Antigua's dirty cousin
Trip Start
Feb 23, 2008
1
20
32
Trip End
Aug 23, 2008
Granada,
Nicaragua
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
It was good to be in Nicuragua. Travel was cheap, buses were crowded and bus divers didnt seem to have a death wish.
After 9 hours of travel we finally arrived in Granada. We headed to the Bearded Monkey hostel (just for the name really). The place was an old colonial house with an open central court yard. Dorms were $7 a night but they had a tab system which brought back memories of Tulum.
At first appearance Granada seemed similar to Antigua but not with the fine cobbled streets, fancy shops and upmarket coffee houses.. It was dirty and grimy like the cousin you dont talk about but love to visit because you know you will have a good time. I liked this place and felt that i could be here for a while
After a good nights sleep we headed out to Volcan Mombacho which lies just south of Granada. The last recorded incidence of activity occurred in 1570, when a major tremor caused the wall of Mombacho's crater to collapse, draining the lagoon it held and washing away an indigenous village of 400 inhabitants.
The Bearded Monkey
I was confident that no such think would happen today although occasionally the volcano sends up a smoke ring now and then just to let you know it could.A chicken bus ride to the entrance, a short hike to the visitors centre and then a 4WD "ecomobile" drive and we were at the top. A trail leads along one of the craters thru a cloud forest and eventually to a platform with a stunning view over Lago de Nicaragua. Unfortunately the clouds had moved in and pretty much wiped out any view.
Another day, another volcano. This time is was Laguna de Apoyo - a crater lake. The hostel had a house on the lake with easy access to the laguna. After a refreshing swim we found ourselves tagging along behind some Canadians who were hiking to the crater rim. They had just finished building a school in Nicaragua, hopefully where a school was needed. The hike was hot, sweaty and uphill. We passed a local carrying a huge pike of firewood on his shoulders up the steep, muddy track to the village at the top. Three quarters of the way up i had had enough, with a nice view of the lake and Lago de Masaya beyond it, 3 of us stopped while the others plowed on. 30 minutes later the local, at his slow steady pace walked past putting us to shame. He was followed by an old man with a huge basket filled with fruit on his back and our humilation was complete
The last 2 nights in Granada the heaven had opened and within minutes the streets were awash. The days had been hot and slighty overcast but by late afternoon clouds had rolled in. I thought this was the aftermath of Alma but apparently it was the start of the rainy season and was what to be expected for the next few months.
Another day and guess what. another volcano - Volcan Masaya. Decribed by the spaniards as "the gates of hell" this consisted of a pair of volcanoes Masaya and Nindiri which together comprised 5 craters. Of these Crater Santiago is still quite active. We had picked the hottest day to walk the 6km across the lava fields to the crater but at least managed to get a lift up the steep last kilometer or so. A cross overlooked Crater Santiago which was billowing a huge cloud a smoke and steam. It had been placed there in the 16th century by the Spanish who hoped to exorcise the demons who dwelled within. I had a feeling the cross was not the original due to the grafiti and modern materials.
Our last day in Granada was spent relaxing and walking along town. Tommorrow we were headed to Isla de Ometepe and guess what it was an island formed by 2 large volcanoes.
