After exploring the town of Granada we ventured further afield and took a trip to Volcan Masaya, an active crater volcano. The journey to the crater was somewhat easier than our last volcano experience; driving to within metres of the smoking crater. There were specific instructions about how to park here, which we thought rather strange in such a laid back country as Nicaragua.
Our guide then informed us that this was due to the Volcano's ability to shoot rocks up from it's crater without warning and it was best to be facing the exit for a speedy get away - eeek! A short walk took us to the edge of the crater, a spectacular sight looking 1km down into the belly of the volcano. Smoke and sulphurous gases obscured the view a little, not a bad thing when heights aren't your forte.
We hopped back into our minivan and reached the bottom of the volcano undamaged by flying rocks. Next on the agenda was a visit to the Artisan market in the town of Masaya; this was extremely disappointing and full of tourist tat. We did toy with the idea of buying some of the extremely tasteful toad head purses for you lucky people back at home, but you will be relieved to know we came away empty handed.
Our tour guide Camillo kept us entertained on the journey to El Mirador with his extensive knowledge of the history of Nicaragua. His capacity to remember dates and numbers amazed us both and we knew a lot more about his country by the end of our trip. El Mirador is a popular look out point over Lake Apoya and locals and tourists alike mingled together on the Sunday afternoon we visited to admire the beautiful view.
The last stop on our trip was on the outskirts of the Pueblo Blanco of Katerina at a small ceramics workshop. We were shown the old indigenous methods which they still use to make their pots and then had the opportunity to have a go ourselves. Our feet powered the potters wheels and we were soon working up a sweat with the effort. My 'Potters' roots didn't shine through and I ended up with a pot with no bottom; Dave, however, is moving to Stoke when we get back to exploit his new found talent!
Monday 28th September, a very important day; my birthday! Thank you for all your messages by the way. We enjoyed a big fat birthday breakfast and then made our way to the marina to catch a lancha for a tour of some of the isletas on Lake Nicaragua. Everywhere is so quiet here at the moment that we had the whole boat to ourselves and a personalised tour by our Lancha captain. He did a superb job at pointing out the abundant wild life living on and around the lake. We saw turtles, monkeys and too many different types of bird to mention.
Many of the small islands are inhabited by just one or two families and our small boat let us get close enough to the shore for us to gain an insight in to how these families live. Our captain even managed to arrange flowers for my birthday, a water lilly freshly plucked from the lake. I'm not sure how environmentally sound that was, but it was pretty.
It was a great day and topped off by a first class meal in the evening at our hotel in Granada. We stayed at Hotel Terrasol, which is owned by a Nicaraguan couple, Victor and Katya; Victor was a renowned chef in San Francisco and they have recently returned to their home country to realise their dream of owning an hotel here in Nicaragua. If you're ever in Nicaragua put it on your list of 'must visits'.
Our guide then informed us that this was due to the Volcano's ability to shoot rocks up from it's crater without warning and it was best to be facing the exit for a speedy get away - eeek! A short walk took us to the edge of the crater, a spectacular sight looking 1km down into the belly of the volcano. Smoke and sulphurous gases obscured the view a little, not a bad thing when heights aren't your forte.
We hopped back into our minivan and reached the bottom of the volcano undamaged by flying rocks. Next on the agenda was a visit to the Artisan market in the town of Masaya; this was extremely disappointing and full of tourist tat. We did toy with the idea of buying some of the extremely tasteful toad head purses for you lucky people back at home, but you will be relieved to know we came away empty handed.Our tour guide Camillo kept us entertained on the journey to El Mirador with his extensive knowledge of the history of Nicaragua. His capacity to remember dates and numbers amazed us both and we knew a lot more about his country by the end of our trip. El Mirador is a popular look out point over Lake Apoya and locals and tourists alike mingled together on the Sunday afternoon we visited to admire the beautiful view.
The last stop on our trip was on the outskirts of the Pueblo Blanco of Katerina at a small ceramics workshop. We were shown the old indigenous methods which they still use to make their pots and then had the opportunity to have a go ourselves. Our feet powered the potters wheels and we were soon working up a sweat with the effort. My 'Potters' roots didn't shine through and I ended up with a pot with no bottom; Dave, however, is moving to Stoke when we get back to exploit his new found talent!
Monday 28th September, a very important day; my birthday! Thank you for all your messages by the way. We enjoyed a big fat birthday breakfast and then made our way to the marina to catch a lancha for a tour of some of the isletas on Lake Nicaragua. Everywhere is so quiet here at the moment that we had the whole boat to ourselves and a personalised tour by our Lancha captain. He did a superb job at pointing out the abundant wild life living on and around the lake. We saw turtles, monkeys and too many different types of bird to mention.
Many of the small islands are inhabited by just one or two families and our small boat let us get close enough to the shore for us to gain an insight in to how these families live. Our captain even managed to arrange flowers for my birthday, a water lilly freshly plucked from the lake. I'm not sure how environmentally sound that was, but it was pretty.
It was a great day and topped off by a first class meal in the evening at our hotel in Granada. We stayed at Hotel Terrasol, which is owned by a Nicaraguan couple, Victor and Katya; Victor was a renowned chef in San Francisco and they have recently returned to their home country to realise their dream of owning an hotel here in Nicaragua. If you're ever in Nicaragua put it on your list of 'must visits'. 
1 comment:
Dave, you should look into the possibility of transplanting some of that fuzz from your face to your scalp.
hope all going well mate - currently in Borneo getting bitten.
rob
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