“From the
beginning of Nicaragua's conquest, the Spaniards referred to the Masaya Volcano
as “The Mouth of Hell” or simply “Masaya's Hell.” José G. Viramonte, Jaime
Incer-Barquero , Journal of Valcanology and Geothermal Research
I rode a bus for over two hours each way—from the port of
San Juan del Sur on the coast to a volcano near the Nicaraguan capital of
Managua—to spend 15 minutes looking into the mouth of hell. It was worth every second of the trip.
You see, I love volcanoes. Live ones, dormant ones, ones
that have been sleeping for years.
Each has its own character, and its own results.
This one looks like the caldron of hell. The caldera is deep—so deep that a
photo (at least on my camera) cannot capture it. And smoky—that is not clouds
in that pit, it is the smoke of the volcano. And it would clear enough from moment to moment that you
could see to the bottom of the pit—way, way down there.
The last major eruption was in 1776, yet the lava from that
eruption looks surprisingly fresh.
There have been small eruptions since then. In fact, there was a school trip on which some children were
on the top, and felt a rumbling. Next thing you knew, they were covered in
ash. They have since started
warning people that if you feel something, get out of there. Smart advice.
Why only 15 minutes?
That’s about as long as most people’s lungs can stand the fumes. One big puff of sulphur, and everyone
was coughing. But we all agreed
that it had been worth it.
Nicaragua is trying to build a tourism industry, seeing the
success of its neighbor, Costa Rica.
The volcano is part of it.
San Juan del Sur, a pretty ocean-front city, is another part. It is
largely considered a surfer’s paradise, and the number of shops and bars
catering to the surfers seemed to confirm this. However, it is going to need to approach its neighbor’s
political stability and handle on crime to get there. But it is interesting to
see that they are trying.
Next up: Huatalco, Mexico
Brave woman! I'm not so sure I'd walk up to an active volcano...
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