Final days in Nicaragua

Our trip to Nicaragua ended last week and it was a trip we won't forget. After returning back to Granada from Leon, we spent the last few days relaxing, shopping and trying to capture the memories of this wonderful town.

Our final adventure was to Volcan Masaya, an active volcano about forty-five minutes from Granada. While the plumes of sulfur smoke and steam billowed into the sky, we felt reasonably safe when we arrived at the park. A sign near our parking spot, however, warned us that we should park our vehicles facing the exit and, should there be an explosion of rocks into the sky, we should hide under our car. Great.

"But when was the last time that happened?" we asked our guide.

"Oh, 2001," he replied.

We were figuring decades, if not centuries. So to find that the most recent explosion, causing people to take shelter under their vehicles was a mere six years ago, put us all on high alert.

We took a pretty exhilarating hike around the volcano to get views from several different vantage points. Unfortunately, because of the excessive plumes and the cloud cover, we weren't able to see the lava glowing, which is sometimes visible from certain angles. We were able to go deep into a cave in the side of the mountain and see a bunch of bats. Perhaps "see" is overstating it a bit. We could feel them and hear them as they flew all around our heads and bodies.

Honestly, Mike and I were ready to leave after the first bat fluttered by our heads.

"OK, we've felt the bats, what more is there? Let's head 'er out."

But Heidi, Emily and Karen were fascinated (some might say reckless) by the depth of the cave and the presence of these blood suckers. Emily kept insisting it was "cool" and that she needed to take a picture of them. I was sure that I did not need a picture to remember these creatures, but we continued deeper into the cave anyway.

Eventually, we got our picture. I am sure that we narrowly escaped doom despite the fact that our guide, Carlos, assured us we were safe and tried to keep us distracted by constantly singing 80's hair-band songs.

That was the adventure of our final full day in Granada. We were happy that Boris, our host at La Siesta, was able to come along with us since we felt he was like a member of the group and he and his wife, Marcella, took such good care of us while we were in Granada.

When we got home from the trip it was late and raining. Heidi headed off to bed while the rest of us headed to a fritanga for one last budget feast of chicken, fried bananas and gallo pinto. What a perfect way to end our last night in Granada.

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The next morning, Heidi, Emily and I began our journey home. We stopped for an hour at el mercado de Masaya ("El Mercado") to buy some souvenirs. Masaya is known for its craftspeople and we found a wonderful assortment of crafts here at the market. My favorite was a hammock, hand-made in Masaya.

We were quite sad to be leaving. It was an amazing trip that had a profound effect on all of us. We certainly appreciate more what we have back in the states, but I think we have also learned that true happiness can come from the contentment of being in the presence of people we love, and in experiencing the moments we are in, as we are in them.

Hasta pronto!

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Our hammock is now in its final place - our backyard in Arizona. It is the perfect place to relax and recall all the memories of our trip.