Back
-|- NextAfter three days in San Juan del Sur, we decided to head back Managua taking a different route. This was made possible by a map that we purchased at the Esso station. That's right, Exxon hasn't changed its name in Nicaragua for those of you old enough to remember Esso stations in the United States. Our plan was to go to the Market at Masaya and also to visit the Volcan Masaya on our way back. There was some truly beautiful scenery along the way.
Volcano Mombacho as seen from the Pan American Highway north of Rivas
We got to the market at Masaya and were immediately besieged by several teenage Nicaraguan boys who wanted to "watch" our vehicle for us. they assured us that they would allow no harm to come to it if we paid them a little something when we came back. Several of them insisted on being our guides through the market until Max paid one of them to just go away. The Masaya market is full of local crafts from shoes and everything that can be made out of leather to hammocks and every imaginable souvenir.
After a quick lunch at a local bakery where I had a "maleta de carne" (literally "bag of beef"), a cross between a pig-in-a-blanket and a sloppy joe, we stopped to make a call and get a few bags of Coca Cola Light. Since we weren't going to stick around long enough to drink it on the premises and since the deposit on the bottles is approximately 35 cents per bottle, they pour the bottle into a clear plastic bag and tie the opening around a straw. Surprisingly, the bags held.
The national park where the Volcan Masaya is located is only a short distance from Masaya on the way back to Managua. For about $5 per person, you can drive up to the edge of the crater of an active volcano. It is recommended that you back into your parking place with the front of your vehicle facing the roadway into the parking lot so that you can get away quickly in the event of an eruption! As much of a joke as this seems, the last eruption of this Volcano was in April, 2001, about a month after I visited it last.
Checking out the lava flows on the way to the crater.
Looking into an active volcanic crater can be an memorable experience. Unfortunately, the sky was overcast and the volcano was putting out a lot of smoke so we couldn't see down into the crater very well.
Margaret walking along the safety fence
In addition to the poor viewing conditions, the lookout near the cross in the photo above was closed because the stairs had shifted due to landslides. But one important thing was was in our favor, the wind was blowing steady from the direction of the parking lot. The last time I visited the crater, the shifting wind would occasionally blow the sulfur cloud rising from the crater in your direction. You just had to hold your breath and hope the wind changed directions soon because there was no outrunning it.
In fact, the wind was blowing so strongly that it lifted Margaret's newly purchased hat and deposited it on a shelf about 50 to 60 feet below the edge of the crater. I admit that it looked like an easy climb down to get it, but even I was surprised when Max started climbing down the edge of the crater to get it.
Max climbing down into the crater to retrieve Margaret's hat about 50' below (just over his left shoulder)
The climb proved to be more that Max bargained for and after making it about 10 feet down, he decided that the hat could just stay where it was.
From the parking lot at the crater, there is an excellent view of Lake Nicaragua and the Tipitapa river that connects Lake Managua (Xolotlan) to Lake Nicaragua (Cocibolca).
View looking northeast from atop the Volcan Masaya
In the photo above, you can see the area of the last lava flow. It is the brown area starting in the middle of the left edge of the photo and extending off into the distance. All of the brown areas on the side of the mountain are bare lava. The old lava flow is a little more evident in the photo below.
Old lava flow in foreground and coming from middle of crater.
After seeing the Volcano, we headed in to Managua and then out to dinner at a local steak house near one of the rotundas. No mad cow nonsense in Nicaragua. At least the beef was safe there.
