Our morning started off with Fruit Loops, which was a surprise to all of us! It was a fitting beginning for our first Fun Day. Breakfast came with a banana as well but some Glimpsers commented that they missed the fried banana slices and chips that we usually get with lunch and dinner; we’re getting attached to Nicaraguan food already!
Our yellow chicken bus was waiting for us outside the buffet to take us to the Masaya Volcano. This volcano is currently active and there was movement as recently as 2012. On a nearby hilltop you could see a roughly constructed cross. In the past, locals believed that the Masaya Volcano was the “mouth of hell”, and it was pretty easy to see why, with the large amount of warm smoke it was spewing out.
We took a small hike to get a better view of the Masaya Volcano, as well as its less active neighbor. This crater was full of life with trees growing from the bottom and green covering all sides.
From the Masaya volcano, it was only a 20 minute ride to the Laguna de Apoyo (Apoyo Lagoon). A long time ago, the lagoon used to be an active volcano as well, but after many, many years, the crater it left behind was filled naturally with rainwater and water flowing from tiny streams. We had lunch at the Monkey Hut, and then everyone had a few hours to just enjoy the clear blue water. There were kayaks to share and a few floating docks as well. We also had the chance to meet up with the other Estelí group and meet friends, new and old. This included other visitors to the lagoon, such as the Costa Rican pair that greeted Eric.
No photos from the lagoon for this blog post; they’re stuck on cameras and we can’t quite manage to transfer them over. Here’s a couple from Google though! The place looked even more amazing in person and I promise we do have real photos of our own!
We had a pretty long ride back from the Laguna de Apoyo, but we were greeted with nacatamal and glass bottled soda (or pop…) for dinner. Nacatamal is a traditional Nicaraguan dish, normally available on Sundays, consisting of corn meal wrapped in banana leaves. Everyone was pretty hungry after all the fun we had today!
Thanks again to everyone reading this blog and for your fun comments!
Hi Jennifer and all Glimpsers! Thank again for sharing your day with us, what a fun day! Great to see you had an enjoyable day visiting the Masaya Volcano (I can only imagine the beautiful views and the contrasts of darks and greens in the area! ) and then having an afternoon of more fun in the Apoyo Lagoon with the other Esteli group and more local friends! Were you able to swim in the lagoon?? I hope so! …I hope you are enjoying the local food (specially those fried bananas yummy!…that unfortunately were missing! The Nacatamal sounded delicious too specially as you all arrived hungry, glad to hear you had the special Sunday meal… I can’t wait to see all the pics of today’s fun day on your return !! Keep posting, we love it ! Gracias y hasta mañana!
What a peaceful and beautiful day you all went through! I could smell the fresh air and soft wind from your photos. You all look so joyful and bright in pictures. Thank you for your time and support, Jennifer and Nathan!
Hi Jennifer,
How was the swim? Funny thing is that for the last two days i’ve been reading some other groups post by mistake, but it’s great tot catch up on what you guys are up to. That’s cool you guys were able to visit an active volcano! It’s awesome to see what you guys are doing over there. Take this advantage and have some fun before school starts. And those fried bananas, they’re slap!!!!! aka, they’re the bomb.com. But anyways, i do hope you guys are doing ok! from this point you guys are having the time of a life time. But anyways, I miss my friend on that trip a lot, hope she’s hanging in there. And I’m sure your family misses you all too. I’ll be looking forward to your next blog, as long as i read the right group! hahahaha. Have fun, stay safe, and ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind. I’ll catch you guys later.
Thien Nguyen
Dear Jennifer,
Thank you for the wonderful detailed caption of the day. I look forward to your next blog 🙂
Sounds like you guys had an amazing day! i can’t think of a single person who could say they have gone swimming in a lagoon that used to be a volcano! I need to put that in my bucketlist for sure. Thanks for updating us and I miss you Ella!
Hello Jennifer thanks a lot for that wonderful picture of Ishwa next time tell her she should comb her hair fist j/k she knows i love her lol. The famous chicken bus i believe they call it a guajoletero or sopilote the ride is not very comfortable but im sure you guys made the best of it. well i sure appreciate your blog and looking forward to reading more have a fun trip and stay safe. ishwa daddy loves you.
Wow, this seems like one amazing trip! You climbed up a volcano and visited a lagoon. Sounds like an adventurous day. Sidra, your smile says it all-I’m so glad that you are having fun! Can’t wait to hear more. ( Sorry this is so late,I didn’t manage to post it earlier)