Howling Monkeys and an Anniversary of Waterfalls

 March 2018

Getting out of Nicaragua was a lot easier than getting in. Going through customs was nearly optional, quite a few people seemed to be bypassing it. Caught a bus on the border to Liberia and from there the only way to the Buena Vista Resort at the base of the Rincon de la Vieja (old woman’s corner) volcano was by taxi. Tucked away in dense bush this place was an eco paradise. With a vast number of criss crossing hanging bridges there was a surprise awaiting around every corner.

One day we were wandering across the bridges when we heard a loud overpowering howling. Cripes we thought, there is something big and nasty in here. As we got closer, it got louder and I expected to come across a large gorilla. To our surprise the noise was coming out of a fairly small monkey with a really big voice. A howling baby comes to mind. We stood for a while watching these howling monkeys swinging from branch to branch. 

Another day we went to step on a bridge and saw up ahead a python stretched across the bridge. Oh oh we thought, looks like we are not getting any further. We stood taking pictures while the snake slithered to one side of the bridge and then kept going, seemingly suspended in mid air, until it reached a branch and then pulled the rest of its body over. We hastily went across the bridge. On turning back we saw the python returning to its original spot, apparently only moving to get out of the way for us.

 

Another highlight of the resort was the natural hot springs and volcanic mud baths. The process goes like this: You take a tractor ride from the resort up to the springs. First step is to spend 10 minutes in the sauna to ‘open the pores’. This is a big room crammed with about 20 people on long benches. Once your pores are sufficiently opened you go around the corner where they have clay pots filled with hot volcanic mud that you slather all over yourself and each other. You let that dry until you are as stiff as a statue and look like one before taking an outside shower or letting yourself be hosed down by a staff member. Finally you leisurely take your pick from a number of pools fed by hot springs of varying temperatures. This was so luxurious and relaxing we did it every day, 3 times 👌🙂

The hotel also had a lookout reserved as the ‘sunset spot’. If you were around at the right time then that was the place to go with sweeping views all the way to the ocean and glorious sunsets.

Day 2 at the resort was the day of our 21st Anniversary. Of course the best way to make it special is to visit a volcano, right? We got up early for the hour long drive to the volcano national park on the Las Pailas side. Having a choice of multiple trails we selected the one to the Cangreja waterfall, which was supposed to flow into a swimmable brilliant blue pool. After an interesting 2 hour trek that seamlessly flowed from forest to desert and then to forest again and took us past streams of ants, iguanas and birds, we came to a waterfall that had a 'no swimming' sign on it. Beautiful anyway and flowed into a pool not of brilliant blue but the more cloudy glacier type blue. Some people swam in it anyway but we decided to just drink in the serenity. 

 After that trek we took the hour and a half trail around the geologically active region of bubbling mud pots and smoking fumaroles. With very tired legs (well me anyway) we got back and went on the last ride to the hot springs again. Just 5 of us there by that time & almost dark on our tractor ride back.

By day 3 at the resort we were way too relaxed, wandering the hanging bridges again, visiting the hot springs and letting the final sunset wash over us. As had become our pattern here we went and had our final buffet dinner, saying goodbye to our waiter Eloy, and went back to our room to prepare for the next leg of our journey the following day.