficult. I dont even know which was worse. The way down we did some sliding down on the butt, we also did a lot of accidental sliding.

We also did some crawling and a bit of tripping. Okay I think the way down was a bit harder on the knees and a bit more dangerous. I also hurt my finger. By the end my shoes were so dirty and I had rocks and pebbles in them.

 I had to stop a couple times to get the rocks out of my shoes. I also carried the backpack down from about the middle point. Daniel again went ahead. I think we were messing up his flow. I also saw some monkeys in the way down. We finally made it back to the bottom around 2 something (I think Daniel had taken a nap while he waited for is) and we were driven back to the hostel tired and dirty. After taking a shower I took a nap as I was very tired. I didn't want to hang out with anyone as I was to tired. Way to tired. Later I ate some dinner and watched a movie with Mike on Netflix. We started watching a Will Farrell movie...still no idea the name...but the Spanish one. I then went to bed later. Oh also the people across the street were having another party and played the music to 10 pm. They were playing like a 70's to 90's mix. It was a bit at strange. But at least it ended at 10!

So the plan tomorrow is to go to San Juan del Sur for a day or two. Mike thinks he will go but not sure and we aren't sure what Verena is doing...maybe she will go and maybe she will stay...we find out tomorrow.