Out and back, up and down

With Granada fully explored it was time to check out a bit of Nicaragua's countryside. We started by hiring our own private launch (sounds posh right?) for a couple of hours over lunchtime around the (supposed) 365 islands nestling close to the shore of Lake Nicaragua.

Walking the plank

Ready for cruising

Our first stop was a teeny little island - home to a fort. We weren't quite sure what the fort was protecting, or why it was there, but had a nice chat with the guy managing the place who showed us some shark's teeth. From the lake. Weird.

Admiring the view

 Onwards and we were soon surrounded by more lush islands

Tropical

 And a few of these guys:

A bit like a heron

 One island is home to a little monkey colony, including a very little monkey!

Hanging out

This one was a real cheeky chappy

Cute as

 Before long it was time for lunch:

Chilling over lunch

Before we knew it our two hours were up and we were no longer the owners of a private launch and pilot. Time for the 45 minute sticky walk back to town!

The next day we jumped on a chicken bus to the foot of Volcan Masaya, one of a few volcanoes in the area. This one has a paved road all the way to top, so you can pay extra at the entrance for a lift. We declined and walked instead. It was a hot haul but we made it!

A quick breather!

 At the top we were greeted by a proper venting steaming crater:

Steamy

 And some pretty lush views:

Another volcano in the distance - shall we climb that one too?

An afternoon of shopping at the Masaya Artesan Markets and before we knew it, it was the next day and we were climbing another volcano - Mombacho. On the bus on the way over we agreed that we would definitely pay for the transport to the top this time. But on arrival and a choice between $5 and $20 we of course declined and trudged to the top instead. This one was really steep and long but there were some magic views on the way up and a sense of accomplishment at the top (along with some confused American tourists 'you people walked up here???')

Really steep, honest

At the top we got our first taste of cloud forest with a beautiful trail through the canopy.

Viewing the day before yesterday's island archipelago!

Deeper into the forest

Yesterday's volcano venting in the background

It was bloomin' windy at the top

Lush

Coming down was a wee bit hard on the knees

But we stayed amused!

We think we're funny anyway

Half way down and time for a quick
coffee break - it would be rude not to
try a brew grown right there after all!

Waiting for a bus at the bottom we were tempted to join the tuk tuks drivers who were clocking off early at Dilan's Bar.

Tuk tuk night out

A bit pooped we headed back to our hotel for some feet up time and goodbyes to Granada - our temporary home away from home.

End of a busy week for Granada (and us)