Extreme Volcano Hike to Raise Profile of Ometepe

Dear Nica Times:

I would like to inform your readers that on Nov. 24 and 25 there will be an “extreme hike” on OmetepeIsland to increase awareness of ecotourism in this beautiful part of the country and to launch a new Web site to help the Maderas Reserve.

The reserve is protected by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA) and supported by Fauna and Flora International (FFI). The hike is the idea of FFI and we hope the event will help to stimulate tourism on Ometepe.

The hike will be on both volcanoes and throughout the island.We start at the registration point on Maderas Volcano, where we have a climb for about seven hours. We will sleep one night on the volcano, and the next day we climb up Concepción Volcano.

Two volcanoes in one weekend! The whole climb will be recorded and there is a maximum of 50 participants. There is a special Web site made for this sponsor hike, www.clarohike.com, named after the main sponsor CLARO. On the Web site, people can find more information and sign in. For more information, don’t hesitate to contact me (436-8040).

Lily Dröge

Ometepe Island