Nicaragua
This morning was a short drive to the border, made longer by the queues of lorries which have to be individually inspected. We cleared the Costa Rican border in about an hour, and an hour and a half later got through into Nicaragua – so it all went comparatively smoothly!
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We had a quick lunch on the shore of Lake Nicaragua (more lovely fresh fish for them what likes it), one of the world’s largest freshwater lakes. We then boarded the ferry which was an old USA military landing vehicle for an hour-long crossing to Ometepe Island where we will spend tonight. This is a volcanic island with two volcanos, only one of which is still active. The crossing was very good with great views of the island (just like taking the ferry to Rothesay), quite windy but very warm and one of us has now got red arms from the sun.
The lodge we are staying in is interesting, located on the shore of the lake. Once we arrived we had a short nature walk round the grounds and among other things saw some more Howler monkeys including a mother and baby which were fascinating to watch. Apparently if any of the adults or even baby monkeys fall down from the trees to the ground, the rest of the troop disown them and they are abandoned and left to fend for themselves. Before our dinner(more fresh fish and rice pudding) we had a quick shower – only one tap as they don’t have hot water at this hotel, but with the outdoor temperature at 6pm only just below 30, a cold shower is most welcome!
From Ometepe island to Leon
More fresh fish last night for tea. This morning a healthy breakfast of fruit and thick pancakes before starting our tour of part of the island. Our first stop was a farm to see some 2000 year old rock carvings and then went on to see a museum. The first part of which was an historical collection of Nicaraguan coins and banknotes and was used as a way of telling some of the political and social history of the country. The second half of the museum consisted of a collection of pottery and other artefacts found on the island dating from over 5000 years ago up until the arrival of the Spanish (about 500 years ago.)
It was time to leave the island on the ferry, as we waited for this to leave the clouds finally moved away from the tops of the volcanos, giving us spectacular views as we returned to the mainland for our fish and chip lunch (guess who ate what). We have now started a 4 hour drive to Leon, our next destination and passing more volcanoes on the way.
Leon to Granada
Small, but beautiful hotel in Leon – just the one drawback that we were woken up by the cock crowing at 2am and it continued until breakfast time. After breakfast we had a walking tour of the city , the highlight was the visit to the cathedral which was an attractive, spacious and airy building. We climbed to the top of the bell tower and onto the roof for views of the city and the surrounding volcanoes (many of which are active – and we could see the fumes coming out of the sides of the crater of one of them).
From there we went to the local market with a great variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, and to a folklore museum where we saw some of the costumes for dances which were to watch later in the evening in the streets of Granada. After the usual fish lunch, we went for a short visit to see some of the mud pools, formed by the volcanic activity, the mud is at over 100 degrees and bubbles like a witch’s cauldron. From there it was on the road again to Granada, we’re we stay for two nights. This is a very beautiful city in the Spanish style. We have just been sitting out in the streets enjoying a Mexican meal followed by ice creams. Hopefully we can catch up on our sleep tonight as we have a long day ahead of us, but one which we are looking forward to.
Volcanos and the city of Granada
A busy day today, starting with a visit to a nearby active volcano. Our bus took us to the active creator which gave us some stunning views, although the time we could spend there was limited because of exposure to the sulphurous fumes. A path from here led up a hundred odd steps to a vantage point overlooking an older, non active creator, where a cross had been erected in the 16th century when the catholic priests arrived here from Spain. Until then the natives had regarded the volcano as the home of an evil god and had sacrificed people to appease it, the Catholics told them it was the gateway to hell and had them put up the cross for protection (but apparently it doesn’t stop it erupting every so often). There was a very good visitor centre which gave an explanation of the volcanos and of the wild life in the National Park in which it is situated.
From here we visited a nearby town with an attractive church and a busy craft market. We had lunch high up overlooking a lagoon formed by water filling an old volcanic creator, and then returned to Granada for a boat trip on Lake Nicaragua to see some of the 365 islands on the lake and lots of the birds inhabiting the area (many of which are very brightly coloured).
One of the islands had a few rescued monkeys on it and we enjoyed watching them swinging through the trees. Granada is a beautiful city, but so far we have only had a chance to look round the main square and the cathedral and hope to have time to see a little more tomorrow morning before our flight back to Costa Rica, where we have one more night before our flight back to the UK on Friday.
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