From Mirador de Catarina to Laguna de Apoyo

Mirador de Catarina is a look out point in the town of Catarina in Nicaragua that oversees Laguna de Apoyo, a lagoon that was once an ancient volcano. Any mountain seen is or was a volcano.

With one of my travel friends and someone to guide us, I walked up to the look out point. Once there you can see the lagoon and some of the towns around it. Off in the distance you can see Lake Nicaragua. Many families and other groups of people were around sitting on the benches taking in the view. The area also has shops and food, even horse ride tours. 

After spending time at the top we took a moto-taxi to a resort down by the lake side that let's you enjoy entry some of the amenities, such as lake access for a small fee. The place we went to had a dock, inner-tubes and a sail boat for those who chose to use them. One from the group decided to swim the rest of us relaxed on the hammocks or by the water edge.

Since the lagoon was once a volcano a lot of the rocks were volcanic.  My favorite one to find was pumice which is a light colored or white rock, very light in weight due to air bubbles trapped when it was formed. When I tossed it into the water it would float and the waves would bring it back to the edge.

Even with a kid from our group was tossing any rock he could find to the edge of the water, it was good relaxing time out by the lake. Going from the top of the lookout point and then down by the edge of the water could have been a hike. With the limitations of sun setting at 6 we wouldn't have had enough time down and up from the lake before it got too dark.  It was a great ending to my adventure in Central America.  Looking forward to my next adventure, Meet Me Outdoors.

Parque Nacional Vulcan Masaya - Masaya Volcano National Park

I went to the Masaya Volcano National Park. They had a Visitor Center which has a great exhibit area about the history of the volcano and how volcanoes are formed geologically.   From there you can either either walk or drive to the top of the volcanoes.  There are two active volcanoes and five craters that are in active.  They also have guided tours in the day and even at night.

There are some precautions to note about visiting an active volcano. The sulfur gases and smoke are toxic so they don't recommend staying in the area longer than 5 minutes. It also can erupt or launch material at any time, so you have to be aware of the surrounding sand listen to ranger that is there for safety.  There was an area that had steps as you can see in the first picture that we could not go up due to some damage.  

The part of the park that I visited was called Plaza de Oviedo. It has a clearing for parking and is next to the opening of one of the active volcanoes.  There was a lot of the smoke and steam coming from the volcano, so seeing anymore than the edge that I was standing by was difficult.

Overlooking active volcano Masaya

After taking pictures of the volcano and its surroundings, it was time to head down.  I was with a friend who wanted to walk part of the trail while the others of the group were going to stay a bit before driving down. There was little plant life besides grass so there wasn't much shade along that path. We went about half a mile down before the group came by to get us.  I noticed that it still was another mile or so of driving down before we saw trees and other plants.  It is amazing how a volcano can change the landscape. Active volcano today, ancient volcano crater turned lake tomorrow, Meet Me Outdoors.

The Panama Canal

Today I visited the Panama Canal with my friends at the Miraflores Locks visitor center. We watched as the special guide trains pull one ship through the locks, they are the shiny metal cars along the edge of the canal. The docent said that the water already left so we missed the shift from higher to lower water for that ship.  After waiting a bit longer there was another ship going through.  They say on average they can have 42 ships a day and they are active 24 hours a day 365 days a year.

There is a short video and a museum at the visitor center that explains how the canal was made and how it works. An announcer was describing what was happening as spectators watched in English and Spanish.  In the museum they also had a section about the wildlife in the canal watershed (see turtle). The canal is rather amazing place to visit and for people to watch and learn about the canal. Continuing the Panama adventure, Meet Me Outdoors.

On my way to Panama City, Panama

I had a window seat on my flight. Outside my window I watched the sunset behind and to the right. This means I had the western sky out of my window and I was definitely flying south.  Above the clouds I saw two planets, Jupiter on top and Venus below. 

This will be further south than I have gone before. And for someone who teaches and observes the night sky, Panama will show me more of the southern sky than I have ever seen.  Not only am I looking forward to night sky observation. I am also looking forward to seeing the tropics and exploring the nature of being in a new habitat region. Awaiting my next adventure armed with sunscreen and bug spray, Meet Me Outdoors.