A night at the volcanic Lake Apoyo, Nicaragua
We reluctantly left the charms of Granada to spend our last night in Nicaragua at Lake Apoyo, a beautiful crater lake situated next to the active Masaya Volcano. After seeing beautiful pictures on the internet and seeing as though it was so close we decided this was a must see destination.
Granada to Lake Apoyo
We caught a chicken bus from central Granada which leave every 10mins with the heading “Masaya” to the entrance of the lake for 50c each. From there we could walk 1 hour down to the lake shore but we did not want to waste the beautiful day and took one of the taxis that sit on the road at the entrance for $4.
View from the restaurant, Hostel Paradiso
Upon arriving the Paradiso hostel we were greeted by friendly English speaking staff, we were informed that free tea and coffee is available all day from the restaurant that overlooks the lake. Good start. Next we made our way down to the “beach” on the lake shore, where we had amazing views of the huge blue lake and green tree lined crater rim. We headed to the bar which was overlooking the beach and we could not resist a cocktail especially for $3. We stripped off to our swimmers and took a seat in the comfortable beach chairs. With cocktail and book in hand we sipped and read the afternoon away whilst listening to the water softly lapping at the shore. This is life.
We decided to utilise the free kayaks the hotel provided, upon picking up the kayak we realised it was not going to be easy. It was extremely heavy and carrying this ton of bricks for a kayak over the thousands of sharp rocks that line the shore where the water meets the sand was insanely difficult. But we couldn’t back out as a bunch of sun baking Germans were intently watching us, smirking with an expression that said “you will fail”. The small waves also ensured that we looked like fools, as each wave came in it would knock the kayak backwards into my shins, where I would fall over into the sharp rocks and then try to get up before the next wave would knock me over again. We finally made it out deep enough to where the sharp rocks ended and we were able to board the kayak. “Sucked in Germans we did it” I said to them with my eyes as we paddled away triumphantly.
That evening we continued to drink cocktails until we were ready for dinner. We ate at the hotels on site restaurant which had a good variety and was really good value. We had thai green curry served in clay pot – which was very tasty but not very thai tasting and a chicken breast with mango chilli sauce served with vegetables rice. We enjoyed some nice white wine with dinner and continued to drink down on the beach while we watched the vibrant stars.
The next morning we had a typical Nicaraguan breakfast of eggs, beans and tortillas overlooking the lake before checking out. We were quite scared of how much the bill would be as we worked out we had drank more than anticipated the night before – 7 glasses of wine, 6 cocktails, 4 coronas and a rum and coke. We waited nervously while the bill was added up including dinner, breakfast all our drinks and the room cost and were pleasantly surprised when we were handed a receipt for $83! Absolutely amazing, this place is so cheap and so beautiful we wished we could stay a few more days, but we must move on as we need to be in Utila for our diving course in 4 days.
Typical Nicaraguan brekky
Travellers Tips
Paradiso Hostel $25 private room with shared bathroom, free kayak rental, onsite beach, bar and restaurant.
Kayaks at dusk
The photos are beautiful and I am sure you would have stayed longer if you could, looks soooo relaxing
LikeLike
magic spot…great pics
LikeLike