We spent 4 hours traveling back from Tierra Nueva to Granada, the oldest city of Nicaragua, founded in 1524. It has a rich colonial heritage and the buildings and streets have beautiful architecture and structure.
We were blessed to be able to take an educational tour and hike to the Volcano Mombacho. It is the fifth highest volcano in Nicaragua standing at 4000 feet and only the second volcano to
have a cloudforest (differs from a rainforest because it is at a higher elevation above sea level). Mombacho is not extinct, as crater three of four is still active, but it has not erupted since 1570.
The bus ride up the volcano was bumpy and steep!
It was colder and foggy at the top. This is a picture looking down into one of the lush craters before we started our 4-5 mile hike.
The volcano has two hiking trails, one that circles the main crater, which we did, and one difficult one (El Puma) which requires a guide. We hiked down the volcano through the "cloudforest" - It's cool and misty and is lush and green with beautiful ferns, mosses and one-day orchids.
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| Guillermo walking in the tunnel |
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| Sandy feeling the warm steam coming from a vent |
The view from atop crater one is spectacular. It overlooks the city of Granada and Lake Nicaragua. This freshwater lake was formed by the last eruption 20,000 years ago when the implosion blew the volcanic cone off and landed 5 miles away. It is the largest lake in Central America.
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| Doug & Kim Viafora |
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| Charlie Hammerschnitt & Chris Wise |
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| KatyKovac, Beverly Proie, Chuck Kovac and Amy Blettner |
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| Sandy Day and Kim Viafora |
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| Kate, Ethan, Bryan, Josie, and Elise Higgins |
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Amanda and Eliza Lowman
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We also did ziplining for a team building event.
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