Our first stop in Nicaragua was Granada. A nice small(ish) town near lake Nicaragua. It was barely an hour before the majority of us piled into another van to head out to the Masaya Volcano for a night tour. As we sped out of the city (and I do mean sped, it felt as if we were racing, the tension was building) we learnt that at the volcano entrance there is usually a long line of cars waiting to get in to take a look. We needed to get there at precisely the right time – close enough to sunset so that it was dark when we got up there, but early enough that we were not at the back of the line and had to wait hours. While we were waiting in line, slowing creeping up the side of the mountain we ordered pizza. Thankfully they delivered, it had been a long day travelling and we were all starving. Our timing was perfect, the pizza arrived as we were halfway through the line, we finished just before we were let into the National Park, and it was dark by the time we got up there.
The lava bubbled and spurted away as we stood there for our allocated 15 minutes. It was sensational being so close to nature in that way but we could also see that NASA was a lot closer, camped at least 100m below us actually within the volcano. We were told that there were monitoring the lava and had been for some time as it has only been in the last year that it has become visible. Apparently the volcano is due for a big eruption, in fact, it is overdue.
The next morning Laurence and I decided to take things a little easy, a sleep in and to attend to some much needed chores. Our first stop was to get Laurence a haircut. His mop was starting to get in the way and also adding to his overheating in the temperatures that we had been enduring. The barber spoke no English but we were at a Barbers and that is their specialty. Laurence explained that he wanted it shorter with hand gestures and we were off – shaver, scissors, and a blade.
After our chores we wandered around the city and headed out to take a look at the lake, the largest in Central America. I am not sure what I was expecting but the smell was awful and the pollution and rubbish was horrible. We only stayed long enough to decide where we were heading next – the Chocolate Museum! We had a look around then ordered a divine hot chocolate (coffee for Laurence) and some cakes. It was a nice place to pass time.
Our next stop, Ometepe Island was a short drive and ferry away. It is the largest island on lake Nicargua and was home to two volcanoes, one dormant/extinct and the other one is active. The ‘resort’ was based on the side of the lake and was pleasant – although you did have to pay extra for air-conditioning if desired (we suffered through the heat). The next morning Laurence decided that he was going to suffer his way up Volcán Concepción, the active one.
I decided to take the island tour due to my lack of fitness and determination – Laurence is a stubborn one sometimes. So as I was getting updates with photographs of an increasingly struggling Laurence, I was frolicking through the butterfly gardens, strolling around a lake, eating lunch at a lakeside restaurant, and leisurely swimming in a natural spring. It was a lovely day. Laurence made it to the very top of the volcano, some 1600m above sea level, and back down safely. He only had some minor damage to his ankle from a falling rock and was completely drained (he couldn’t walk properly for a few days).
The next morning we struck out for Costa Rica, the finishing point of our first trip.