Best Vacation Ever

Number of Ticks removed: 39
Days Tick-free: 4


We’ve made it home from what was possibly the Best Vacation Ever. The trip was great before it ever even started. A while ago I may have mentioned that my watch stopped working (this I need for taking my data at 2 minute intervals); Rob and I actually found a battery for the watch in Moyogalpa. While we were waiting for the ferry, Rob put in the new battery, and my watch started working again, so I am back in business. Once we made it to the mainland, we stopped in Rivas where, after a very long and complicated (and at times, vomitous) process that spans approximately 3 years, I was finally able to acquire a copy of my research permit for this project. I’m just hoping that this is better late than never.

From Rivas we took a bus to the town of Masaya, and then took a taxi to the nearby Laguna de Apoyo. The place is absolutely beautiful and the Proyecto Ecologico is absolutely amazing. In addition to being a research station, it is also a Spanish school where travelers come to learn the language for a week or two at a time. The conditions were extremely rustic, but the ambiance definitely made up for it. Plus, the food was really great. On Thursday (24 May) when we arrived, they had vegetarian stir fry, complete with tofu for dinner. Believe you me, I savored every proteinaceous bite. Plus, the next morning for breakfast, there was actual cereal. It was some kind of granola/museli thing that had lots of crunchy bits and raisins, and though I normally shun dairy products, I couldn’t help but eat it doused in milk—it was delicious.

After breakfast on Friday (25 May), Rob and I went out to the forest with a guy named Pablo (neither of the 2 Pablos I have written about before), who is a university student and also sort of runs the Proyecto Ecologico, plus he is an expert in plants and birds. Unfortunately, we did not find the monkeys, but I could have told you that 9:00 in the morning is the worst time to try to find them. At any rate, Rob and I went swimming in the Laguna in the afternoon. The UNAN (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Nicaragua) students arrived from Managua on Friday afternoon as well. I got to meet Maria-Teresa, the student who wants to study howler monkeys for her thesis. Just to recap, the whole reason I went to Laguna de Apoyo was to teach methodology to Nicaraguan student(s) who want to do projects on monkeys. They’ve had a bit of biology background, but do not have anyone to really show them how to collect primate behavioral data, so that was my job.
Melissa by the laguna



At any rate, Maria-Teresa was extremely motivated to find the monkeys and learn how to collect data, so the next morning (Saturday 26 May), she and Pablo and I left at 5:00am to get started. We found the monkeys without too much difficulty, and Maria-Teresa and I stayed with them for several hours going over the data collection process. There are definitely plenty of monkeys in the area, but doing a project there will be quite a challenge. The terrain is extremely difficult. Picture a perfectly vertical wall. That is what it is like. After 2 days in the forest, my arms hurt so bad from pulling myself up the side of the volcano. But coming down was worse. At times you can be on your feet, but often the only way you can do it is just to slide down on your behind. I don’t think I could ever do a project in that location, but Maria-Teresa is undeterred, so more power to her. She is really a remarkable person. What is really remarkable is that she suffered through an entire day of my rudimentary Spanish and we somehow worked out a data collection protocol for her project.

On Saturday night, a British guy and American girl who were students in the Spanish school made a really fantastic dinner for all of us. One of the things they fixed was a fabulous and super-spicy vegetarian coconut curry—oh that was so good. Plus, someone had brought some wine, which really hit the spot. It was a really great night. I spent some more time talking with the director of the field station—a U.S. biologist who has so many stories about Nicaraguan flora and fauna, and someone I can hopefully continue to collaborate with in the future.

On Sunday (27 May) Rob and I decided to leave Proyecto Ecologico for the nearby town of Masaya. Before, I had only been to Masaya to visit its huge and famous artisan market (if you want to shop for Nicaraguan souvenirs, this is the place to do it), but once I actually had a chance to explore the town proper, I fell in love with it. Seriously, I was looking for apartments for rent. Maybe I was just a little starved for an actual city after so many months in extremely rural conditions, but whatever the reason, I really enjoyed the time we spent in Masaya. On Sunday afternoon, Rob and I went to the malecón to admire the view of the lake and the Volcan Masaya in the distance. We also went over to the hammock district, where I looked in every single shop to find the perfect hammock that I now have no idea how we will transport back to the U.S. Actually, we got two from the same family. I love these Nicarguan shops. Its not a big impersonal store like you would go into in the U.S.—these are actually peoples’ homes and you are kind of like in their living room, looking through their display of hammocks. After our tour of the hammock district, we went on to the artisan market where I did more shopping, but mainly admiring, of Nicaraguan handi-crafts.

Rob in the hammock district
Masaya Volcano



Rob was delighted to find an actual Subway restaurant in Masaya—who would have thought! That made for a good afternoon snack, and then for dinner we found a Tele Pizza that, according to Rob, served “not terrible pizza” (that is pretty much the highest pizza compliment Rob can award in Nicaragua).

The hotel we were staying at in Masaya (Hotel Maderas) was a really cute little place, and the owners were very friendly. Like all Nicaraguan hospedajes, the hotel was just an extension of the owners’ home—the “reception desk” was pretty much in their living room, and the whole family was often perched out there watching TV. In a totally random occurrence, it turned out that one of the girls Rob and I had just met at the Spanish school was actually living in an apartment right next to the hotel. So we hung out with her and her boyfriend on Sunday night and ended up having a really great time.

On Monday (28 May), Rob and I went to Masaya Volcano National Park. It was a short bus ride from town, and then a fairly step walk up to the “visitors center.” The visitors center was seriously amazing though. It could have been an art museum in itself. Someone who is at least as talented as DaVinci had painted all these completely amazing, very detailed murals of the volcanoes and various important ecological areas in Nicaragua. The artwork was so beautiful, I was content to walk around the museum for more than an hour. The main attraction of the park, though, is the active Santiago Crater of the Masaya Volcano. Its another 4km up from the visitors center, on a smooth paved road. Most tourists who visit the park have cars, but not us obviously. We started the arduous trek by foot, but luckily, some type of forest-ranger service vehicle picked us up on the way and took us to the top. Once we reached the summit, I couldn’t breathe without coughing, and the forest rangers made everyone put on gas masks because the sulfur fumes were so bad. The whole thing was a very surreal experience. Looking into this smoky, eery crater, and then seeing the other tourists with these alien-like gas masks on made the whole thing seem somehow other-worldly. But still, gazing into the mouth of an active volcano is something that just about can’t be topped.
Santiago Crater
Lava field from explosion in 1772

We came back from Masaya today (Tuesday 29 May). The UNAN student Pablo, who I had met at Laguna de Apoyo, also ended up traveling to Ometepe with us. After seeing his expertise in plants, I had invited him to come to Ometepe to help me identify some of the tree species I am uncertain about. The next couple of days, I’m going to have him go out in the forest with me and identify trees.

Its been a long trip and perhaps an even longer journey back to Ometepe after the trip; for the moment, I need to go and get myself rested for this plant expedition tomorrow. Will write more when I have a chance, thanks for reading!