Today started with an 8am breakfast of scrambled egg with peppers and tomatoes in it, fresh fruit from our campsite and the most delicious bread we've tasted in a while. We also got treated to some really tasty hot chocolate and coffee too.
The weather - damp and drizzly - was not quite what we were hoping we would have for the day which we had ahead of us... Hiking up an active volcano!!! We split into two groups for the hike as some of us didn't fancy the 16km and opted for the 6km instead.
Once we started hiking we were actually quite grateful for the little bit of drizzle from the clouds that were actually giving us a little bit of shade from the burning sun. The hike, to start with, was quite
steep but once we got about 1km in, the ground started to even out... Much to our lungs delight!
The longer group had set off first and got to the crater at the 3km mark just as the clouds began to clear away - "time to re apply sun cream girls" we heard Katie and Steph say. Not so long after the
shorter hike group caught up with the first group at the crater just in time for a group photo with our famous flag and the magnificent view of the caldera as our backdrop.
The longer hikers set off again so it was time for the shorter hikers to stop at the crater, take a loo break if needed (yes... In the bushes with the most amazing view), and have a bite of lunch whilst overlooking the inside of the Sierra Negra volcano.
Personally, I had envisioned seeing red hot flowing lava but much to my disappointment it was 'just' black cold lava rock.... Still pretty cool really! Katie had said that she thought that she would see trees inside the volcano so we all had different expectations.
On the longer hike, the team encountered some more rain which helped to keep down dust. One of the struggles was trying to ration our water to only a couple of sips every now and then to make sure that we would have enough for the way down. The hike wasn't too challenging once a few km in as the ground once again did even out, making it all much more enjoyable. After about two hours we got to another view point of the crater and we saw lots of really beautiful lava rocks that were ever so sparkly and shiny. But to our disappointment we were unable to take any back (quite rightly).
We sat and had our lunch where we experienced quite a breeze - which meant anything unattached might blow away... so we had to run after Jane's hat!
Just before we started to make our way back down, our guide showed us some guava trees which the public are allowed to pick any ripe fruits from, so of course we did! Us Girlguides never miss an opportunity to get some free food!
Our route back down was quite a bit more challenging and than we had expected as the dust had started to dry out now and with sixteen pairs of walking boots trampling across the dusty tracks, it was inevitable that Ellie would end up with dust in her teeth! (We have tried to tell her to stop smiling so much but she was just enjoying herself so much that she could not help it!)
We arrived back at camp, covered in dust from head to toe, being welcomed by the shorter hike group all fresh and clean from their showers.... We couldn't get in the showers quick enough. However, with
only two showers between all of us girls, some of us decided to make some juice out of the guavas we had collected from the top of Sierra Negra. We shared the juice out between the girls and the general consensus was that actually, it was more of a dessert than a drink but was rather tasty nonetheless.
For dinner we all went out to Central Park with quite a selection of restaurants however, the majority of us ended up gravitating to the restaurant that had a sign saying "PIZZA"! We got back to our camp, relaxed on the hammocks and did a bit of stargazing and even saw the Milky Way with our eyes for the first time which was crazy exciting!
What a great way to end the day!
The weather - damp and drizzly - was not quite what we were hoping we would have for the day which we had ahead of us... Hiking up an active volcano!!! We split into two groups for the hike as some of us didn't fancy the 16km and opted for the 6km instead.
Once we started hiking we were actually quite grateful for the little bit of drizzle from the clouds that were actually giving us a little bit of shade from the burning sun. The hike, to start with, was quite
steep but once we got about 1km in, the ground started to even out... Much to our lungs delight!
The longer group had set off first and got to the crater at the 3km mark just as the clouds began to clear away - "time to re apply sun cream girls" we heard Katie and Steph say. Not so long after the
shorter hike group caught up with the first group at the crater just in time for a group photo with our famous flag and the magnificent view of the caldera as our backdrop.
The longer hikers set off again so it was time for the shorter hikers to stop at the crater, take a loo break if needed (yes... In the bushes with the most amazing view), and have a bite of lunch whilst overlooking the inside of the Sierra Negra volcano.
Personally, I had envisioned seeing red hot flowing lava but much to my disappointment it was 'just' black cold lava rock.... Still pretty cool really! Katie had said that she thought that she would see trees inside the volcano so we all had different expectations.
On the longer hike, the team encountered some more rain which helped to keep down dust. One of the struggles was trying to ration our water to only a couple of sips every now and then to make sure that we would have enough for the way down. The hike wasn't too challenging once a few km in as the ground once again did even out, making it all much more enjoyable. After about two hours we got to another view point of the crater and we saw lots of really beautiful lava rocks that were ever so sparkly and shiny. But to our disappointment we were unable to take any back (quite rightly).
We sat and had our lunch where we experienced quite a breeze - which meant anything unattached might blow away... so we had to run after Jane's hat!
Just before we started to make our way back down, our guide showed us some guava trees which the public are allowed to pick any ripe fruits from, so of course we did! Us Girlguides never miss an opportunity to get some free food!
Our route back down was quite a bit more challenging and than we had expected as the dust had started to dry out now and with sixteen pairs of walking boots trampling across the dusty tracks, it was inevitable that Ellie would end up with dust in her teeth! (We have tried to tell her to stop smiling so much but she was just enjoying herself so much that she could not help it!)
We arrived back at camp, covered in dust from head to toe, being welcomed by the shorter hike group all fresh and clean from their showers.... We couldn't get in the showers quick enough. However, with
only two showers between all of us girls, some of us decided to make some juice out of the guavas we had collected from the top of Sierra Negra. We shared the juice out between the girls and the general consensus was that actually, it was more of a dessert than a drink but was rather tasty nonetheless.
For dinner we all went out to Central Park with quite a selection of restaurants however, the majority of us ended up gravitating to the restaurant that had a sign saying "PIZZA"! We got back to our camp, relaxed on the hammocks and did a bit of stargazing and even saw the Milky Way with our eyes for the first time which was crazy exciting!
What a great way to end the day!
Beth and Kiera
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