Friday, June 5, 2009

Collapsing in a collapsed volcano.


Granada was like the playboy bunny of Central American towns – it was nice to look at but not much beneath the surface. I kept forgetting where we were and had called it Antigua by accident more than once. Leon had the Sandanistas but there was no edge in Granada and we had still yet to find the unique thing about the town. We consulted the hostel board of suggested activities.

One of the most popular appeared to be a day trip to Laguna de Apoyo. The hostel had a daily shuttle that took people to another hostel where for a small fee you could hang out and use their facilities. Apoyo was an old volcano but about 10,000 years ago it had collapsed and now it was a crystal clear lake where you could hang out, swim, kayak and explore. It seemed like fun so we put our names down for the 10am shuttle.

The ride was quick and beautiful as we climbed up the old volcano and then down to the crater’s edge that also happened to be the name of the hostel. It was a beautiful place that reminded me of Atitlan but without all the tourists or hotels. The water was crystal clear and just cool enough to be refreshing and just warm enough to be comfortable. Although it dropped off quite suddenly not too far from the shore – to the bottom of the volcano I guess. Adrian went out on a kayak while I sat and read. Adrian went out on the inner tube while I sat and read. Adrian read while I floated in the lake. Adrian swam out to the dock while I sat and read. You get the idea.

We weren’t the only ones enjoying doing nothing. Joining us on the shuttle were two other travelers: she was from Birmingham and he was from Croatia and they’d met while traveling through Brazil or Argentina – they were headed in the opposite direction as us so we exchanged tips and recos. Their next stop was Honduras. I warned them that the earthquake had knocked out a major bridge so they should double check bus schedules. And they recommended Colombia as a great place to go especially the boat trip from Panama. So that makes Colombia reco number… I can’t even count any more. We’ll have to seriously look at going.

Although it was overcast it was a perfect do nothing day. I had lathered up on the sunscreen but Adrian hadn’t and was feeling the effects of too much time out in the sun. He was grumpy and whacked and immediately went to lie down when we got back to the hostel. But I had company. Stefania had just arrived from her time on the pacific coast. So we chatted for a couple of hours until I was finally able to drag Adrian out to get something to eat.

We were too late to get barbeque in the park so it was back to the main tourist drag which was heaving with people, street performers and locals cruising down the strip in their fancy (i.e. souped up stereos) cars.

4 comments:

Katey said...

Just wanted to say I'm enjoying all the recent updates!

liz and adrian said...

aw shucks thanks katey. I'm trying hard to get the gap down.

cheryl said...

swimming in a collapsed volcano = totes cool.
even if you were just reading :)

liz and adrian said...

it was a really gorgeous place. it reminded me a lot of going to the cottage.