May 11 Granada, Nicaragua

A sloth!

 Today I took a tour to the Mombacho volcano. It was a 30 minute drive to the base of the volcano where we switched to a big truck to continue to the top. We started at 300 meters and finished at 1100 meters. The peak of the volcano is 1300 meters.

After a short visit to information center we headed out for a one and half hour walk. The area is considered a cloud forest. It is similar to a jungle but it is covered with clouds a lot of the time. We stopped the first look out to look out over one of the two small craters at the top. There are 4 craters in total, 2 have collapsed overtime.

This volcano had its big eruption 10000 years ago and it is this volcano that created the isletas along the shoreline Lake Nicaragua.

We walked a bit further to another Lookout. This look out overlooked the city of Granada the isletas. We were lucky that the sky was clear.

A bit further down the path we stopped at another Lookout where we could see the Masaya volcano and the smoke coming from the top. In this area, there are several vents that are releasing Steam.

We then headed back towards The Visitor Center. Along the way we saw a sloth and a small hummingbird. On the way down the hill we stopped at coffee farm. The coffee is robista and has a different taste than arabica. I did buy some ground coffee so I will see what it is like.


May 10,2016   Granada, Nicaragua

Relaxing start to the day, as usual.When walking down the street to the Church of Merced I ran into The woman from the tour agent. She told me they had a tour to the volcano Masaya tonight. So I signed up for this tour. It turns out that the same French Canadians from the tour yesterday were on this tour.

They did not make it last night. After about a 45-minute drive we arrived at top. We had a great look over the edge of the crater and into a large Crater to see boiling lava at the bottom. The sun started to set and the lava really started to glow It was an amazing sight.They said we only had 5 minutes to look at it but it turned out it was about 30 minutes. While we were there there seem to be several TV stations doing interviews with people visiting the crater.


May 9,2016   Granada, Nicaragua

Today I took a walk down the commercial street which is where the little shops are. Interesting as the sidewalk is full of street stalls with larger stores in behind. Just like other mercados the street has everything you could want.

In the afternoon I took a boat tour of some of the 365 isletas created by the Mombacho volcano. Many of the islands are inhabited by rich people who have built huge homes. Very nice! There is 1 island with monkeys. We stopped at restaurant for a drink and we could have had a swim in the pool, but it looked a bit green! Very nice. They had timed the trip so that we could see the sunset. Beautiful!


May 8,2016   Granada, Nicaragua

Today I flew back to Managua and I had arranged for the hotel to pick me up and take me to Granada. Expensive but worth it.

It turns out the owner picked me up in his car. Interesting as his family bought the house before the revolution, and then rented it out while they fled to Mexico for 4 or 5 years.

Hotel and beach

Once in Granada he gave me a short tour of city then to a colonial house that has been converted into a small hotel. One stop included the cemetery where his ancestors are. I learned later that only rich people get buried here. This family has done well as they also have a sugar cane farm of about 30 hectares, which he said is small.

I spent the afternoon relaxing and talking to the owner. He has since learned that there is a lot of history to the house but has yet to research it. Some war time inhabitants from the late 1800s.


May 7 & 6,2016   Big Corn Island, Nicaragua

The weather has changed a bit, it has got very windy. My plans to go to Little Corn Island were canceled. I did not want to get there and then not be able to get back. If it gets too rough on the boat then they just cancel the trip! There also has been some rain. One day for an hour and the next for 15 minutes. After it cleared up and was very nice. Great as the breeze feels get. I spent my time just walking around the beaches and the few roads on the island, i think I have seen them all, except may be 1!