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Volcán Concepción Erupts in Nicaragua This entry was posted on 2/21/2007 1:14 PM and is filed under eruption, Nicaragua, concepcion, Ometepe, volcano, petroglyph. One of my favorite places on Earth, Isla Ometepe in Nicaragua, has just added an explosive new tourist attraction. My friend Berman Gomez, expedition leader for the highly recommended tour outfit Exploring Ometepe (tel 00505-647-5179; located one block uphill from the Moyogalpa dock), just sent these awesome photos of Volcán Concepción erupting on February 9, 2007:
  There's no lava (yet), but be sure to check out the INETER (Nicaraguan Institute for Territorial Studies) website for the latest views via their real-time Volcán Concepción Cam. The menu at the bottom of the page links to webcams for other active Nicaraguan volcanoes, including Volcán Masaya, the world's most heavily venting volcano; red-and-black Momotombo, towering above Managua and star of its own Rubén Darío poem; and the three most active members of the Maribios Chain: Telica, San Cristóbal and young Cerro Negro, home to the hot new sport of volcano surfing.  Here's a satellite image of Nicaragua, one of the most volcanic countries on Earth. The visibly raised ridge of volcanoes and crater lakes marks a battlefront below, where the tectonic Cocos and Caribbean Plates collide; the spectacularly active fault line runs from the rounded, northwestern Cosigüina Peninsula (centered on Volcán Cosigüina) and parallel to the Pacific Coast down through enormous Lake Nicaragua, its own surface regularly punctured along the fault by volcanic islands. Isla Ometepe is the largest, dumbell-shaped isle, made of two volcanoes: active Volcán Concepción, to the northeast, and dormant Volcán Maderas, below.  I just liked this picture of Volcán Masaya, about 50 miles northwest of Volcán Concepción and Isla Ometepe, venting caustic sulferic gasses into space. Here's a picture from ground level.  Here's a closeup of Isla Ometepe (rotated about 90 degrees to the left/west; Lake Nicaragua is above, the Pacific Ocean below). Larger Volcán Concepción is on the left, Maderas on the right. The other large island, to the left of Concepción, is dormant Isla Zapatera, a ceremonial center traditionally considered the male counterpart to Ometepe's more feminine silhouette, and most easily visited via the rural tourism collective UCA Tierra y Agua (US$10 per dorm bed, including 3 meals). Farther to the left is a slender peninsula curling into the lake; this actually comprises the Isletas de Granada, 365 scenic and very accessible islets tossed out of Volcán Mombacho about 10,000 years ago.  This is the classic view of Ometepe, probably taken from the lakeshore about 30 miles north of the Costa Rican border, off the Pan-American Freeway. The best mainland views available of Concepción (left) and Maderas (right) are from an old Sandinista prison remodelled into a fairly luxurious hotel and bar/restaurant by Baseball Hall of Famer Dennis Martínez. The owner of Posada Chico Largo, a cool budget hostel near Charco Verde Regional Park, told me that the small, volcanic bump in between the two larger volcanoes was originally called Cinacupa (Nahuatl for "Bat Cave") but now goes by Mirador del Diablo (Devil's Lookout). It was one of several spots in Nicaragua where National Geographic filmed a special on vampire bats.  Looking south toward Volcán Maderas from Playa Santo Domingo, which stretches along the northeastern shore of the narrow isthmus that connects the two volcanoes, facing away from the mainland. This picture was taken during rainy season (April-October); the beach will extend several meters past the umbrellas by Christmas, when Lake Nicaragua's water level begins to drop. I actually prefer to visit Ometepe during rainy season, when crowds are smaller, costs and temperatures are lower, and the entire island becomes a brilliant emerald green after months in the golden-brown tropical savannah colors of dry season. Generally, late September through October is the region's wettest period, not really recommended for travel, but during most of rainy season Ometepe simply sees regular afternoon showers that last perhaps two to three hours, and brilliant sun the rest of the day.  My mother and I enjoying sunset on Playa Santo Domingo during dry season, with considerably more beach.  Looking north toward Volcán Concepción during quieter times, from Playa Santo Domingo (Santo Domingo Beach). It is considered the best, if windiest (look for kite surfers) beach on the island, and is home to the island's most luxurious accommodation, including Hotel Villa Paraíso, where I took my mom. Is Concepción dangerous? Well of course it's dangerous, it's an active volcano. But even during the last serious lava-hurling, flame-throwing, deafeningly explosive eruption of 1957, most residents refused to evacuate, and no one was killed. Regardless, remember that both ferry terminals (in Altagracia and Moyogalpa) are on the Concepción side of the island and therefore vulnerable; in the event of an emergency, it might be better to hole up on the Maderas side for a day or two. This map shows the ferry routes, but this one is probably more accurate geographically. There are currently no travel restrictions to Isla Ometepe, but feel free to contact Berman (in English or Spanish) to see if any are in place, or just to inquire about Concepción's mood. The easiest way to get to Isla Ometepe is from San Jorge, a picturesque lakeside town about 15 minutes (US$1.25 by taxi, 30 cents by bus) from the departmental capital of Rivas, which has a cool little museum.  Isla Ometepe's two major industries are plantains and tourists, both transported on the Ometepe Ferry. Rivas is convenient, about 40 minutes by bus from the surfing stronghold of San Juan del Sur, 1.5 hours from touristy, Spanish Colonial Granada, and two hours from the Costa Rican border; any international bus between San José and Managua can stop in Rivas. From San Jorge, small lanchas and larger, more stable ferries (US$1.56 and US$2, respectively) leave almost hourly for Moyogalpa, with abbreviated service on Sunday. You can also get the ferry from Granada at 3pm Monday and Thursday (US$3, 4hrs), or from San Carlos, on the other side of Lake Nicaragua, at 2pm Tuesday and Friday (9hrs, US$6). Although Concepción usually releases a few delicate puffs of gas and ash whenever I visit, volcanoes are notoriously unpredictable. Thus, lava-lovers would do best to plan as much time on or around the island as possible, to maximize their chances of seeing one of the rather cyclical eruptions of Concepción, also known as Mestlitepe (Nahuatl for "The Menstruating Mountain"). Though dormant at the time of the Spanish Conquest, in 1883 - the same year Krakatoa blew - Concepción began its most recent active cycle with a bang.  This 1856 image of Isla Ometepe, drawn by archaeologist and explorer Ephraim G. Squier, was made just a generation before Concepción awoke. Major and rather regular eruption cycles of 8-20 months, complete with lava flows, began in 1921, 1944 and 1957 (more complete records are available in English, from 1974-2005, and Spanish, 1883-2005). Thus, when a series of moderate ash eruptions and earthquakes set off between 1982 and 1983, many thought they heralded a return to those glowing days of lava and daring visitors from all over the world. Not that Isla Ometepe was getting many tourists during the 1980s, while the Contra War was raging on the mainland. Ometepe was spared the worst of the war thanks to Lake Nicaragua (sometimes still called Cocibolca, Nahuatl for "The Sweet Sea"), which earned it the nickname "Island of Peace." Anyway, if significant eruption cycles do rock the island after every two decades (or so) of less impressive activity - such as the fumeroles, ash plumes and tremors Concepción regularly displays - the February 2007 event may well portend several months of hot lava action. Or, perhaps it will just seem like a return to the 1980s (like the recent Nicaraguan and Costa Rican presidential elections), with regular ashfalls that locals will be sweeping up every morning at your hotel. Happily, there's plenty to do on Ometepe while you wait to see what happens. You will probably be able to find a guide for the usually popular hike to the top of Concepción (US$12-20pp, 10-12hrs) no matter what's erupting up there, but that DOES NOT mean that the route safe. Even if you plan to go through your hotel for (possibly amateur) guides, double check with one of the professional tour agencies in Moyogalpa about conditions at the top. Remember, you aren't just risking your life - you're also risking the lives of the rescuers who'll have to haul your sorry ass out of there. On the other side of the island, the mellower and muddier hike to the cloud-forest-topped and still dormant Volcán Maderas (US$5-10pp, 6-8hrs) is a better bet, and if you take the original path from historic Finca Magdelena (basic rooms US$2.50, fish dinners US$3), you'll get the money shot of Concepción from a lookout about 2 hours up. Two newer, slightly more difficult trails up Maderas start from highly recommended Albergue Ecologíco El Porvenir, with great views, lovely owners and lots of petroglyphs; and popular Hacienda Mérida, which is fine, but a bit much for me. Instead, consider staying at Monkies Island Hostel, 15 minutes uphill, a simpler spot owned by the sweetest family ever.  Kayaking Río Istiam (or is that Istián?) with Volcán Maderas in the background. Other options for adventure on Ometepe include horseback rides (US$2-5 per person, per hour); two tiny archaeological museums in Moyogalpa and Altagracia (US$1 each), both with scores of petroglyphs , amazing statues dating from 1200AD and weird funeral urns; taking the steep, 4hr hike to San Ramón Waterfall; kayaking Río Istiam; or just strolling a flat 15 minutes through the plantains to El Pozo de Agua, a swimming hole and natural laundromat close to popular Santo Domingo Beach. Another cluster of good hotels surrounds Playa Bancón, which is often greener, less windy and has views of the mainland, as well as access to the tiny Isla de Quiste and Charco Verde, the Green Lagoon. I liked Hotel Finca Playa Venecia (tel 505-887-1091; cabins US$10-35 pp). There are at least 12 other beaches scattered around the island, ask at your hotel about one convenient to walk or bicycle (crappy bikes are for rent all over the island, US$1/hr) to. Note the road between Moyogalpa and Altagracia is paved, but tothers aren't.  About three blocks uphill from the Moyogalpa Dock, on your right, the Internet y Sala Arqueológica de Moyogalpa (Internet and Archaeological Room of Moyogalpa; online access US$1.25/hr, museum US$1) has a building out back packed with Smithsonian-quality artifacts including these shoe-shaped funeral urns, many of which are designed to hold only the bones (but not the flesh) of the dead. Why? There are several theories, my favorite of which is that early islanders dropped their dead, wrapped in tough nets that would somehow protect the bones, into the lake, as an offering to the man-eating bull sharks they perhaps worshipped. Not exactly Occam's Razor, so ask Doña Ligia González during her very informative, Spanish-language tour of the collection for several more plausable explanations.  One of the more bizarre beaches you'll ever enjoy, Punta Jesús María is actually a narrow, almost-one-mile-long sandbar stretching into the lake from the Concepción side of the island, only accessible in dry season. Indigenous islanders used it as a natural pier, important considering the man-eating bull sharks that used to range between here and the Atlantic Ocean, but are now almost extinct in the lake. Jesús María is less than an hour by bicycle from Moyogalpa, or ask the hourly Moyogalpa-Altagracia bus to drop you off at the Punta; the stop is a half-hour walk to the lakeshore. Wear a hat and sunscreen!  This petroglyph is so cool, I put it on the title page of my independently published guidebook, A Week or Two in Southwest Nicaragua. I think it's a monkey. For more information about Isla Ometepe, check out my most recent book, Lonely Planet Nicaragua & El Salvador, or just google it - Isla Ometepe, along with Granada and San Juan del Sur, is the most easily accessible tourist attraction in Nicaragua, with fairly solid infrastructure, a wide variety of hotel and restaurant choices, and plenty of English-speaking locals who'll hook you up with whatever you need. Have fun! TrackbacksTrackback specific URL for this entry
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