Volcano Masaya

I am still in Granada and today I went to Volcano Masaya, which is an active volcano that actually has lava at the bottom of it. It´s not possible to see the lava during the day because of all the smoke it lets out. There are clouds and couds of smoke that are always coming out of the top of the volcano and you are able to walk right up to the rim (well, almost). We went on a tour through the lava tunnels and had to wear gas masks because of the gases the volcano lets out. There were also tons of tiny bats inside as well. It was a really amazing experience!

While in Central America I have learned that there is no such thing as a full bus. No matter how many people are in the bus already they can always pack in more. Usually there are 3 people to every 2 person seat and the isles are impossible to walk through. You usually end up on someone´s lap when trying to let someone by. Well today the ride back from Volcano Masaya was the worse thus far. When the shuttle pulled over to pick us up on the side of the road we thought there would be no way we could all fit in. We ended up fitting 23 people in a 15 passenger van. Not only that but all the women must have been coming home from shopping and had huge bags with them. One lady had 12 golf umbrealls on her lap.

¡Bailamos!

Yesterday durring the day I took a boat tour with a couple of friends through the las Isletas. They´re an archipiélago of about 350 islands (we didn´t get to see them all, and I gave up on counting). Some of them are really small and uninhabited, while some are privately owned with houses on them. My favorite one was mono island, which was filled with spider monkeys. It was such a beautiful day as well! We lucked out and got no rain all day and night.

At night we went to Cafe Nuit which turns into the popluar dance club everyone goes to on Friday nights in Granada. I ran into travelers that I met in Montezuma and in Ometepe and best of all I ran into a couple of my local friends I met in Ometepe who live here in Granada. Everyone salsa danced the night away and it was such a blast!

My game plan for the day is to go to Masaya, a small town about 20 min from here that has a huge indian market. I haven´t done any shopping yet and in Nicaragua now is the time.

Hurricane Alma

For those of you who are worried, things are fine here in Granada. While it has been pouring rain since yesterday the hurricane hit in Leon, Nicaragua which is north of here. It is expected to be headed further north towards El Salvador, but we are still in an advisory. I heard some people were evacuated from Managua, but I didn´t even hear anything about it until this evening. It has finally stopped raining which is great. I was finally was able to get out of the hostel and went to dinner with a couple of other girls traveling alone. Tomorrow, as long as the weather holds out I´m going to walk around town and check out the markets and historical sites.

Map of Nicaragua

Granada

After a very bumpy boat ride and a couple hours in a packed bus I have arrived in Granada, Nicaragua. I´m sick and it is raining so I ran around looking for the nearest hostel. I have a terrible cold, which I probably got from getting caught in the rain a few times over the last couple of days and my stomach is telling me now that I shouldn´t have drank that juice yesterday which was probably made with tap water. I am at a nice hostel now called Hostel Oasis http://www.nicaraguahostel.com/ . It has free internet and lockers to keep luggage safe. I am exauhsted so it is nap time now.

Hi from Ometepe

Still in Ometepe and things are still about the same. Just happened to make it into town again today, so thought I would just say hi!

Ometepe

I know you all are worrying, but I will not have internet access everywhere I go. I got to Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua yesterday and I love it here! It is so much less touristy and the locals are all so nice. On the bus ride here I tired picking my backpack up and failed the first time and the girl ahead of me, about my age, turned around and picked my pack up and carried it off the bus for me. I have been hanging out with the family who owns the hotel where I am staying (La Venincia, I think) and I am learning a lot about their culture. Where the hotel is at there is no internet, but in Moyogalpa where the ferry lands is where I am at now. It´s about a 20min drive away from where I am staying in Paco Verde, but by bus it´s about an hour which is why I haven´t made it here yet. If you can find it on a map it is next to a little town called San Jose. I haven´t hiked either of the volcanos yet, because I have just been relaxing, but I plan on doing the smaller one in the next couple of days and then I will be headed to Granada soon. I´m enjoying it here so I am not exactly sure how many days I will be staying here, but I will have internet acess again in Granada.