Pleasing My Inner Tourist

Most dilatory have I been of late, to be sure. The past week has seen the arrival (invasion) of my best pal Tom and his daughter and son, Miki and Sawyer, from Florida's west coast. Miki stayed in my guestroom, while Tom and Sawyer lodged at Tortuga Verde (Green Turtle) Ecolodge, just down the highway in Diriamba.

The Ecolodge is an eccentric melange of connected buildings, with common areas brimming with artifacts, tchotchkes, paintings good and not, sculptures, reading nooks, magnificent gardens and plantings, and a resident capuchin monkey named Ramona.

Tom, Miki, and Sawyer awaiting breakfast at the Ecolodge.

Later we drove north to Selva Negra, the coffee plantation and farm/inn/restaurant attraction in the cool mountains of Matagalpa region. The lake view below makes for pleasant dining in this "Black Forest" settlement created by German immigrants to Nicaragua a century ago.

 

Yesterday, Monday, we headed out first to the artisans' market in Masaya to look for souvenirs. Then, a quick drive to Granada for lunch and a glimpse of this pretty colonial city before driving north to the Volcan Masaya national park. I was tickled to find that the entry fee for residents is just 30 cordobas; Tom and his kids paid 100 each! The volcano was closed to the public this past January because it began erupting. It reopened to the public for limited (5 minutes only) viewing into the crater, which now seethes with roiling brilliant lava. The lava is far down enough that one does not feel the heat, but the sound is surprisingly fierce, like gale winds or big ocean waves crashing. I think the volcano is truly deserving of the overused term "awesome!"  At the left of this photo, you can see a little red tent, which presumably is related to some geological research which is being conducted here.

My guests left early this morning for an overnight visit to the volcanic island of Ometepe, described a year ago in this blog. Formed of two volcanoes, Concepción and Maderas, Ometepe sits in Lake Nicaragua, one of the largest fresh water lakes in the Americas (and at risk of ecological disaster if the proposed canal project moves forward to join the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.)
Concepción has recently erupted, although it is calmer now. Maderas is extinct and has a crater lake at its summit.



Tomorrow, they return to Managua for an early morning flight home on Thursday. Safe travels, Tom and family. It was simply wonderful to spend this time with you.