At nightfall, the Masaya volcano reveals its terrifying secret: an impressive lava lake nestled at the bottom of its smoking crater. Yet another thrilling experience that we won’t forget!
Monday, June 12, 2023
We arrive at the entrance of Masaya Volcano National Park at 5 PM. This time, it’s perfect: the weather is ideal, no clouds on the horizon, and no chance of a storm. We pay the $20 entrance fee and head down the road leading to the crater’s edge. No long hike or exhausting ascent here; just park the car and walk to the viewpoints. From there, the view of the crater is breathtaking. Despite the toxic fumes from the volcano, dozens of parakeets nest on the crater walls. Between them and the rumbling of the volcano, what a racket!
A trail leads us to a higher vantage point. Masaya is part of a volcanic complex with several volcanoes and craters, but it’s the only one still active. It is closely monitored and studied, and we can even spot an “elevator” that descends to the bottom of the crater. Who dares to venture down there? The last significant activity of the volcano was in January 2016.
We reach the top of the hill just as the sun begins to set. What a spectacle! The colors are amazing. The clouds mix with the volcano’s smoke. It’s a sight to behold. For the fourth time, Nicaragua’s volcanoes offer us an incredible display and beautiful emotions.
After the sun sets, we hurry down to the crater’s edge to witness the show. Is there lava at the bottom? That depends on the volcano’s current activity. Before we can find out, we wait and push through the crowd. Ah, when there’s no hiking involved, there are plenty of people! This is definitely not something we’d have encountered on top of San Cristóbal! 😝 Finally, we reach the viewpoint, and there it is—astonishing! A lava lake is bubbling peacefully at the bottom of the crater.
We are left impressed and moved by such a sight. It’s the first time we’ve seen magma. We can clearly make out the bubbling liquid and the lava crusts on the surface. Exceptional! Definitely one of the most impressive things we’ve seen during this trip.
After long minutes of watching the lava bubble, it’s time to leave the site and head to our camping spot. Like the night before, we set up by the water. And, like the night before, the evening is stormy. We pitch the tent by the light of our headlamps. As I go to open the back door, my hand is just a few centimeters from the handle, and then… A tarantula! A huge, hairy tarantula calmly sitting on the handle. Horror! My fingers have never been so close to something like that 😲. Fortunately, Rémi bravely shoos it away, and it heads back into the forest, as far away from our camp as possible, we hope.
Tuesday, June 13
Sometimes, we know exactly what our day will be like, but other times, we improvise and go with the flow. We leave our peaceful spot, though full of critters, to head to the other side of Lake Masaya. Unfortunately, our walk along the malecon is cut short because it’s under construction. Oh well, we take a quick photo of Lake Masaya and the volcano, which, from this angle, looks quite harmless, and then we hit the road.
Next stop: the viewpoint of Laguna de Apoyo, a perfectly round volcanic lake. To reach the viewpoint and take a photo, we have to pay an entrance fee of 20 cordobas per vehicle. Ah, no, it’s 20 cordobas per person for us. Well, it’s not very fair, but we won’t quibble over €1 😅
We then head to the city of Granada, passing by the Mombacho volcano, known for its lush jungle and wildlife. It’s perfectly clear today; we hope it stays that way for our ascent tomorrow! Granada is an old colonial city, bustling and full of people. The heat is stifling. The noise, the traffic, the crowd, the heat—all of it quickly overwhelms us! 🥴
We find refuge in a small restaurant. No air conditioning, but it’s cool and dark. It feels good. Just like in León, there are several specialties to choose from. It’s a treat! But when it comes time to pay, we’re in for a surprise: where we paid 200 cordobas for the same meal for two in León (€5), here they ask for 850 cordobas (€21)! What a rip-off. Ugh, this is Central America: the moment we let our guard down, we get scammed 😤
A heavy storm breaks out in the late afternoon, and we hesitate to book a room at a hostel. But we resist and decide to return to Laguna de Apoyo, which seems like a peaceful spot to spend the night. A path takes us down to the bottom of the crater, right by the lake.
In the evening, our Swiss friends, Fabienne and Simon, show up. All four of us get a fishing lesson from Andrés, who lives in a house by the lagoon. As night falls, he turns on an electric lamp above the water to attract the fish and fishes with a fishing line tied to… a deodorant spray! Who said you need a fishing rod to fish? He catches dozens throughout the evening. Rémi gives it a try, but strangely, it doesn’t work as well for him! 😄 Still, he’s got a great technique from the first try!
Wednesday, June 14
We’d like to hike Mombacho, but when we arrive early in the morning, it’s shrouded in clouds. Given the price of park entry and the mandatory guide, the thought of seeing only mist doesn’t appeal to us. We change plans dramatically and head down a track toward the Pacific coast. There’s nothing around, just a few scattered houses, but we still run into some very diligent police officers 👮
As usual, we present our documents and the digital version of our car insurance. But it’s not good enough for them. They want the paper version. Ah 🤨 We explain that none of their colleagues have ever had a problem with the digital version, but they don’t want to hear it. The boss takes our driver’s license and walks off. Then he returns. He negotiates. We negotiate. He leaves. And so on for 20 minutes. He’d love for us to pay a “fine” but that’s not in our vocabulary 😁 We bide our time, showing we’re not in a hurry, and eventually, our strategy pays off! On the promise that we’ll print the damn paper as soon as possible, he lets us go. Phew! We can head to the ocean.
A quick swim at the beautiful Gigante beach, with warm water and strong waves, before heading to a hostel for lunch. The menu is excellent, and for the same price, we can use the pool. Perfect! The American owner, before heading out for his daily surf session, even agrees to print our insurance. No more worries, now we’ll have to find something else for them to complain about in the future 😅.
After a refreshing dip in the pool, we hit the road again. And once more, we run into a police checkpoint in the middle of nowhere. This time, we proudly present our freshly printed insurance contract. The officer still wants to check if we have a fire extinguisher in the car. Then she asks to see our safety triangle! This time, we have to climb onto the Jeep, unlock the roof box, rummage through our gear, and triumphantly pull out the triangle. What a sweat! She barely glances at it… Finally satisfied, she lets us go. We can head toward the port of San Jorge to catch the next ferry to the volcanic island of Ometepe! Oh yes, Nicaragua has more than enough volcanoes to keep us in awe!
