Day Seven – San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua

---

Our faux SAR made us about 90 minutes late getting into port, so we had a mad-dash for the gangways once the ship tied up. It was another “tender day,” and the wind and seas were both very high, with 90-degree heat and 100% humidity thrown in for good measure. The tenders chopped so much that water came up over the bow and doused everyone on the top deck. We are getting our sea legs back, A week ago and we would have both been queasy, but no problems today. We headed out to Mombacho Crater Volcanic National Park. Great guide today, who very thoroughly explained the history of Nicaragua during the 90-minute trek. We stopped at Lake Nicaragua for photos of this huge lake and the volcanoes that surround it. Again, we are quite taken back by the abject poverty we see everywhere we travel. Fuel costs are high as well here ($5+ per gallon), but the streets and highways appear to be a little better maintained. The Mombacho Park itself is situated just west of the Capitol of Managua at an altitude of about 5,000’. The peak was shrouded in clouds and a stiff wind blew, which was a welcome relief from the tropical heat at the Pacific Coast. Unlike the ashen volcano cone of the previous day’s tour, this crater is filled with lush tropical plants and flowers, so the time goes quickly. We hiked the perimeter of two major cones, and returned to park headquarters just as the sun was sinking onto the Pacific about 20 miles to the West. As always, we are taking opportunities to better our Spanish and the locals are fun and engaging. On our return trip in the dark we hear more stories of corrupt Central American dictators, tribal infighting, and the guide’s version of the Ronald Reagan-Oliver North story from the 1980’s. However, this guide is extremely knowledgeable and one gets the feeling that he is just giving us the facts as they are. We returned to the ship as the first wave of “very late” passengers and headed up to Jimmy for some late chow. The last tender did not get tied up until almost 2130 and the Captain came on the horn and told us to be prepared for a “somewhat bumpy ride,” as he is going to have to steam at full throttle throughout the night in order to make-up for lost time. It appears there is a very narrow window of time we can dock the Star Princess in Puntarenas due to the high speed of rushing tides, so if we cannot meet this window, we just do not get to dock. As our day begins at O’Dark Hundred tomorrow we hit the rack early.

---