Volcano Masaya

We had booked a hotel in a town close by in order to visit a volcano and to enjoy ac. Our batteries allow us to run the AC all night but then we need to charge them up by driving or plugging in. The campground didn't allow plugging in, so we planned on changing places. We also needed secure parking for the RV and we had to do laundry.

Our drive was short but eventful.

Volcano masaya was a volcano where you could actually see lava. They had evening trips so that you could see the red lava. We had hoped to do this but as it turns out due to landslides and unstable ground near the viewing platform there are was closed six months before our arrival. Still, we visited the museum which had an impressive display of the volcanos of Nicaragua, basically all the peaks around us and which we had driven past. The lakes are also craters of volcanos, it seems.

There was a hallway that Dd and Ellie came running back to us to declare, "Bats!" We didn't know what to expect but there were bats in the rafters by the display discussing bats in the area. There was the faint odor of urea, not unlike cat pee. As it turns out there were all over the museum in the rafters and the museum employees reassured us they were not vampiric, only fruit bats. I was more concerned with rabies and told the kids to wash their hands and not touch their faces.

Ellie bought a necklace at the souvenir shop an Dd played on the playground. 

We decided to get lunch along the shore of lake Apoyo. It was a windy road through a small village to get there. We then had to pay $2.70 to enter the lake area and the road dropped down into the Crater. Ellie started getting worried because the road was so steep and we had difficulty getting out of the driveway in Bacalar. The road became more and more narrow then became single lane dirt. A low hanging branch dragged on the roof and the kids freaked out.

The entrance to the restaurant was a steep stone driveway and there was no way I was going to attempt that, and then both kids started bawling. Christine and the kids walked behind me with a walkie talkie and I backed up all the way to the asphalt and then did a 3 point turn and everyone piled into the terror mobile. Our appetites ruined, we drove out of the Crater, and as it turns out, our hotel was just 2 minutes outside the Crater. 

Table d'Apoyo is a French owned paradise with only four rooms but service prix fixe dinner. I didn't know this when we booked it. The owners moved here two years ago from Lyon and opened the hotel this past year. They welcomed us with lemonade and showed us the grounds.

We swam in the pool and did out laundry and played with Ourval and Yoda, their dogs and their new kitten named chat, or "cat". The kids did homeschool and we decompressed from the past week of long driving days. 

Dinner included freshly baked bread, salad, rice, and ratatouille. Delicious. We fortunately were able to take the leftovers to the RV.

I was able to use up the rest of my local currency, and we would be crossing the border to Costa Rica tomorrow.