Volcan Concepcion and the uber-fit germans.

I only had 2 days in Nicaragua, so I went to the Isle de Ometepe which is a large island which has two volcanos on it.  One is a live volcano, the other is extinct and has a lagoon and cloud forest at the top.  I only had time to climb one, so I picked the live volcano, Volcan Concepcion.  According to the guides, tt is one of the toughest climbs in Nicaragua. The slopes are very steep and the volcano is one of the highest in Nicaragua.  

The hike up Volcan Concepcion was pretty hard, and up and back took about 8hrs, but it was not the hardest hike I've ever done.  However, I did feel a bit second rate doing the climb seeming the only others on the tour were to uber-fit germans who just raced off up the mountain leaving me for dead.

But I kept on going.  And going.  This volcano is the second steepest in the whole of central america.   And it is a mix of slippery shoal and steep rock so hard to climb.  So I was using my hands as well as my feet to climb up.  After a while the guide came back for me, and he took my bag which made things a little easier.  And finally I made it to the top.  The view is pretty spectactular, you can see the whole island and the other volcano, as well as down into the crater of concepcion.  The crater was smoking and but you couldn't see right down into it without probably falling in.

The hike down was just as hard as the hike up because of the slippery rocks and shoal.  The german girl struggled and a one stage fell and rolled about 3 times before stopping.  When I asked if she was alright, she said it was about the 10th time she'd fallen, then she sat down and started crying.  Which was good, made me feel a bit tougher.  I may be slow but at least I didn't cry!
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On the hike back my guide was telling me how in the morning he didn't think I would make it to the top.  I sure showed him.  I just took my time doing it!  However, I think he took a bit of a shine to me as I was down at the bar of the hostel looking through the menu when he appeared.  He'd come to the hostel looking for me.  Then he told me the hostel kitchen wasn't even open tonight and asked if I wanted to go have dinner with him.  I couldn't really be bothered, but he'd already caught me going through the menu so I couldn't tell him I wasn't hungry.  It felt a little like an awkward first date, as he was asking all these questions about whether I think I'll get married and have babies and telling me his life plans.  But he was nice and helped me practise my Spanish, so I just mentioned 'mi novio' a few times to make sure he wasn't getting the wrong idea. 
Anyway, Sloth Sanctuary next! Yippee!