Friday 25 October 2024
By Dawud Hussain and Mia Griffin
A massive day for Team #WeTwo as they took on the challenge of hiking Volcàn Sierra Negra but an even bigger day for Mia who celebrated her 18th Birthday! The day started bright and early with a buffet breakfast at Hostal La Gran Tortuga, on Isabela Island, before we journed to the volcano HQ to begin our ascent. The team arrived at the foot of Sierra Negra at around 8.30am where they were briefed by local guides Jessica and Marlon before the journey began.
A wet and misty start may have dampened the team’s jackets but failed to dampen the team’s mood as the singing from the Vermilion Flycatchers, Mia, Macy, Iyla, Faye and Sam kept the morale up. As they arrived at the first checkpoint they noticed the mist beginning to subdue and the sun starting to shine resulting in a rainbow, providing the perfect backdrop for the team to sing ¡Feliz cumpleaños! to Mia and enjoy some freshly picked Guavas as they learnt about the old folktale regarding the ‘Curse of the Guava’.
Team #WeTwo ready to rumble! Picture: Iyla Majeed
As it started to brighten up the team reached their second viewpoint, overlooking the extraordinary view of the volcano’s perimeter where they sat and took part in a short mindfulness activity ‘which allowed us to reflect on our experiences so far’ and ‘use some of our other senses to get a deeper understanding of our surrounding’ .
We then took a short detour to a smaller volcano where the team learnt more about Aah aah and Pa hoy hoy eruptions and were interested to find out the prickly pear cacti can live for over 100 years before reaching the summit for a short team building exercise before beginning their descent.
A Darwin Finch trying to grab some food from Team #WeTwo. Picture: Phoebe Smith
The team soon noticed the downhill descent to be far more challenging than they thought it would but that didn’t stop them from marching ahead before reaching the lunch stop where they enjoyed a prepackaged lunch of rice, a chocolate and a juice box. Which they ate alongside the company of many Darwin Finches hoping they may get a falling grain.
After walking round to see an outstanding view of the length they had walked they took some pictures before they continued on their way. The team then stopped to take in the beauty of what was the first viewpoint without the mist admiring the sheer size of the caldera where they were surprised to learn it was the second largest in the world.
Mia, Phoebe and Amari keeping up the good vibes. Picture: Mia Griffin
Sore feet, giggles and Macy’s constant need for the toilet were the main themes for the descent which felt far longer than it had on the way up. The obstruction of cows proved funnier than expected to the team who stopped for longer than necessary to admire their sheer size. Before making their way into the car park to the mini bus that was waiting for them. After petting two eager dogs the tired team bundled into the minibus for their journey back to the Hostel for a cold drink, some plantain chips and some much needed after sun for Mia and Macy.