The Land of Lakes and Volcanoes
When and Where: 09/2015 – Granada, Lake Nicaragua, Masaya Volcano
47th Country Visited; 17th North
American Country Visited
Interesting Facts:
·
Nicaragua is the largest Central American
country. Lake Nicaragua is the largest
lake in Central America.
·
Nicaragua doesn’t use street names or numbers.
Back in 2015 when Joe and I visited Costa Rica, one of the side
trips offered from our hotel was a (long) day trip to Granada Nicaragua. Not knowing what to expect, we packed our
backpacks and left before sunrise on our adventure. Upon arrival at the border, we had to exit
the van and physically walk across the border, getting our passports stamped
along the way. Once across, we loaded
back into the van and made our way to Granada.
My first impression was positive as the highway was perfect compared to
the roads on Costa Rican side. Looking
freshly paved, the tour guide told us that the government of Nicaragua keeps
their roads in top condition in the event the military has to be deployed to
quell a civilian uprising. Similar to
Venezuela and Cuba, Nicaragua is a police state: one in which the government
institutions exercise an extreme level of control over civil societies and
liberties.
When we arrived in Granada I was once again surprised. It is a beautifully preserved colonial city
with pastel buildings, homes and churches.
Granada is one of Nicaragua’s most important cities both economically
and politically. At the time it was
discovered by the Spanish in 1524, there was a thriving indigenous population. The city has an old-world charm characterized
by cobblestone streets and Spanish influenced architecture. As I later discovered, Granada is home to
many ex-pats from the US, Canada, Spain, Germany, Italy, Ireland and other
European countries. Our tour guide led
us through the streets and into the mustard colored, Our Lady of the Assumption
Cathedral. The neoclassical Cathedral
was built around 1525 and despite being burned down twice, kept its Spanish charm. Aside from the cosmopolitan Panama City and
the charming Antigua Guatemala, it is my favorite city in Central America.
After a delicious lunch of chicken, rice and beans, Joe and I headed
out by horse and buggy to Lake Nicaragua.
The ride was included in our tour, but not everyone on our tour from
Costa Rica opted for the ride. The
antique looking buggy was ornately decorated with fringe and a colorful
canopy. The driver did not speak English
and we speak little Spanish. We felt
foolish parading around in the horse and buggy like old gringos. Once we arrived at the lake, we got out of
the buggy, walked around and took a few pictures of serene Lake Nicaragua. It seemed rather quiet at first, then we saw
some sketchy people milling about. A few
minutes later, the horse and buggy driver began to scream. We weren’t sure what he wanted, but he
definitely wanted our attention. To this
day we are not sure exactly what happened, but I think we were in some sort of
danger. Once back in the horse and
buggy, the guide began whipping the horses to get them to trot faster. He seemed really upset, but again, we didn’t
get a clear answer as to what was going on.
We reconnected with those on our tour and proceeded to Masaya
Volcano, a 45-minute drive north from Granada.
The calderas and craters of Masaya cover a large area in what is a national
park. The tour driver walked us up to
the rim of the main crater, which looked like the surface of the Moon. The smell of sulfur in the air was
overwhelming and the heat being emitted was overpowering. Masaya is one of the world’s most active
volcanoes. Although I was close to lava
flows near Kilauea on the Big Island in Hawaii, I had never been that close to
lava within a volcano. The experience
was fascinating.
Overall, I loved my experience in Granada. It’s an off-the-beaten-path destination, but
a jewel of a city. And I was pleasantly
surprised by Nicaragua as a whole, despite the political climate.
Beautiful Granada Nicaragua
Granada
The infamous horse and buggy ride
Masaya Volcano
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