I’ve been on quite a lot of volcanoes. No big deal, in Central America they stretch from Guatemala through El Salvador, continues through Nicaragua and straight on to Costa Rica. There are so many, I don’t even know how many, but there are a lot. I haven’t been on all of them, obviously, but I’ve walked up more than I like to think of, and have driven past so many perfect cones that I stopped noticing them. They are just there. It’s just a volcano… and so what!?
Well that changed today. I am on my own these days, Kattia and the children are in Costa Rica on vacations, and I felt like driving out into the wilderness with our dog Anton, and see something new. And I most certainly did. After three hours drive, quite a few stops to ask for directions – followed by a couple of detours because some of the directions were wrong – I arrived at the foot of Cerro Negro, Nicaragua’s youngest volcano, with the latest eruption in 1992.
And now I see why it is called Cerro Negro – Black Mountain. The entire volcano is covered with a deep layer of volcanic sand and tiny stones, making it look somewhat like a beach, only without water. The atmosphere is astonishing. A blazing sun above, steaming heat below, and flickering air making the horizon blurry. Not a sound, no life at all, everything is just black, dead and quiet. No birds, no plants, no wondering dogs, no cows, no nothing. Just a stupid Dane climbing up the volcano and his whining dog complaining with each step he has to make on the burning, sharp stones. For the same reason, this time I only made it halfway to the top, missing the last steep part and the view from the summit at some 1.000 metres above sea level.
Maybe next time I will get to the summit. Because I will most certainly return. Cerro Negro is a fairly unknown jewel on the long list it things that are worthwhile visiting in Nicaragua. Far off the beaten track, yes, but who cares, the isolation is part of the show, it just wouldn’t be the same with a bar blasting out local salsa at the foot of the mountain – though selling drinks at a place like Cerro Negro might turn out to be a profitable business. But I prefer the quietness, the sense of natural greatness and my own humbleness – and then take the drink somewhere else. Certain things are best kept apart.
Posted by Christian Korsgaard
