Masaya Night Tour

10pm,

           A pair of very dusty shoes and a pile of dirty clothing laying on the floor of the hotel room are testimony to the amount of effort required for tonight’s Masaya Volcano excursion.

 After a relatively lazy day in Granada we set out at 4pm for the trip to the Masaya National Park. Our group consisted of 4 Canadian and 3 German tourists plus our Tierra Tours guide, Ramon and his driver. On arriving at the parking area, which overlooks the main crater we commenced to hoof it up the 400 and odd stairs which lead to a replica of the first wooden cross. It was placed there in the early 1500’s by a Catholic priest who considered the volcano to be the Mouth of Hell. Also considered sacred by the native population, it was the site of some ritual sacrifices in the pre-Hispanic eras. Our guide, Ramon mentioned that Somoza’s troops would actually execute political prisoners by ejecting them out of helicopters positioned over the lava pools. When the Sandanista’s eventually ousted the corrupt governing body in 1979 they apparently “returned the favour”

  Spewing an almost constant mix of sulphur fumes, smoke, ash and other poisonous gases the most recent “ burps” from the central and currently active Santiago crater were in 2000 and 2008. The former involved a 40 meter boulder and a rental car. Both can be seen on Yu-tube videos if one googles Masaya Volcano.

 A second and more strenuous hike brought us to the top of the most easterly crater, Masaya  (which has been inactive since the late 1770’s) Following this trail past the crater we ascended a rather slippery slope leading to the highest point in the area., a rocky prominence allowing a 360 degree view of the panorama. ,By this time the sun had gone down and a cooling wind was blowing through the area. The distant lights of Masaya and Granada could be seen and later the stars began to reveal themselves.

  Stumbling back down the trail in almost darkness we took a short ride to the other side of the crater where we donned hardhats and picked up flashlights before heading down a trail to the first of two caves. Squatting down in the darkness of the entrance to the first we watched as hundreds of bats flew in and out of view. Further along the trail we descended into the second cave. Formed as a result of molten lava and gas bubbles these lava tunnels stretch into the hills around Masaya. Several hundred meters long and approx 10 meters high and wide, they have served as sacrificial sites in ancient years. More recently they also served as hiding places during the various conflicts of the past century. A rockfall prevented us from travelling any more than 200 meters into the cave, more than enough to allow one to experience a short bout of total darkness when everyone turned off their flashlight. Returning to the main parking area we stopped over the Santiago crater for a (failed) glimpse of lava flow – too deep to be seen that night before returning to town for a well needed shower and a clothing change.

 With far more detail that could’t be covered here, Masaya is a fascinating site that show up on various web searchers for those interested.