Videos – Page 3 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Nicaragua Volcanoes

Here’s the video of the three volcanoes we visited in Nicaragua, courtesy of Trip Films.

Morgan’s Rock on Bahia Majagual, Nicaragua

The bus ride from Granada to Rivas was about two hours. Taxi drivers swarmed as soon as we got off the bus. One of them started to take my backpack. Espera, I said, almost pissed off. Calm down and wait for us to hire one of you before you take our bags. We needed a ride to Morgan’s Rock on BahÃa Majagual and we heard prices up to $40. I read beforehand that the ride to San Juan was about $18, but because Morgan’s Rock is a private hacienda, we negotiated with one of the drivers for $25. Moises followed the blue MR signs on La Chocolata Road for 30 minutes before we reached the security gate. The guard let us in after confirming our reservations and we kept driving through the private forest until we arrived at the main lodge where ice-cold cranberry juice was waiting for us. Staff members in white uniforms and khaki shorts took our bags to deliver them to our room while the manager showed us around. We laughed at ourselves because we’ve never stayed at a luxury place in Central America.

Inspired by the Lapa Rios Ecolodge in Costa Rica, luxury became an understatement the three days we were at the hacienda because it came with impressive responsibility. Morgan’s Rock is part of a 1,000-hectare tree farming and reforestation project as well as an 800-hectare private nature reserve. More than a million hardwood and fruit trees have been planted the last five years to bring back the animals native to the Pacific Coast. Howler monkeys woke us up in the middle of the night. Magpie Blue Jays and squirrels joined us for coffee in the mornings. Turtle eggs are monitored and protected on the beach. They have a sugar cane mill where they make their own rum, plus a farm provides food to the staff and the guests.

All the wood used to build the bungalows came from responsibly-managed logging sources and tree farming projects in the country to ensure ecological responsibility. The bungalows face west and have a view of the bay or the estuary and they were all designed to shelter guests from all kinds of weather. The designer and architect only used local materials and recycled wood while local artisans created and crafted the furnishings. The bungalows are connected to the main lodge by a 110-meter suspension bridge which was built so that trees weren’t unnecessarily cut. We had to climb 184 steps to our #15 bungalow so we made sure we packed everything we needed in the morning. There is no solar power but a bio-filter system was installed for water and the pool only uses natural salt to stay clean. They also built an on-site waste disposal plant and separation system and created a recycling project.

Ranchitos or huts sit on the beach to provide respite from the intense sun. A pool with an infinity-style edge is right next to the restaurant and bar. We signed up for a night walk one night with Juan where we saw all kinds of animals in the dark with the help of a flashlight. There were snakes, scorpions, bats, spiders, sleeping birds and butterflies and stinky howler monkeys. (When it started to smell like cow poop, Juan howled to attract them. We ran as soon as they responded because they apparently throw their poop to scare you away.) We also hiked around the forest one morning where we saw a few white-faced monkeys across the shrimp farm. We used the body boards when the waves were strong enough. Unfortunately, the estuary was too dry to kayak and it was too windy in the season to go fishing with the staff. We didn’t do much while at Morgan’s Rock except truly relax and tune out.

Where to stay in Bahia Majagual: Morgan’s Rock Ecolodge and Hacienda

Day 7: Surviving the Catalan Pyrenees

Our cameras were packed for our trek back to Restanca. We were in a hurry, not only to finish our hike and get the T-shirt we’ve been working our aSses for the last seven days, but we also had to catch the last bus back to Barcelona at 1pm. When we woke up at Ventosa the next morning, it was snowing. We trudged in the snow on the lookout for trail markers. Most of them were already buried in white, but we persevered even though the Dr. was bleeding from the chafing of his wet pants to his knees.

At Restanca, we received our tenth and last stamp on our forfait. One of the staff members handed us our T-shirts without any fanfare. I didn’t even care that the only size available was an extra large. We got out of there with fire in our pants and hiked for another hour to catch the cab waiting at the foot of the mountain that took us to the bus station.

Video diary, day 7: Surviving the Catalan Pyrenees

Aboard the six-hour bus ride back to the city, the Dr. and I would occasionally look at each other in disbelief. What were we doing for seven days in the mountains? Did we really get lost twice? What would have happened if we didn’t serendipitously find the house of the Long Island man? What if we didn’t get out of the forked road to Estanc Llong?

We had three days left on our vacation to contemplate all those questions. At the moment, Barcelona and civilization were waiting.

Day 6: From Llong to Ventosa i Calvell

We left Estanc Llong with a group of women, one of whom was a Canadian expat who spoke to us in English. She invited us to hike down the mountain with them where we grabbed a 4×4 to the opening of the trail to Ventosa i Calvell. Was it cheating? We didn’t think so. If the park ranger told us to take the shortcut to Blanc, we can take the shortcut to Ventosa. The hike was almost three hours from the visitors’ station up to mountains anyway. On our sixth day, we just wanted to finish our trek and make our way back to Barcelona.

After we separated from the women, the hike to Ventosa was chilly but pleasant. When we made it to the refuge, we saw snow on the mountains. We had the entire afternoon to rest, and we knew we needed it because the next day involved trekking back to our starting point at Restanca, going down the mountain, and making the 1pm bus back to Barcelona.

Video diary, day 6: Hiking to Ventosa i Calvell, snow in September

Day 5: From Colomina to Estanc Llong

The German couple at Colomina decided not to go ahead to Estanc Llong on our fifth day. It was simply raining too much. We’ve gone so far even after our first setback, we decided to go for it after breakfast. Visibility was at zero and we had large rocks to cross. The rain erased the paths. We followed as much as we can see until we reached a fork on the trail. We spent at least three hours trying both ways and retracing our steps. It was hard to swallow and admit that we were lost for the second time during our hike.

We looked around us to see where we can sleep as soon as it got dark. There were no trees and no crevices in the rocks. We had a sleeping bag, but it was also wet because of the rain. As soon as we stopped on our tracks, we shook and froze–we knew we had to keep walking.

Video diary, day 5: Arriving at Estanc Llong after getting lost for eight hours

Back in Colomina, another young German couple just came from Estanc Llong. We remembered them telling us that the refuge was nestled among tall trees. Since we’ve tried every which way to get out of the mountains, we followed the Dr.’s instinct and walked along the trees, praying under our breaths that our next turn would be rewarded with a view of the refuge.

I cried as soon as I saw the roof of the refuge. We really thought that we had to sleep in the rain out in the mountains. There was a smaller group already preparing for dinner when we walked in. We were so relieved to see other people again. During dinner, the only English-speaking hiker told us she was an expat from Canada. She invited us to hike down the mountain with her group, where we would catch another 4×4 with them and we would continue to our next stop, Ventosa i Calvell.