Vander Beek Speak: June 20: Mambacho Volcano & Canopy/Zip-line Tour

Joel and Lori (from the Manna Project) picked us up this morning and drove us to the Mambacho Volcano, about an hour’s drive south. At 11:00 we were greeted by a crew of friendly zip-line guides that would take us on the canopy tour of the surrounding reserve/jungle. We were quickly outfitted with safety harnesses, helmets and gloves. Then up to the top we went. There were 17 platforms in all and 1500 cables that took us from the tree top of one 300 year-old ceiba tree to another. It was an exhilatering and exciting experience to explore the beautiful views in such a unique way. Sophia was a little hesitant at first but even asked ‘when can we do this again?!’ after we were done. At times all three of the kids had to be accompanied by a guide but on some of the slower lines, Nathan and Angelina could go by themselves. Angelina, the bravest of us all, even hung upside down on some of them!

After some free coffee samples and a quick lunch we went on to the Mambacho Nature Reserve, a cool, misty cloud forest composed of 700 hectares on the top of the volcano reaching a height of 1,345 meters. An ecomobile (refurbished military jeep seating 25) took us up the slow, jerky 40% grade up to 1,100 meters. On our way up, privately owned coffee cooperatives and plantations lined both sides of the steep & curvy brick road. We also spotted orchids, calla lilies, bird of paradise flowers and numerous butterflies. At the top, we were able to hike around for an hour and half passing through lush jungle, large patches of wild flowers, and peer out at various lookout spots offering beautiful vistas of the Nicaraguan countryside. We could also see the 365 isletas below in Lake Nicaragua which are islands formed in the 1500’s when Mambacho erupted. Another highlight for George, Sophia and me were seeing three howler monkeys foraging for food along our hike. Unfortunately, Nathan and Angelina were more concerned about being the first one to the end of the trail and missed out on a memorable experience.

After a quick stop in the colonial city of Granada [long enough to grab a couple of tropical juice drinks and confirm we’d like to return for a longer visit], we headed back to Managua. We enjoyed dinner with Joel & Lori at TipTop, a popular KFC-like restaurant chain.

We were thankful we were able to enjoy such a great day of outdoor adventure without a soaking rainstorm. It’s rainy season and today was the first day since arriving that we didn’t have a rainstorm during the day….a refreshing one did come after we were in bed.