Masaya
Our first stop was the bustling town of Masaya and their famous handicraft market. Our tour guide, Edgar, explained to us about haggling and also advised us not to give money to beggers but to try to support the street traders. No sooner had we stepped off the coach we were surrounded by kids with pieces of coconut, cashews, pottery and all kinds of other bits and pieces trying to sell them. Once we actually got into the market the little whipper-snappers melted away....I guess they are not allowed to badger tourists in the market because it might deter sales! 

 
We got a couple of really good bargains in the market...I got a pestal and mortar thing for a few dollars and Dave got a really nice baseball shirt with his number on. The best thing we found was actually for little little.... a tiny hammock, handmade and perfect for her. It is really cute and I think the girl was just as excited to sell it to us as we were to have found it. (little little tried it for size before buying of course)
Our last few minutes in the market were spent sorting through some football shirts which we could not believe were on sale for just a dollar. we got three of them in the end and dave picked up a Nicaraguan flag too. Really really hot in town and we were already beginning to feel it! Next stop....Volcano.

 
It was a short drive from the market to the Masaya Volcano. We drove right up to the top of the crater and were allowed to look right into the sulphar filled depths. The volcano is ACTIVE and it spews out gas constantly. Occasionally it spews out a lava rock or two...but has not launched out a large one for a few years. The last actual eruption was in the 1950s. It was very HOT at the top of the volcano...but it was hard to tell if this was the heat from the beast or just the weather. The sulphar smell was quite intense and after just a few minutes lots of people were coughing and spluttering. We did wonder why other tour groups were given workman helmets to wear as protection........Got some really good shots of the volcano and the crater. It was truly spectacular to see and we would not have missed that for the world. It seemed all too soon that we were herded back onto the coach and on route to our next stop of lunch!

 
Lunch was at a local resturant between Masaya and Managua (Managua being the capital of Nicaragua) it was ok...a buffet thing sitting on bench seats with lots of others. The food was alright but you wouldn't want to live on it. (unless you like beans and rice every day) Some of the larger Americans in the group looked absoloutely mortified at the small portions they were given. hehehe. Next stop....Granada