http://www.mombacho.org/

Our first field trip this semester was to a dormant volcano. We left Casa Verde at 7 a.m. for the one-hour drive to the base of Mombacho National Reserve. There we loaded into the back of a large truck and zigzagged up the side of the volcano.

We slowly ascended 4000 feet, in low gear all the way, and then found ourselves literally in the clouds. The reserve is a cloud forest: trees laden with orchids (including both the smallest and the second-to-largest orchid species in the world), moss covered rocks, and 5000 wet steps cut out of tree stumps. We divided into groups and spent the next 2-3 hours hiking through the woods with expert guides. About 11 a.m. the wind started up, blew away the clouds, and revealed Lake Nicaragua, the island of Ometepe, and the city of Granada below us.

After a delicious lunch of grilled chicken, rice, fried plantains, salad and gaseoses (soft drinks), we got back in the truck and headed down the mountain. Halfway down we stopped at a coffee farm to transfer onto another truck. Free cups of coffee awaited us – a a great sales tactic for farm fresh beans available for a whopping $6 (US) per pound. In Nicaragua this is considered very expensive, but many of us thought it was a great deal.

Next we drove to Lake Nicaragua for a boat tour of the isletas around the colonial city of Granada. There are 365 islands, one for every day of the year. We didn’t see all of them, but most of the ones we did see are owned by wealthy Nicaraguans and people from the U.S. The highlight was the stop at the island “owned” by four or five monkeys. Our boat driver knew them by name and coaxed Lola onto the boat. As you can see, she took an immediate liking to Jesse!

On the way home we stopped in Granada to see the Cathedral, meander through the Parque Central and browse the crafts for sale on the square.