Anniversary Trip Part 1- Laguna de Apoyo, Nicaragua

Anniversary Trip Part 1 
Laguna de Apoyo, Nicaragua
February 8-12, 2015
Days 1-5 of a 12-Day Adventure

I wanted to go to Costa Rica for our honeymoon back in 2004- J was hesitant to leave the country.  But a lot has changed in the 11 years we’ve been married- J’s become more adventurous and open to new experiences. And I now see the value in taking a little time to unwind instead of packing in as much as possible into a trip. So when planning our 11-year ‘Prime’ anniversary trip I tried to find a destination that accommodated both our interests- local culture, outdoor adventure and pure relaxation in a tranquil setting.  Although we considered Costa Rica, I was somehow drawn to the energy of Nicaragua from the very beginning and the less expensive flight and accommodations helped to convince J. 

This is the very first international trip I’ve ever taken that I did not experience a weather delay, mechanical malfunction or other act of god.  In fact, this trip started off on a high point when the gate attendant complimented my passport photo and continued on throughout the rest of the journey- we had comfortable flights from CAK to ATL and ATL to Managua, saw another plane fly by at what seemed like a crazy speed at one point, easily passed through Customs & Immigration and found our driver in the swarm of taxi drivers holding signs or yelling out to score a fare. 

We arrived at our first spot- Hotel Selva Azul, a laidback retreat on the west shore of Laguna de Apoyo, a dormant volcano crater lake, around 10:pm on Sunday night.  We couldn’t see much of the property but we could hear the waves splash against the beach below our balcony.  The next morning I woke up early and looked out the window to see the sun rising over paradise.  Everything was so lush- green palms and ferns, yellow, red and fuchsia flowering bushes, sparking blue water- temperatures already in the high-70s but with a cool breeze off the lake.  The Laguna is a protected nature reserve and is said to be the cleanest water in the Americas- I’ve never experienced water so clear, seen so many fish and birds, or swam in water that didn’t make my eyes sting, my sinuses burn or my skin smell just a little bit.  



We decided to spend the whole day relaxing on the beach with no more than a handful of other people sharing the entire area- J moved in and out of the sun while I swam, dove off the docks, enjoyed the water. J usually doesn't like the water BUT I somehow convinced him little by little to first venture in waist deep, then to float farther out on an inner tube.  We enjoyed a peaceful day in the water together- we also got burnt to a crisp in the 90F sun despite slathering on sunscreen.  Luckily, the hostel had aloe plants so we could sooth our skin.  That evening we walked up to the corner store, a small open-air pavilion of sorts that had rice, beans, onions, drinks and snacks set up on shelves made of crates for our first of many bottles of Flor de Cana rum.  For dinner, we enjoyed an amazing pizza made in a large outdoor oven at the Monkey Hut, the hostel next door.  We paid for most food & drink in Cordoba but $USD is widely accepted.  

We spent Tuesday morning relaxing on the beach again, watching birds such as magpiejays, colorful motmots and lanky egrets, had a late lunch at the hotel and prepared for what turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip- a night tour of the Masaya Volcano National Park.  Our guide Gustavo from Tierra Tours picked us up and drove us to the park while giving us information about animals in the area, natural and national history.  We learned that there are several volcanoes at various stages of maturity within the park- from baby volcanoes which have yet to open up and grow at rate of about 1cm/yr. to dormant craters that have long ago collapsed into themselves- but the most spectacular sight is that of the active Santiago Crater, which constantly spews gases, and very occasionally ash and rock, into the air.  The week before our arrival, a landslide rendered the observation deck unsafe so we were not able to see the glow of the lava but just standing on the edge of an open volcanic crater was quite an experience.  Little did we know what was in store for us next.

They gave us hard hats and flashlights and led us down a small path to a small set of stone stairs that descended into an opening in the ground- an actual bat cave!  I thought we were just going to be observing the bats flying out of the cave at night fall- I had no idea we were going to hike about a kilometer deep down to an area where activities ranging from ancient human sacrificial ceremonies to people hiding from warfare during the revolution took place, all the while housing thousands of bats.  I could feel the flutter of bat wings against my skin but catch just glimpses of them flying in and out of the beam of our lights.  Gustavo explained that snakes hunted in this area, bats being their main prey.  Say what?  Snakes AND caves- my two favorite things- let’s get out of here!  What did we see just then?  A snake eating a bat!  It was neat in a National Geographic kind of way. 

Wednesday morning Gustavo picked us up again, this time set for Mombacho Volcano.  Mombacho is an inactive volcano with a few steam vents, lush cloud forest, dense vegetation, a coffee plantation, medicinal plants and orchids growing wild on the mountainside and exquisite views.  We hiked for about an hour and a half around the top of the volcano where we could see Granada, the Isletas (small islands formed in Lake Nicaragua from a previous eruption of Mombacho), Laguna de Apoyo and the Nicaraguan countryside.  On the drive back we stopped outside Catarina to take pictures of the Laguna from the crater rim high above our hotel- we could even see the two docks in front from the lookout point. 

We decided to enjoy the Laguna one last time and ran down first thing in the morning for a quick swim before getting breakfast, packing up and getting one last hour of hammock relaxing in before our driver Francisco of Transfer Nicaragua picked us up at noon on Thursday to take us to our next destination- the dock for the ferry to Ometepe Island.  Something I noticed early on: everyone- the drivers, the tour guides, the hotel owners and all the other locals were very proud of the natural beauty and cultural heritage of their country.  With good reason, too- the way of life of the local people seems to be that of sustainability due to necessity.  They collect rain water which is heated by sunlight.  They utilize the shoulders of roadways for grazing livestock.  They build roads around trees rather than cutting them down.  Horse and oxen-pulled carts are still driven down the same brick-paved roads as tour buses and taxis.  But instead of old ways and new times clashing, they coexist.  There is an appreciation of the simple way of life, cultural history, natural resources, a balanced ecosystem.  That attitude is exemplified in a natural beauty of Laguna de Apoyo and the area surrounding- it was a wonderful location to kick off our Nicaragua adventure!