Molten Magic

Molten Magic

Since I got here, things haven’t lived up to the hype. Sandboarding Cerro Negra was fun. Ometepe Island was okay. Neither of them had the wow factor I was expecting. 

Today though was different. Picked up by Warner (like Brothers), I went with two French Canadians to Masaya and Catarina, before leaving them at Laguna De Apoyo and heading to Granada alone with Warner. 

I was expecting some city tours. I got so much more. I should really read the tour descriptions. 

Our first stop was Masaya volcano, one of 6 active volcanoes in Nicaragua. We walked around the museum (and saw bats?!) and then headed up the volcano. We joked that since the two countries I was last in have had earthquakes, we would probably be safe from eruption until I left Nicaragua. 

I have never seen an active volcano. If I wanted the wow factor (something “inspiring and unspoiled” as I described to Jade), I got it. An actual active volcano, the inside of which homes a bunch of crazy sulphuric-resistant parrots and hundreds of years of activity. The surrounding rock of the crater was a sight to behold. And the steam/smoke coming from the “mouth of hell” as christened by a friar in 1529, was beyond words. 

We drove onto Catarina to stop at the overlook of Laguna Apoyo. Again, beautiful. In the distance, Lake Managua. To our right, volcano Mombacha. Dormant.

We dropped Danielle and Denis off at La Abuela, a Laguna-side restaurant where they would eat and swim. On the ride to Granada, I asked Warner if I could have the traditional lunch of Vigoron without meat. He was like, no. Turns out I didn’t need to worry. Served on a banana leaf (which you don’t eat) was cabbage and yuka with tomatoes and possible hocotes - another Nicaraguan fruit. The “strips of pork” turned out to be pork crackling on the outside, which I offered to Warner. We also had chocolate milk...and I liked it! I didn’t finish it because it was quite sickly and the vigoron filled me up! But damn it was delicious, all of it. 

We walked around the Cathedral, and up the cupola to look over the main square. Preparations were underway for their big annual Poetry festival. We walked around the square and then drove down to the boats. Just me, Warner and our capitan. There are apparently 365 islands on Lake Managua and some of them are for sale. Some of the richest Nicaraguans have vacation homes there. It was beautiful. We sailed up to monkey island to offer some spider monkeys a banana. They’re so used to tourists giving them bananas they’ve gone high maintenance, and would only take a piece of chocolate that another boat donated to us. 


We sailed to another island to see a tree covered in birds nests, that look like sacks. They have a small hole in the top where mummy bird gets in with food to feed baby. 

The capitan picked what looked like a thin banana from a tree and produced  a beautiful flower from it for me. 

Warner spotted some bats hanging out on a boat platform. It took me aaaages to see them. He kept saying “bat” and I heard “bed”. 

Bats, not bed.

Driving back, I directed Warner the wrong way because a sign told me so! So we drove down the wrong road for a while before asking some people, who clearly were like “er no, it’s the other way”. But in Spanish. We got to Danielle and Denis 5 minutes late but it was perfect timing for them.

We drove back along the highway, with Volcano Momotombo directly ahead of us, and the smoke from Masaya highlighted against the sunset. I was so happy. 

As I write this I’m in Bar Spanglish, just round the corner from my hostel, drinking rum and coke and feeling unbelievably chilled. Tomorrow I have nothing to do but laundry and update my written journal. Leon on Monday. I’m starting to like Nicaragua. 

Masaya, Catarina and Granada 17th Febrero

Listened to: Magic 102.7FM!

Watched: the steam rise from an active volcano, and the world pass by on Lake Managua. 

Ate: Vigoron! 

Drank: chocolate milk!