Day two in Nicaragua - to Masaya Volcano and Market

We had made arrangements yesterday for a six-hour tour which, we were told, would include a trip to Nicaragua's first national park featuring the Masaya Volcano, the craft market in the town of Masaya, a trip to the Mirador Catarina, a pass through the Pueblos Blancos and, our final stop, the village of San Juan where we viewed some fantastic pottery featuring pre-Colombian designs.

We met our guide at 9 this morning and were soon in the tourism van parked just outside our hotel door. Our guide had long blonde hair which was pulled back and tied up on the back of his head. He spoke Spanish initially but switched to very understandable English. When we were under way, I asked him if he lived in Nicaragua and he told us that he did. He did say that he had a French passport (EU). I asked him how he went about getting that and he told us that his dad was from France and his mom was from Costa Rica. He said that he had grown up in Costa Rica but felt he needed a change so came to Nicaragua to involve himself in tourism. I asked him if it were difficult to get work papers in this country and he responded that nobody ever checks about things like that.

We drove about forty minutes and arrived at Masaya National Park. He paid our entrance fee and we drove perhaps five miles to the rim of the caldera. We had three options to us for viewing this marvelous sight. We joined perhaps ten or fifteen vehicles, all parked as instructed (backed into the spaces). In 2001

In 1979, Masaya became Nicaragua's first National Park, named Masaya Volcano National Park (Parque Nacional Volcan Masaya). The National Park has an area of 54 square meters includes two volcanoes and five craters, as well as a range of elevations between 100 and 630 meters above sea level. It is the only volcano in the western hemisphere where one can drive to the rim. In the park is an underground tunnel which was formed by lava flows, one can find bats and look inside and observe the glowing lava in the dark crater mouth of the volcano.

Masaya continually emits large amounts of sulfur dioxide gas (from the active Santiago crater) and volcanologists study this (and other signs) to better understand the behavior of the volcano and also evaluate the impact of acid rain and the potential for health problems.

Although the recent activity of Masaya has largely been dominated by continuous degassing from an occasionally lava-filled pit crater, a number of discrete explosive events have occurred in the last 50 years. One such event occurred on November 22, 1999, which was recognized from satellite data. A hot spot appeared on satellite imagery, and there was a possible explosion. On April 23, 2001 the crater exploded and formed a new vent in the bottom of the crater. The explosion sent rocks with diameters up to 60 cm which traveled up to 500 m from the crater. Vehicles in the visitors area were damaged and one person was injured. On October 4, 2003 an eruption cloud was reported at Masaya. The plume rose to a height of ~4.6 km.

In addition to being warned to back the vehicle into the parking spaces, we were also warned to spend no more than twenty minutes in the area. 

When our allotted time was up, we went over to a small stand and bought a couple of sodas and were soon in the van descending to the entrance and visitor center for the park. 

It was only a matter of a handful of kilometers that were driven for us to arrive at the Masaya market located in the city of the same name. 

Our guide assured us that, other than for the market (which was touted as the best market in all of Central America), the town itself was not set up for tourism. It was very evident to us as we walked about after visiting the market and it was unspectacular in all aspects save the central park with its gazebo. Adjacent to and sitting on the perimeter of the park was the colonial-style church in which we sat and relaxed for a few minutes.

To us, the market held very little appeal. I must add that the residents of the two towns where we have spent the most time are genuinely friendly and extremely helpful. Many of the clerks in hotels and shops do speak English but it is a very easy place for visiting and looking about. There is a good sense of security here and, especially in Granada, the area around central park and the main street passing by the cathedral are full of tourists and well lighted.

In both Masaya and in Granada, horses or ponies are used to pull carts around. These carts are used to transport people and cargo.

Because of the livestock passing through the city streets, there is also the presence of droppings and puddles of spent urine. You can only imagine the odors that are omnipresent. We have seen small burlap collection devices placed appropriately under the offending orifices of horses in both San Antonio and in New Orleans but, even though these devices are here, they fail to eliminate the plastering of the smelly stuff on the streets.

The Masaya market covers a large city block and we noticed that the shop-keepers were non-aggressive in their approach to vending. This pleased me greatly and encouraged me to spend ten minutes in the market instead of one or two. But, like the saying we have overused....been there, done that.

It does have an interesting and very different design on the exterior as you can see below. There are large wooden doors which, during the hours of opening are flung open permitting passage on all sides of the market area. Inside there is a common area with a stage which could permit room for observation of singing groups, musical combos or, for the reading of serious poetry. Who knows what goes on in this venue? The stage was vacant and there were no would-be observers.

One major difference we have noted in our visit here. In all of Bolivia, Peru and Guatemala, we often see the beautifully hued attire worn by the indigenous population. That same sort of coloration is missing completely here. Most folks are attired thanks to the paca  or bale of used clothing from rag and thrift shops and left-over Salvation Army donations that provides them with clothing similar to what you and I wear as a matter of course in the USA. We see the names of familiar towns, schools and places from the USA emblazoned on the chests and breasts of boys and girls, men and women here. One would be hard pressed to detect any differences from the  attire of the young folks here when compared and contrasted with their counterparts in the USA or in Canada. That goes for the mature adults as well.

In terms of overall and general well-being, I have seen no skinny individual here and I have observed few beggars, if any. They appear well-dressed and well-fed and seem to be a happy people. Even local residents don shorts and t-shirts and I see very few feet dressed with shoes. More often than not, sandals and flip-flops are used.

Leaving the market at Masaya, we drove perhaps five or six miles gaining elevation as we went to the lip of an extinct volcano. We passed through some small villages called Pueblos Blancos or white villages. In these villages many of the inhabitants had what we would say plant nurseries and were busy tending and selling their beauties. We are in the midst of the dry season here so, this beauty has to be maintained by humans for the most part as for moisture and from Nature regarding the sunlight of which we have experienced a bountiful amount.

We soon arrived at Lake Apoyo which is a collapsed volcano and contains water that is said to be more pure than the two or three other lakes in the area. Our guide indicated that tours to the shores of the lake were available for those who would rather swim in this body of water than in the one on whose shores our town of Granada lay. We opted for a view only and will save the pleasure of a plunge for perhaps Costa Rica which will come within a day or two. This lake reminded us vaguely of Crater Lake National Park in the USA. It is, however, far smaller in size and lies at a much lower altitude than does Crater Lake. Apoyo, if I got my facts straight and my ears were operating correctly, is approximately one-hundred meters in depth at its deepest point and three hundred meters can be measured from shore to shore at its widest. The air was fresh and cool up at this elevation and treated us to a few moments of great comfort.

From this location, we drove in the tourism van without air conditioning. Well, I could say that it had the same type of air conditioning as we had as children - open windows with the wind blowing fiercely from all four corners. Better that than nothing. Our guide told us that our last stop of the day would be in a wee village where, within the space of four hundred meters, we would encounter various shops and private homes where the artists in residence threw clay which resulted in some fine pieces of pottery.

We alighted on the street made of paved blocks and walked the five or six blocks. We were alone save for perhaps another couple who was also poking around the wares. We purchased a few items and talked with the owners and, in one case the artist who had both designed and produced the works of art.

At the end of the village sat the ubiquitous Catholic church. We arrived at the village of San Juan at around one o'clock and found the doors of the church shut tightly. There was no evidence that the padre had been there or had any intentions of being there.

It was a clean village and neatness was in evidence in all of the areas in which we were walking and doing our "window" shopping.

We came finally to a small private dwelling which had a few items in the sales area of the home. When John entered that area, the lady asked him into a smaller gated area where larger pieces were on display.

We began to notice items that represented animals that were incorporated into the fashioning of the pottery and, when we questioned their significance, were told that these pieces were modeled on pieces that had been excavated in this country. Of course natural dyes were employed in the fabrication of the originals and these, for the most part were made using non-natural hues. There were exceptions, however, and when we asked about vast differences in prices, we were told by the artist of one of the very nice pieces that these were made following what might have been the method employed on the originals. He indicated that the sap or milk of the trees were used in some cases for an ingredient in the dyes. The pieces in the first room that John visited were marked in the local currency but the pieces in the second room were marked in dollars. With the conversion rate of twenty to one, marking the more dear pieces in Córdobas would have produced quite a bit number as one of the larger pieces was on sale for USD200. The artist assured us though that he would grant a generous discount. The two pieces to the left were about twenty inches in height.

Many of the pottery shops still use the older method of producing pottery instead of the ovens or kilns. The pottery is placed in fire and until it is completed. Speaking of fires, very much like Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, Nicaragua is not without the odor of fires. One cannot go far or spend much time without the telltale aroma of fires. Whether it is the residue or chaff from the fields, garbage burning or just smoke from the fires used to heat homes in cooler climates. Smoke is apparent in every place that we have visited in Central America and there seem to be absolutely no bans anywhere, whether country side or metropolitan area against the burning and production of smoke.

From San Juan we were ready to make the thirty minute ride back to our temporary home in Granada. Our driver took us back to within one-half block of our hotel and we set out for a bit of nourishment.

John had noticed an ad on one of the maps of the city which touted the best hamburgers in town. Its name was Zoom Bar. We had put off eating during our tour because the food simply did not look too appetizing at the market in Masaya and many of the shops and tiendas were closed on Sunday to permit time with families. So we both had a bit of an appetite.

We entered the restaurant and saw a bunch of ex-pats from the USA and also some Canadians. There were no locals there at all. The wait person was a fellow from New Orleans and he was chatting with the guy who appeared to be in charge...also from a country other than Nicaragua. We were dismayed because the folks who were there were drinking only and, of course, had to accompany that with cigarettes. It seemed that they waited until our food was placed before us. Ugh!!

On our way back to the hotel, John asked me if we should check out the super market. We walked about five blocks and found the market. It was far superior to anything of like kind in Antigua and very well stocked and orderly. I took no other image than the one you see at the right. It is of a papaya and the size far exceeds that which we see in the markets of Guatemala. In fact, the ones here are more like the ones we find in Venezuela and in Colombia.

After returning to the hotel, we took naps and rested a bit before we got up once again. This time we went out to see what was happening in the central park. We noticed that there were far fewer people out and that the stands which were before set up were now gone.

The church was open and I could see communicants going up for the sacraments. The church is open to the elements with windows and doors all open. I am certain that the fans were a spinning indoors too.

We continued on down for a few blocks and found a great little dessert place. We entered, ordered our sweets and drinks and enjoyed our last mini repast of the day. I had a piece of chocolate pie and John enjoyed a brownie. He reported that his choice was very rich but I did see that he was able to consume the entire thing. I had tea and he enjoyed coffee, most likely from beans of Nicaragua.

Then back to the hotel where we viewed some of the Olympics in Vancouver and John managed to see some of his favored show, the Desperate Housewives. Can you imagine? Such is life in the fast lane.

End of day two. Tomorrow we have not definite plans but may visit some small islands in Lake Nicaragua which were formed by volcanic activity centuries ago.