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Travel Update #44 |
Hello from Granada! 🇳🇮 |
This week we’re driving deeper into Nicaragua to explore colonial towns and epic volcanoes!
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Leon |
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We started the week off by driving from the cloud forest down to the colonial city of Leon. The first thing we noticed as we approached the city were all of the volcanoes! The second was that, as opposed to the 23*C we’d started at, it was 38*C in Leon 🥵. We made sure to only be out in the morning and evenings to deal with the heat. |
Leon is filled with beautiful churches and fun markets. We explored town, and tried bajo, a local dish of stewed beef, rice, yucca, and plantain! We also tried lots of local juices, which funny enough, are served in a bag 😅 |
Cerro Negro |
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We left Leon and headed to one of the most popular attractions nearby: Cerro Negro. Cerro Negro is an active(ish) volcano that literally mean “Black Hill”. The name isn’t the most imaginative, but it gets the point across. |
The most popular activity at Cerro Negro is to hike up the volcano and toboggan down the volcanic gravel! |
The hike up was very difficult, and the wind at the top was insane! We could barely stand. The views were beautiful, and the ride down was a fun and unique experience. We’d watched tour groups race down the day before, and the wipeouts did not look fun, so we took our time and enjoyed the views 😁 |
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We spent a few days camping at the base of Cerro Negro, where we once again ran into friends of ours. We’re all heading in the same direction, and it’s nice to have camping buddies! |
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Las Penitas |
We left Cerro Negro and headed to the beach. The goal: surfing Nicaragua’s uncrowded beaches. While we were only moderately successful at surfing, we did find a place that made amazing Italian pizzas, so we’ll count that as a win 😍 |
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Laguna Apoyo |
Pretty much all of Nicaragua is volcanic. You can see evidence of volcanic history everywhere, and many areas are home to active volcanoes. Just outside of Granada is Laguna Apoyo, an extinct caldera that is now a beautiful lake. |
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The lake is extremely blue and is home to different species of fish. A few places around the lake run scuba diving trips; but while we resisted the urge to go diving, we enjoyed camping beside the lake and jumping in to cool off. There was also a really nice breeze, which helped with the heat (if we haven’t made it clear, Nicaragua is HOT!). |
Masaya Volcano |
Did we mention there are Volcanoes around? Because there are a lot! Masaya volcano is home to an extremely rare phenomenon: in the crater of this active volcano is a stable lava lake. It is one of only eight lava lakes in the world, and is by far the most accessible. |
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Entry starts at 6:00pm, and we rushed up to get our first view of the lake. We could only spend 15 minutes near the top due to toxic gases, so we were determined to make the most of it! At first our view was obscured by smoke, but then it cleared and we saw active, bubbling lava! |
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We stayed watching the glow and bubbles in between clouds of smoke until the attendants came and cleared us out😅 It’s been a while since we’ve seen something totally new that we’ll likely never see again, so we tried to really absorb the experience. |
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What’s Next |
We’re getting ready to explore the city of Granada. We’ve booked a walking tour for tomorrow, and we’re very excited! |
What’s New |
We’ve uploaded our next video in our Mainland Mexico series. In this video we visit San Luis Potosí and explore the tropical region of Huasteca Potosina! |
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That’s all from us this week!
Hayley, Jake and Finnley 🐾 |
P.S. If you know of anyone who would like to receive our updates as we head south, please forward this email on to them so they can use this link to sign up to receive our email 😁👍
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Driven: 21,120 km / 13,123 miles |
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