Nicaragua
Saturday 08/21
Granada
Granada is a charming colonial town, simialr in style to Antigua, but nicer. The buildings are better maintained: brightly painted, with ornate grillework over all the windows.
We see a funeral procession in the main square:the carriage-driver is wearing a top-hat and tails, a brass band plays a dirge; it reminds me of a Tom Waits video?! We hire a couple of horse-drawn carriages to take us on a tour of the city.
Sunday 08/22
Mombacha Cloud Forest Reserve
Bustling markets at Masaya, near Granada
Emma
We drive up to the nature reserve on the volcano. It only opened 6 months ago, after a 2-year struggle with the local government. Most of the land in Nicaragua is privately owned, and it is very difficult for them to create reserves to protect the unique ecosystems of the few remaining cloudforests.
This is one of only 2 in Pacific Nicaragua. Every year, the farmers push their coffee plantations higher and higher up the slopes of the semi-active volcano, threatening the cloud forest, ignoring the fact that it is the moisture from this very forest that sustains their crops during dry season.
From the park entrance, we take Land Rovers up the steep, rutted track to 1100m. it is cool and misty - we are in the clouds and the vegetation is unbelievable. So lush and green. Mosses, ferns, vines, etc. grow on every surface and on each other. Everything is drippy wet.
We walk along a trail around the crater (no lava; it's grown over). Strategically-placed lookouts provide stunning panoramas. Unfortunately, we don't see many animals, but we can hear lots of them. We hear the howler monkeys again, but can't spot them. Their eerie, echoey howls reverberate around the crater, and it's impossible to tell which direction they're coming from.
Another path leads us to a stretch where the winds blow constantly, so the vegetation is short and dry. "Las Fumaroles" emit hot smoke in little plumes amongst the vegetation. We sit quietly for some time, watching the clouds drift around us.. Occasionally, we catch a glimpse of the town and lake below us.
Amy, Emma and I at Las Fumaroles
Monday 08/23
San Juan del Sur
We are at an idyllic little resort call Bahia Majagual in the middle of nowhere. It's on a little cove with a gorgeous sandy private beach, on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua. Huge turquoise waves crash in, creating soothing background hush. We frolic topless in the waves. There is nothing to do here but relax - it's glorious. There are comfortable hammocks and big wicker chairs all over, and great music. This is heavenly. We are the only people here.
Photo: I. Papagni
I spend the entire afternoon in a swing chair, doing nothing more strenuous than sipping a pineapple shake. Later, Emma drags us out into the water to play a silly game with a basketball - I end up with bruises on my chest, since I can't catch to save my life!
We drink and dance the evening away.
The owner, Paul - a cheeky Aussie - teaches Marie and I a fun little game that involves the flipping of a coin.
Onward to Costa Rica...