Nicaragua Day 10

I returned to my home in Hurricane, Utah this morning around 4 a.m. after traveling the thousands of miles from Nicaragua. The last ten days have been an incredible experience for me. I am so grateful that I was able to go to Nicaragua and do the many things that we did there. It was a valuable and unique experience, not to mention a wonderful graduation present. We stayed in three locations; Las Peñitas (Leon), Merida (Ometepe), and Laguna de Apoyo (Granada). Our itinerary consisted of a travel day followed by a strenuous day then an easy day, prior to the next travel day. I turned my cell phone off day 1 in Miami and left it off until day 10 on our return trip through Miami. It was nice going 10 days without using or needing my phone. I had mixed feelings about coming home. I wanted to come home and get started on the next phase in my life, but I also wanted to stay and experience more in Nicaragua and being a part of the bigger world we live in. That experience is now over and new ones are coming soon. I am excited to start working this summer for the Forest Service. I will continue making posts on this blog of my experiences working as a Fisheries Technician and any other adventures I have along my journey as a biologist.

Sunrise at Laguna de Apoyo

Nicaragua Day 9

Our last full day in the country was just as exciting as the first. We headed to Granada where we scattered throughout a souvenir market, moving from shop to shop looking for unique items to buy. Occasionally bumping into others from our group and seeing what they had purchased. I was directed many times towards the turtle merchandise, but was only finding the same t-shirts and the same overpriced wood carvings. Many shops sold interesting crafts, but I would prefer any Mozambican souvenir market over this one. I was baffled that many shops were selling carvings and paintings of African animals, including rhinos, zebras, lions, and elephants. We were in Central America, not Africa! However, I did end up with some cool souvenirs to bring home. After spending all of my money trying to fill my suitcase, we headed to the Masaya Volcano. Small groups are permitted to drive up to the top and look inside the active volcano. Time up there is limited to 15 minutes, because of the dangerous gasses that are often emitted by volcanoes. It was incredible to see lava bubbling down below us. We returned later that night to see its glowing red light being cast onto the walls inside the volcano. That was a pretty neat experience. In between our volcano visits, we went to a local park that had large dinosaur models and Jurassic Park music playing in the background. There was a basketball/soccer court on one end of the park with kids playing soccer. Our trip host offered the kids 10 Córdobas each to play us in a match. We had our work cut out for us, because the kids were good. They were on average about 10 years old. It was a very close game, but we won and they got their money for playing. This was the end of our Nicaraguan experience. We left early the next morning to drive back to Managua and fly home. It was a wonderful graduation gift to myself. One that I will always remember.

Masaya Volcano

Nicaragua Day 8

We set out from our Hotel Paradiso in the morning and headed to the Mombacho Cloud Reserve. Once at the base of the mountain, we paid for our tickets to ride up to the top and another for the guided tour. Our ride up was in the back of a safari style diesel truck. The truck was annoyingly loud as it lugged its way up the extremely steep switchbacks. At the top we met our tour guides who split us up into groups of eight. I wanted to be in a group with the professors, just to listen to them talk about what we were seeing. As I had learned before, the tour guides in Nicaragua may speak sufficient English, but they are not always correct in their knowledge or translating. Unfortunately the professors group was full so I had to join another group, however I should have joined them anyways because my group had nine people. I was in the last group and probably the slowest group, but I decided that I would make it a good experience. Going slowly is not always a bad thing, especially on a tour in a cloud forest. I was able to take more time looking for wildlife along the trail. Once again I was disappointed, because there was very limited wildlife to be seen. The loud trucks running up and down the mountain side must have scared them away. We saw mostly beetles, butterflies, some howler monkeys, and of course plants which are immobile. The group I wanted to be in saw some green tree frogs. We circled the top of the mountain, which is actually a chain of volcanoes that have been created due to the movement of the tectonic plate over the top of a magma chamber. We had some cool vantage points from being up that high. I was able to capture some images along the way, but many shots came out blurry. My camera struggled this day due to the poor lighting conditions under the forest canopy. Even with all of the letdowns, I enjoyed the hike. The remainder of the day was spent relaxing at the hotel and exploring part of the city of Granada.

Mombacho Cloud Reserve

Nicaragua Day 7

Another travel day in our Nicaraguan adventure started early as we left Hacienda Mérida and the beautiful island of Ometepe. Taking the ferry back across Lake Nicaragua, we headed for San Jorge. The view looking back at the volcano was incredible. It is a special place on the island and one which I will not forget. We made our way to our next and final destination at the Laguna de Apoyo, near Granada. Once we arrived and settled into our rooms, it was free time for us to enjoy the resort. The guys had a great big room with a series of eight bunk beds and wooden lockers to store our stuff. There was a fan for each person, but only one bathroom for all ten of us. Thankfully everyone was very laid back and patient with one another, so we had no issues. Later that evening Silvio, one of our drivers and a local boxing coach for at risk youth, brought over some kids to show us how to box. Boxing and baseball are the main sports in Nicaragua. Surprisingly soccer is not important. Participation in this sport has allowed these kids the opportunity to travel around their country and even compete in international events. Opportunities that they would have never experienced if they were recruited into gangs or got mixed up in drug use. Silvio's daughter and adopted daughter are ranked numbers 1 and 2 respectively in Central America for their age and weight class. After seeing the kids boxing demonstration, some of us put on the protective gear and went at it with one another. We finished off the night searching the nearby woods for wildlife. We found many frogs and cicadas, but were interrupted by a brief, yet heavy rainstorm. A simple reminder that we were in the tropics at the start of the rainy season.

 

Nicaragua Day 6

                                                              This was our relaxing day on Ometepe and it was a lot of fun. We spent the morning at the butterfly sanctuary where they breed a variety of butterflies and house them in a large greenhouse along with some tropical flowers. I enjoyed walking around trying to get photos of the butterflies and flowers, but was very excited to see the turtles in the pond. After we had our fill of butterflies and flowers, we headed for the beach. Taking a leisurely stroll around Laguna Charco Verde we saw many lizards, howler monkeys, and spiders. At the far end of the laguna was Lake Nicaragua, where we spent some time playing on the black volcanic sand beach. After lunch we headed to Ojo de Agua, a freshwater spring that has been turned into a resort for tourists. Having channelized much of the water there is now a long swimming pool with a rope swing. We had fun playing around in the water, but the real excitement came at closing time when we found a turtle tucked up into a hole along the bank. Justin, the man who organized our entire trip, has liked turtles since he was a child and wanted to take photos of them with me due to my growing interest in this taxonomic group. We had photos of both places we saw turtles this day. It was a great way to end a rich visit on the island of Ometepe.

Nicaragua Day 5

This may have been the best day of the trip overall. I awoke early in the morning to the sounds of rain beating down on the rooftop. Thankfully our roof was not leaking, because it was really coming down outside. There was some debate as to whether or not we would be able to hike Maderas, the second tallest volcano on Ometepe. We met up with our tour guides who provided a quick breakfast of fresh baked breads and passion fruit juice. They felt comfortable getting started up the trail and deciding along the way whether or not to continue up. It was a fascinating hike up as we saw a variety of plants, insects, and birds. I was really excited to see the epiphytes (bromeliads and orchids) along with the liverworts, mosses, and ferns. It continued to rain on us most of the way, but was letting up compared to the deluge that came earlier. We had to make several stops and send some people from our group back down with a tour guide or else we would never make it up and back from the top before dark. Fortunately, I was able to stay in the group going to the top along with our professors. I enjoyed hiking near the professors, so that I could hear them explain the biology and geology of what we were seeing. It was a challenging hike, but very rewarding to get to see inside the caldera on top. There was a lake, where two guys in our group decided to go swimming, while I was busy chasing amphibians around the shallow margins. I saw a species of leopard frog, but couldn't catch any of them. I soon forgot about the frogs as I came across what looked like a gigantic tadpole. I almost caught that one, but it squirmed out of my hands. I then noticed that there were dozens cruising around in the shallow waters ahead of me. After I caught one, I called Dr. Heyborne over to see what I had found. By this time, I was halfway around the lake. I thought it was some ancient species that had been isolated in the caldera for thousands of years and was either a giant cryptic frog species or some form of heterochrony, where a species can mature while retaining juvenile characteristics. Dr. Heyborne was impressed to see tadpoles that size, but said he knew of some species that could grow that big before meta-morphing into adults. By the time we took photos and met back up with the group, I had a few minutes to scarf down a bean and rice burrito that the tour guides had prepared for us. Getting started again was strenuous work and I feared that my legs were going to cramp as we hiked up and out of the caldera. The trip down was quick and we got to see more wildlife, including anole lizards, howler monkeys, and white-throated magpie-jays. After we had changed out of our muddy clothes and cleaned up, we went back to see our tour guides and have dinner. I thought it was crazy to have all three meals from the same people. However, the leader of the tour guides that took us up the volcano also runs a farm and restaurant on the island. His restaurant is mainly supplied by his own farm and they specialize in baked goods and pastas. Running tour groups up the volcano help provide funds for him to do what he does. It was really cool to hear his story and help support him as he tries to run a self-sustaining eco-friendly organization. Also, the food tasted amazing!

Inside the caldera of Maderas

Nicaragua Day 4

We had to be up and ready to leave early on Thursday morning in order to have enough time to make it across the country and onto a ferry boat that makes only two trips per day. It was a long drive, but I enjoyed seeing more of the country and its likeness to Mozambique. We drove through Managua and made a stop near the Masaya Volcano at a market place overlooking the Laguna de Apoyo which is where our third and final destination was. We arrived in the early afternoon at the ferry crossing station with only a little time to spare. The ferry we took crosses Lake Nicaragua from San Jorge (St. George) to the island of Ometepe. There are two volcanoes on Ometepe; Concepcion and Maderas. It was a very cool sight to see as we crossed the lake via ferry boat. After arriving on Omatepe, we still had to drive around to the far side of the island. Our new home for 3 nights, located in the town of Merida, was a bilingual school which also offers rooms for rent in order to help fund the school. Other than educating local kids and teaching English, the school does a lot to help clean up the trash on their island. Plastic bottles are collected and packed with non-biodegradable products. Once enough of these packed bottles are collected, they are used in constructing the walls of the school. The school buildings consist mainly of small rooms separated by tall walls, with a metal roof covering the rooms. Low walls run along the sides of the buildings and allow for ventilation to cool the rooms in mid day. Used as space fillers, the bottles reduce the need for concrete and remove trash from the environment. It is a simple idea that many of the local people are getting on board with. By the time we arrived at our rooms, it was dark outside. We had traveled almost the entire day, but before going to bed we had one last adventure to complete. Being on an island, in the middle of a large freshwater lake, located in the tropics is a Biologists dream! Along with Dr. Heyborne and other biology students, we explored the area at night. With our headlamps on, we searched the beach and nearby areas for wildlife. There was a good variety of toads, snakes, insects, and plants in such a small area. Exploring for herps (reptiles and amphibians) became a nightly routine for the remainder of the trip.

View of Ometepe from San Jorge

Nicaragua Day 3

Our second full day in Nicaragua and our last in Las Peñitas was just as exciting as the first. We met up in the morning just down the road not far from our hostels. There was a little cove protected by a sand bar where the local fishermen docked their boats. We met up with some of these fishermen who operate a tour guide company and help spread awareness about protecting the mangroves nearby. On the south end of Las Peñitas is a mangrove forest with a long island running along the coast and buffering the forest from the sea. That island is named Juan Venado or in its English translation, John Deer Island. I was confused when the tour guides called this area an estuary, but also told me that there is no freshwater river flowing into the mangrove. An estuary is the transition zone where freshwater meets seawater, so they are obviously mistaken in the use of the term estuary. Although they may not have an education in biology, they are contributing a lot to the conservation of the mangroves. There are some local people who are cutting down the mangrove trees for wood and hunting the resident fauna for food. These human influences are causing negative impacts to the ecosystem. Mangrove trees provide protected breeding habitat for many fish species and help to filter contaminants from the water. With the loss of these mangroves the fishermen will be without a job and food, which is why they are taking action. They petition their local government for protection of the environment and lead groups to help replant deforested areas with new mangrove trees. Having learned of the mangrove situation from our tour guides, we set out by boats on a three hour tour. Yes, that is correct, a three hour tour on a boat. Thankfully, we had two professors with us to solve any problems should we have found ourselves stranded and nobody was named Gilligan. The tour was quite fun as we saw some green iguanas, giant web building spiders, a variety of birds, and men harvesting wood from the mangroves. Our tour guides exchanged a few words with them in passing. We made our way to the turn around point, where we actually were allowed out of the boats. We were told that everyone was to connect with their ancestral past and walk through the mangroves like the monkeys do. I joked that if I connected far enough into the past, I would be swimming! We followed single file through the mangroves staying on the strongest branches. At one point, we may have been about 10 ft above the water. It was a memorable tour that did last three hours, however we did not get stranded. The rest of the day was spent enjoying the beach, preparing to leave for Ometepe in the morning, and an eventful evening exploring the city of Leon where some of us were unsuccessful at getting dinner. That is a story for another time.

Nicaragua Day 2

We followed a cycle of travel day followed by a strenuous day and then an easy day at each of our three destinations. This was our first strenuous day of the trip. It really wasn't to strenuous. We drove from Las Peñitas through the rural countryside of Nicaragua to the volcano called Cerro Negro or the Black Hill. We were led by the Quetzal Trekkers on this trip for an epic day of Volcano Boarding! The challenging part of this trip was the hike uphill with our denim packs loaded up with  a denim jumpsuit, gloves, goggles, water, and our volcano sleds. It was an impressive site all around from the volcano we were standing on to the landscape dotted with volcanoes and signs of their destructive influence in the distance. We could feel the heat generated by the volcano by digging down a little bit into the ground and feeling the scorching heat wave being emitted. Kathy, one of our trip coordinators and a native of the country told us about how they are a Volcano People in Nicaragua. They take pride in the natural elements of their home. After climbing to the top and staring down into multiple volcanoes on this trip, we became honorary volcano people. I was a little nervous about sliding down the volcano because it was very steep, but I just dug my heels in to the cinders and took it at a steady pace. Some people were cruising down and a few even crashed. Overall, it was a fun and exciting experience to see this northern part of Nicaragua and participate in one of their most iconic activities. The rest of the day was enjoyed at the beach back at our hostels in Las Peñitas . Not a bad day to start a memorable trip in the country.

Nicaragua Day 1

The first day of our trip was a travel day. We had two flights starting in Las Vegas, passing through Miami, and down to Managua. We had two vans waiting to drive us to our first hostel in Las Peñitas , a tourist destination near the city of Leon. It is located southwest of Leon along the Pacific coast. I was amazed at how similar Nicaragua compared with Mozambique. Everything from the vehicles, streets, houses and stores. While there are some cultural differences, the living conditions of many people are the same. There are many living in poverty and life seems simple. At Las Peñitas , we were separated into 3 houses along the beach. The heat and humidity took some time to adjust to, but I got put in the nicest place which had a great air conditioning unit!