Breathing giant clouds of sulfur gas at iv am is non pleasant. Doing thus afterward a long hike upward the side of a volcano is fifty-fifty worse.
We quietly snuck past times our armed guard as well as out into the night. The plan? To Climb Nicaragua’s Volcano Masaya, as well as accept a await at the lava bubbling downward below.
But sometimes interesting photographs telephone telephone for extreme measures. I wasn’t most to immature lady my peril for a photograph of glowing lava amongst a especially long & terrible history.
Hiking Masaya Volcano
It all started amongst a TweetUp (meeting of Twitter users) for dinner as well as drinks. SuperXicana, BreakawayBackpacker, VagabondQuest as well as I started to plot what nosotros should create together the next day.
Obviously it needed to live unique, every bit we’re all locomote bloggers who crave interesting experiences.
Climbing the nearby Volcano Masaya was suggested, every bit none of us had done it yet. But that wasn’t unique enough… nosotros needed something more. How most sneaking into the national common & spending a dark on the volcano itself?
Perfect!
We Have a Problem
After getting ready nosotros saltation on an incredibly packed mini-bus boundary for the town of Masaya. The invention is to hop off at the entrance to the park, pay the entry fee, hike iii miles upward the route that leads direct to the crater, as well as thus run off as well as shroud until the rangers closed everything downward for the night.
We would as well as thus re-emerge to pass the eventide stargazing on the summit of an active volcano!
Unfortunately, our invention wasn’t foolproof. When nosotros finally arrived at the common entrance, they were most to closed down. The rangers wouldn’t allow us inwards because they’d receive got to boot us out earlier nosotros fifty-fifty made it to the top.
Luckily at that topographic point was some other option. Spend $10 on a guided dark tour.
As you lot may know past times now, I’m non a fan of big tours. Guides rush everything because they simply desire to acquire paid & acquire home. I never receive got plenty fourth dimension to laid upward as well as accept goodness photos.
You oft receive got to set upward amongst obnoxious, complaining, or rude people inwards the group. Most of all, rarely is a guided tour genuinely needed. I’m pretty confident inwards my abilities to follow a trail, as well as if I desire to larn the backstory of a place, I tin can await it upward online or read a book.
Masaya Night Tour
This tour turned out to live ok though. We got to climb into ancient lava-tubes that were filled amongst bats, as well as learned most the human sacrifices that happened inwards them 500 years ago.
In typical cave-tour fashion, nosotros turned off all our lights to revel inwards the consummate darkness.
Did I advert the other argue I don’t similar tours is that they’re all thus predictable?
Anyway, every bit usual, I didn’t receive got fourth dimension to laid upward for goodness dark photos. It became a running joke that I was e'er the in conclusion i inwards the grouping to present upward when the guide stopped to utter most something. But I was prepared to grinning & behavior it because nosotros had ulterior motives inwards mind…
Sleeping Under the Stars
Unfortunately it was becoming clear that nosotros wouldn’t live able to simply sideslip away from the grouping without them noticing. Our guide knew us past times name. Getting discouraged, nosotros tried to bribe him into letting us rest upward there.
He said he could attention less if nosotros did, but he was responsible for making certain nosotros left the park. There were papers that needed to live stamped maxim nosotros made it out. He didn’t desire to lose his job. Completely understandable.
So nosotros decided to acquire over his head.
At the ranger station, nosotros pleaded amongst the supervisor to allow us pass the night. With much coaxing & convincing, he reluctantly said yes. But he wanted us to pay. After a fleck to a greater extent than negotiating, SuperXicana miraculously managed to utter him into letting us rest for free. Success!
Except nosotros had to slumber at a campsite at the base of operations of the volcano, non on the top. Oh, as well as the campsite was guarded past times a human being amongst a shotgun.
Crap.
The Great Escape
While nosotros took turns passing a bottle of rum or thus the fire, some other invention was formed. We’d slumber for a yoke hours, as well as thus wake upward at 3am to hike the volcano inwards the dark.
It’s non difficult to wake upward at 3am when you’re sleeping on the rocky solid soil without pads or tents. Predictably, none of us got much sleep.
At the appointed time, as well as field maintaining a flashlight blackout, everyone stumbled or thus inwards the dark getting ready every bit quietly every bit they could. We as well as thus stealthily snuck past times our armed guard as well as out into the night. Freedom at last!
Once on the road, it took most an lx minutes to brand it to the top. I was finally able to laid upward my photographic television set camera as well as acquire a photograph of the glowing lava at the bottom of the Masaya Volcano. We also had costless reign to explore the expanse on our own.
Stargazing amongst novel locomote friends on the border of an active crater until sunrise as well as having the entire volcano to ourselves definitely made the whole trip worth while. :)
Company: Masaya National Park
Cost: $220 Cordobas ($10 US) Night Tour
Difficulty: Moderate
Packing Guide
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