Maderas Volcano, Ompete, Nicaragua

Today myself, three other girls hiked up (with a guide)another volcanoe. This one was called Madras Volcanoe on Ometepe Island and had not errupted for over 3000 years so we figured it would be safe! The path was wet to begin with as it had rained solidly all night! (If you have ever been to Central America you might understand their rain - "solidly" I mean almost flooding!) It was still raining a bit when we started the hike and we had to cross a "river" which had developed along the path the night before. Mud was everywhere - including all over us after only a few minutes! The hike took us about 8hrs in total including our breaks. We were wet from the rain and after it stopped we stayed wet drenched in our own seweat due to the over-powering humidity. We were so glad to reach the lake at the top which has formed inside an old crater from the volcano. It was not easy, but we definitely felt like we had accomplished something by the end of the day!