Cam
Trip Start
Sep 28, 2009
1
18
96
Trip End
May 02, 2010
Granada, Nicaragua
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Went to the fort, where I ascended vertical steps through a trapdoor into one of the guard towers that has views over the city - sadly prettiest buildings distant & obscured by telegraph poles & lines.
Staying in some rooms at the back of a family house 1/2 block from the parque central. About 30 family members hanging around plus birds, dogs & cats, but still much quieter than yesterday & slept really well. Nice to have my own bathroom after about 2 weeks of sharing - nice not to have to wade through peoples flem, scum and shower babies!!
Booked my night lava tour with Nahual Tours after they confirmed 2 others had paid but when I got there at 2.45 they lied and told me the park was closed due to the rain & therefore the trip was cancelled. Other 3pm tours had already left & 4pm departures were either not running or private. Luckily another agency told me I could go independently & phoned to arrange it for me. Just got the microbus that stopped at the park entrance and paid $10 for entry & 50 cordobas for the transport. Turns out it was all national park employees leading the tours anyway so instead of paying a total of $35 ended up spending just over $15 - Nahaul's loss - are they that stupid that they think I wouldn't find out about their lies?
May have been better to wait for a less wet day (but probably pointless to wait as the aftereffects of Hurricane Ida meant wet weather was forecast for the next few days) as water hitting hot lava produced massive clouds in the crater and the lava was barely visible, even in the dark when craning over the unprotected sheer drop into the crater! The sulphurous fumes were a killer too, though we got gas masks for them!
It was nevertheless a worthwhile trip to hike up & check out the various craters, explore the lava tubes & see/hear the bats in another.
Had a Seeing Hands neck & shoulder massage as the money goes to a good cause & hoping they would be sensitive to all the knots however got pummeled by rough hands & my hair severely mussed - not good!
Before the Granda to Altagracia ferry ride, fortified myself with the local speciality - vigoron - mashed yucca topped with cabbage salad & chicharron. Forked out an extra 28 cordobas for the ferry because my bags weighed more than 45lbs - they don't explain but only allowed free one bag less than 45lbs - no handbags, daypacks, etc NADA! Keep it with you as things have gone missing from luggage in the hold & you'll need access to it anyway.
