Telica

The drive to Telica was a very bumpy 1.5hr ride, as we drove through the countryside with rush hour traffic (aka cows, see picture). 

There was only 1 other lady who joined the Telica Sunset Tour, and even when we arrived at Telica, we were the only vehicle at the foot of the Volcano.

I was surprised that we took only 30 minutes to reach the top, and it was an easier climb than Cerro Negro, though with lots of uneven rocky paths.  Great views of the city along the way.

The weather had not been too great, so I was already prepped for not a great sunset.

Once the sun was almost gone, we made our way towards the crater, which was 700m wide and 120m deep.  There were no barriers around the crater, so I tried to make as much surface area as I can with my body and the ground. 

However, the viewing of the lava was also uneventful.

The crater was emitting lots of smoke and not only was the smell of sulphur strong, the fumes hurt my eyes when I tried to peer down the crater through the clouds of thick white smoke to spot the lava for long periods of time.  

Because of the smoke, all I could see were 2 small slots of glowing light looking like devilish evil eyes peeking through the white cloud.

I was so looking forward to a pool of lava viewing when I booked the tour.  I suppose we can't fight nature.

The wind was blowing strongly, and I was getting cold from some rain.  So after about 10 minutes of lava spotting, we made our way back down. 

Dark had completely set in by then.  Aided with just the light from my headlamp, I slowly made my way down over uneven rocky road.  I am super prone to ankle injuries, and sighed a big sigh of relief when I successfully made it through without any ankle accidents.