Telica Volcano
Crossing the border from El Salvador to Nicaragua seemed a bit more daunting than it actually was. I found little information online, and some of it was contradicting, which resulted in me not being sure what the process would be like. Thankfully, in reality it was quite easy, although a somewhat unusual process.
When I got to the immigration office at the port, which was a small building, I was told to hand over my passport and wait around for about an hour. I have no idea why such a long time was required for that check, but it’s like I had a choice in the matter. While I waited, other people arrived, and eventually we formed a group together. After receiving my passport back, I made my way along with the others toward the pier, where no boat was waiting. Instead, we had to wait for the boat. When it finally arrived, it was a lot smaller than I expected, and the group filled all the seats on board.
The ride over to Nicaragua was pretty smooth, although occasionally I did get water sprayed in my face. When we got to the port of Potosí, it was possibly the most surprising part of the whole process. It simply didn’t look like a port. We landed seemingly in the middle of nowhere, and it could have easily been a cartel dropoff point.
The group got off the boat, and two men in matching shirts handed us entry forms to fill, shortly before checking our bags. From there we walked for a couple of minutes to a more official looking building, where we had to pay the entry fee. That step took a long time, for unknown reasons, and some of us had to pay more. It wasn’t clear if it’s because they didn’t feel the online form or not, but at least that was the final step. We were finally in Nicaragua, and all that was left to do was take the shuttle to León, my first stop in the country and the beginning of another adventure.
However, by that point, I was starting to feel lost, stressed, and in need of some rest. I need to take some time to relax and not do much. And I was planning to do that, right after hiking up a volcano. There are several volcanoes around León, and tour agencies who offer various excursions and hiking options. Those tours were not cheap, and it didn’t take long to realize that at least with some of the volcanoes, a tour is not necessary.
For my first hike in Nicaragua (and the last one before taking some time to rest), I decided to go for Volcano Telica. Just like in El Salvador, there wasn’t much information online, and the majority of it was about doing it with a tour. But I did find some information, and felt confident enough to give it a go on my own.
Early in the morning, I packed some food and an extra layer of clothes (it was rumored to be cold at the top, and there was a rainy forecast), and headed over to the bus terminal. There were several bus routes with a stop in San Jacinto, where I was going to start the hike, and after a bit of confusion I found myself on one of those buses. The ride was a lot shorter than I expected, less than forty minutes, and after getting some snacks, I headed down the road to the beginning of the trail.
My first stop was the mud pits, where pools of boiling mud, heated by the volcanoes, were erupting (barely) and spraying a small circumference around them. There was a marked trail going around the pools, at a safe distance, and after a quick look around me I headed up the trail into the forest.
Along the way, there were several paths to pick. I consulted people I saw along the road, as well as my smartphone, to make sure that I’m heading in the right direction. It was not difficult, but it took a bit of time.
And then I found myself in the middle of a farm, with crop fields on both sides. While I had seen it before, this was perhaps the first time I was actively going in the field, along a narrow trail, careful not to step over any plants. The few people I’ve seen working there were pretty far away from me. The view I could see around me, after coming from the woods, was pretty great. I wasn’t quite sure which of the mountains in the distance I’m going to climb, but it made me feel excited.
I kept going along the trail, up until the point where the trail wasn’t clear anymore. At that point I found myself not far from one field worker, who was heading in my direction. When he was close enough, I caught his attention and asked him for the trail for Volcano Telica. He said something I didn’t quite understand, so I counted on my understanding of his body language and hand signals quite a bit more. I thanked the man and went on my way.
For a while, nothing special happened. I followed the trail, keeping a close eye on the map, while looking at the views around me. Then, around a bend next to a random horse, the road seemingly stopped. I looked around me, went back a little bit to see if perhaps I missed a turn, consulted the smartphone again, and ended up at the same spot next to the horse.
Not wanting to give up quickly, I decided to take a leap of faith, and try to trust the smartphone perhaps a bit more than I should have. The trail it showed was going into the bushes. Looking at the ground, it seemed like something that in Australia would be considered a trail, a small path with overgrown trees and bushes on both sides. Still, it was going somewhere, and I followed it. It was a bit difficult, as I was going through overgrown vegetation, but a few minutes later the road opened up a little, and it was easier to walk.
A few more minutes passed by, and I came to the end of the road. There was a barbed wire fence blocking the road, which was mentioned in one online post I found as something to expect, and climb over. Still, I debated with myself for a few minutes before giving it a go. It didn’t take long before the road seemed to end. While the path kept going, it curved to the right, and looked like it’s an access to someone’s house. And then the smartphone kept pointing in the other direction, where I could see no path at all. Being there, I felt uneasy to begin with, and adding to that the thought of bushwalking, it was too much for me. I turned around, over the barbed wire, through the farm, and all the way back to San Jacinto, where I took the bus back to León. I don’t know if I missed some information, or if there was another problem, but this time I didn’t make it to my goal. Still, there were quite nice views along the way, which I was glad I got to see.
Back in the city, I changed accommodations to a hostel which wasn’t perfect, but better than the previous place I stayed at. There, I took some time to rest and organize my thoughts before doing anything else. As it happened, the hostel offered Salsa lessons, and while dancing wasn’t really my thing, I had nothing planned and the class was free of charge, so I thought I’d give it a go.
It turned out to be quite funny, and that in turn made the whole process fun. The group of travelers who were in the hostel at the time didn’t really have a clue as to what to do, and following the instructor wasn’t easy, even when he demonstrated simple steps. Each person was practicing the moves individually, often making a mistake along the way and laughing about it, while trying to not hit or get in the way of everyone else. We then repeated the steps, faster, and the final step was to do it with music.
After a short break, we were paired up, with one person as the follower and the other as the leader. Not knowing what I’m doing, I didn’t have a preference for the role. My dance partner was new to it too, and she suggested that I’d be the leader. Once more, we started simple, and then sped up. This time we had someone to share these moments with. Every few minutes the instructor would call for us to switch partners, so the leaders all moved around in a circle against the clock to meet their new partner. In the end, I didn’t feel like I had a good grasp of Salsa, but I enjoyed the experience quite a bit.
After resting a little bit more, I set about trying to figure out what I want to do in Nicaragua, and in particular León. There were quite a few volcanoes and mountains in the area, with most of them being known enough so that I could find some information in English. Unfortunately, most of that information led to the expensive tour agencies.
Then I came across what google marked as “Rota”, and Maps.Me marked as “Cerro Rota”. It seemed possible to get there, as I’ve seen a blog post mentioning the town of Rota for those who wish to visit Cerro Negro independently. Having no information about something that seemed easily accessible intrigued me quite a bit.
However, when I got to the bus terminal, there was no bus heading there. Asking around, I was first directed to the other side of the terminal, then to another market, and finally to a tour agency. That agency in turn also directed me to the market, although it wasn’t clear when exactly in the part, and at what time. At that point, it was getting too late in the day to try and go there, so for the second time since I got to Nicaragua, I was not successful in reaching my goal, and had to think about whether or not I’d like to try again another day.
Hoping for something easier and more straightforward, I hopped on a bus to La Paz Centro, and from there on another bus to Old León. Along the way, I talked to a few people, with some of them in English, and they were doing their best to help out. At the right stop, the bus driver pointed out the way and gave me some basic instructions, as I did have to walk around for a few minutes. However, when I got to the right spot, it seemed closed, and after getting help from a passerby, I managed to talk to an employee at the site, who said it was closed. After three unsuccessful attempts, I felt like the wind was taken out of my sails. And then I got sick, and was unable to do anything for a while. Even though I did manage to visit a couple of museums in town, things were not going well for me, and I was less enthusiastic about León than I originally was.
I rested, got better, and decided I want to give Telica Volcano another go. I got up early in the morning, made my way to the bus terminal, and this time, armed with knowledge from another traveler, I got off at a different stop, La Quimera Bridge, which was less complicated.
The first section of the road was very sandy, and walking along that trail was not very comfortable. It also made me worry about going back, walking on that sandy path while being tired. Nevertheless, it was a more straightforward road, so it was certainly worth enduring. I did not see many people there like I did in San Jacinto, and I wasn’t sure if that’s a good sign or a bad one, although either way I didn’t have much choice in the matter if I wanted to try to make it to the top of Telica.
The sandy road merged into a forest, where the sand was still plentiful, alongside more solid ground, which was easier to walk on. The further into the forest I went, the denser it became, and I found myself climbing over bent brunches more than once. There were also rocks to climb on occasionally, although none of it was really challenging.
At some point a thought occurred in my head, that so far the road was pretty leveled, and I didn’t feel like I was climbing up like I was supposed to. Looking at the map on my smartphone, I was off the main path somehow. That came as a surprise to me, since I was pretty sure I kept myself on the main road, but as I went further along the trail I got further away from the main path. I kept going, hoping for a side trail that would connect me to the main trail, until eventually I hit a dead end. I found myself in front of a high stone wall, and had no choice but to turn back around.
Eventually I found my way to the main trail, although that was a detour of about forty minutes which I was not happy about. From that moment, I kept a very close eye on the map, and drained a considerable amount of battery life doing so. It took me quite a while to try and relax, and even so I checked the map quite often until I got to the crater.
Not too long after getting back on the right trail, there was an incline in the road and I started climbing up, with some sections of the road being more steep than others. It was a bit more challenging, with some parts of the road being narrow, but it wasn’t difficult to walk along.
The road opened up, and I started to see some view between gaps in the trees, which was quite encouraging. Seeing all the green and the mountainous terrains as I walked by made me feel like it was already worth the effort. And then I saw the first glimpse of the top of Telica Volcano, the smoky crater, brown-orange in contrast to all the green. It stood out and captivated me the moment I saw it.
Sadly, a few short moments later the views were gone. I was back in the thick of the woods, and at that point I was feeling tired and the long walk. I started to take more breaks, slow down a little bit, and wonder how long it would take until I reached the top. I still checked the map on the smartphone, although the road seemed to be getting longer every time I looked at it, an evidence of me not being very energetic.
I was about to take another break, when the road leveled, it was easier to walk along the trail again, and then I stopped in my tracks. I had a good, clear view of Telica’s crater, and I knew I was finally at the top. Not only that, but I could also hear the volcano, the lava flowing inside the crater. It was rejuvenating. As if my body forgot to feel tired, I carried myself forward, rushing a bit, in my eagerness to get to the very edge of the crater.
I was still some distance away, but I was at the top, the road was more or less leveled, and I was filled with joy, having made it this time.
At first I took a detour to what was marked on the map as the campsite, where there was a worn down sign, and quite surprisingly, a few horses grazing. From there the path more or less stopped, it was a matter of self navigating along the rocky and volcanic terrain. From the campsite, I made my way to what was marked as “Viewpoint”, which was overlooking the city far below, along with all the nature. As I made my way over there, I noticed a small structure, like some sort of a shelter, although I had no idea what it was or the function of it.
Then it was time for the main event. I treaded between the rocks, looking around me with a smile on my face, enjoying this unique natural scene. It took me quite some time to navigate the area, which was not small and without an easy path to follow, but eventually I made it to the top of Telica’s crater, and looked down at the steam coming up. It was in the morning, so I was not able to see the lava, but I could still hear it. I stood there for a few moments, trying to take it all in. I’ve seen some pretty incredible stuff in my adventures, and although Telica Volcano wasn’t the best experience, it was certainly unique, and incredible in its own right.
The hike was not over yet. From the crater, there was a partially paved trail going to what was marked on the map as “Bat Cave”, which I also came across online when I looked into information as for how to get to this volcano without a guide. Getting a bit down from the high of being at the crater of an active volcano, I started to feel tired again and was certainly ready for a break.
It took me a while to figure out exactly where the cave is, and how to actually get there, as the last section of the road wasn’t clear, but about fifteen to twenty minutes later I was there. To me, it was less of a cave and more of a nook, but it was still quite nice. I could rest in the shade, and watch all the bats there flying around without interruption. There was part of me that felt like Batman, as I stood there and the bats flew around me, which was quite fun. I stayed there for a while, sitting down in the cool shade of the nook, enjoying nature and feeling quite happy about making it all the way.
After that I had another excursion planned, but unfortunately it didn’t work out. By that point, I felt like I definitely overstayed my welcome in León, and could only hope it wouldn’t be the same with the rest of the country.