Day 30: Mombacho Volcano Reserve & zip lines - Tuesday December 7, 2010

We had a leisurely start at 10am because the volcano park and facilities didn’t open till then. While going to an ATM, we enjoyed seeing a parade with 20 teen-age girls dressed like brides, with a band following going to confirmation.

We hired a car and driver to have an easy day. The site is spectacular – from the views all the way to the Pacific and to the opposite side of Lake Nicaragua; the heavily populated parts of the country; the steaming, sulfurous fumaroles; different environments depending on elevation and direction; and mucho varieties of plants and animals. The 2-½ mile hike up and down the volcano had 1,500’ elevation change with one magnificent panorama after another. We could see several steaming volcanoes.

The canopy tour with 17 platforms through the jungle was a lot of fun. It consisted of 10 zip lines – one of the longest in the world – and the 3 handlers added to the fun with flying like superman, upside down, etc.

It is a holiday (virgin conception) back in Granada so the archeological museum was closed. We had snacks in a café that caters to foreign students to see how humus and tuna melts traveled to Central America. Different! All our different fish dinners at the Gran Francia were superb.