Cascada Santa Emile a stunner to stare at
A short walk from the rural highway, I enter an ecolodge that pierces a half-moon of jungle framed rock faces. I explore trails along coffee, banana and cacao plantations. I descend a steep pathway from the clifftops, along tiers of viewing points, stopping at each. A footpath with mossy steps – all slick – leads […]
Don’t stumble into the Mouth of Hell
The shuttle makes its way through storied Masaya, a revolutionary stronghold from which Sandinista guerrillas launched their final assault on the Somoza dictatorship in 1979. Whether as signposts to the gates of hell or as humbling displays of our powerlessness against nature, volcanoes have captured our imaginations for centuries. The road leads visitors directly to […]
Laguna de Apoyo sanctuary of stunning beauty
Apoyo Lagoon Nature Reserve is a mostly undiscovered sanctuary of stunning beauty straddling the Granada and Masaya Departments. This pristine lagoon’s abysmal blue depths invite swimmers and divers, but mostly draws travelers to relax at its beach club along the rim and become mesmerized by the sounds of birds and howler monkeys. Formed over 20,000 […]
Land of fire: the Sultan rising majestically
At any point along Granada’s heat seared streets, Mombacho can be viewed rising majestically into the clouds. Today I climb it. A shuttle picks me up and stops for tour mates from Amsterdam. We drive six miles outside Granada and continue up the steeply pitched volcano road along coffee plantations to the cloud forest and […]