Well, I didn’t get around to writing any updates in Grenada! I spent a few days there checking out the sights and staying at The Bearded Monkey hostel. Very good hostel and facilities, highly recommended and seems to be a regular tarvellers hangout. It’s in all the guide books, so I guess that’s hardly surprising. Adam arranged for his card to be sent there so we stayed a day or so longer than anticipated just to kill a bit of time. We took a great day trip to the Monkey Hut on Laguna de Apoyo which is a sister property of the guys who own The Bearded Monkey. A really relaxing place to spend a couple of days however Tom was heading off to LA the following day so we just took a day trip instead.
Tom departed for LA on his way to Fiji after a few too many drinks the night before so I hope he managed the travelling without any mishaps! He also left the hostel without paying as he was somewhat dazed in the morning. I picked up the tab, so hope I can get in touch with him!
We had travelled to Grenada from Leon with Johnny, a Spurs fan, but I won’t hold that against him! He needed to head out to Managua to collect a parcel which had been sent from home, so we departed for Isla de Ometepe and he headed to the post office.
We decided to visit Isla de Ometepe to take in some more volcanoes. We travelled with a couple of Swiss girls, and Stacy from LA. Ometepe is a small island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua that is a sort of figure of eight with a volcano on each side. We decided to head to a place called Playa Venecia which had been recommended by a Andy who we met in Grenada. Fortunately for us we managed to hitch a ride with a couple of Americans who had travelled through Central America from Colorada in a camper van.
Playa Venecia was somewhat quieter than we had imagined with little to do both during the day and evening. There was only internet connections in the main towns, Moyogalpa being the closest for us. Adam and I hired some bikes to take the trip into town so that we could get online and let Johnny know where we were for him to catch up with us. I had arranged to contact home on the Weds but needed to get the bikes back so had to postpone that. The ride took just over an hour both ways and was definitely not worth it! We should have got the bus for 10 Cordobas instead! You live and learn.
Johnny arrived the next day having successfully picked up his package from home along with an American guy Jamie who he’d met on the trip over. We decided to take a trip up the Volcan Concepcion the next day, a trek of some 8-10 hours according to the guide book.
We set off at 6am to catch the bus into Moyogalpa to meet our guide and take another bus to La Concha where the trail starts. We started the actual trek at around 7:45am armed with some food and about 3 litres of water each. The first 40 mins or so was easy flat terrain to get to the base of the volcano, at something like 35m above sea level. After that the ascent got steeper and steeper! The next section was like walking through the jungle with dense vegetation and tree roots to contend with, after several hours we got to the ‘half way’ point at around 1000m. I was starting to feel like I was doing a marathon again! I had already gone through 2 litres of water and sweated out about 3; I honestly can’t remember sweating more in my life. My t-shirt was dripping with sweat and my shorts soaked; I also smelled pretty ripe.
We stopped for around 20 mins for some cheese sandwiches and then started an even steeper section of the climb beyond the tree line. After probably around half an hour we stopped for another break and Adam decided he was too tired to continue further, so waited whilst Jamie, Johnny and I continued to the summit, which took another 80 minutes or so. It took around 4 hours to actually ascend to the top. We were all pretty tired and got a few quick photos due to hundreds of insects at the top before starting the treacherous route back down. This was harder work than going up! We reached where Adam had waited about two and a half hours after leaving him and then all started the trip back down.
We reached the jungle section again just as the heavens opened we got soaked. By this time I’d run out of water and really needed some more. I was beginning to think I’d never make the trek back. After what seemed like an age and in total around 8 hours we made it back to where the bus dropped us off; very satisfying but very tiring! Needless to say, the next day we sat around and did nothing. We left Ometepe the following day. Adam returned to Grenada to wait for his bank card, and Johnny, Stacy and I headed into Costa Rica.
As it turned out it appears Adam has cancelled his replacement card and decided to head home although I’ve not heard from him yet to find out how he got on sorting this out.
The three of us arrived in Liberia and sorted a ‘cheap night’ at the Hotel Liberia. I say ‘cheap’ because Costa Rica seems a bit more pricey than the other countries I’ve been to so far. We had a great pizza that night just round the corner from the hotel at a place I can’t remember the name of, but it’s in the Lonely Planet.
Next day Johnny decided to move on to Monteverde, and Stacy and I to Tamarindo, which is where I am now. Great internet connection here but about twice the price I’ve been paying.
Tamarindo is a small surfers town on the Pacific Coast with loads of property being built and US real estate companies selling land. Prices are probably the most expensive in Costa Rica here. I’m planning to move on to La Fortuna tomorrow, partly because the weather’s not so great but also because there’s not alot to do here except surf and that is expensive to do compared to the budget I’ve been working to.
