San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.

What a great day we had here.

The dock being too small to accommodate the ship we were taken ashore in tenders. As Elite passengers, we are entitled to priority tender embarkation so we didn't have to wait in line.

That's just one of the advantages of travelling with Princess Cruises. Other benefits of being Elite are that laundry is done for free, your bar fridge is restocked once each segment, you can order canapés in the cabin on formal nights (not that we do) and your shoes are cleaned. Having the laundry done is probably the best of the benefits.

Anyhow, once on the dock we were accosted by the tour guides and we did a good deal. There were 9 of us and we would fill a van comfortably. For $25 US each we would have a 4 hour tour.

Nicaragua is the largest of the Central American countries with a population of about 5.5 million and 25% of the country is National Park, which is about the highest proportion of any country in the world. It has the largest lake in Central America, Lake Nicaragua, and has 7 volcanoes. At first glance it certainly looked more prosperous than Costa Rica. It had not been on our original itinerary but had been added when Princess Cruises cancelled Acapulco, supposedly because of the danger from riots in the city. Most passengers are a little sceptical when ports are cancelled 'for the safety of our passengers', suspecting that it maybe more because of the economic safety of Princess Cruises itself. Would tendering passengers ashore in San Juan del Sur be cheaper than paying docking fees in Acapulco??

We had a quick look at the town and headed off inland. The first stop was at the lake. It is so vast that it looked like the sea and reminded me of when we'd seen Lake Ontario from the train in Canada.

The shore was black and muddy but in spite of that the water looked OK. I scooped up a handful and tasted it for salt but there was none. Carlos, our driver, said, 'dulca' which I took to mean 'fresh' but I was wrong. I later found out that the Spanish called the lake, 'Mare Dulca', which translated means 'Sweet Sea'. The indigenous people called it, 'Cocibolca'. Same meaning!

Across the lake, in the far distance, we could see two of the volcanoes, one of which was our destination. There were wavelets on the lake's surface as the wind was blowing so in spite of the heat it was cool by the water's edge and we were reluctant to leave. However, we had quite a distance to travel and we were due back for the last shuttle at 3.30. Another port day cut short!

We drove on and on. Frequently we saw horses tethered by the roadside, grazing on the fairly lush grass. Free food for horses, no doubt. The local horses are small animals and many are thin although they are used to pull loaded carts or small carriages which seat 4 plus a driver. I felt sorry for them as every driver carried a whip and often used it. The other popular conveyances we saw were pedal powered tuktuks.

The road took us through several towns. One had a local industry which produced garden statuary and ornaments. Most were brightly coloured and they varied in size from large rearing horses to tiny toads. Each establishment had its wares set out invitingly on the roadside. There was such a variety that we could have lingered for ages inspecting them but time was of the essence and we had to go on.

Eventually we reached the entrance to the Masaya National Park where the Masaya volcano was. The entrance fee was $5 US. Arthur, one of our party, produced his Seniors Card which was inspected but rejected, of course, so we all paid our $5. Surprisingly, some change in local currency was handed back to us.

The roadside was littered with black volcanic rocks which had been thrown out during one of Masaya's many eruptions. There was little vegetation but some plants were eking out an existence while a just few were thriving. In the midst of a bare patch a frangipani incongruously had established itself. It brought to mind a white flowering frangipani that I'd seen growing from the grey ash of Rabaul.

By this time we were near the volcano itself and the temperature outside was increasing. When we stopped and opened the door it was as though a furnace door had been opened. We hardly noticed, however, for there we were, parked right next to the crater and it was belching out tall plumes of smoke!

We climbed a little rise to get a better look and suddenly we were looking into the crater itself. It was amazing. We could see smaller fumeroles inside. It was all grey ash and black rock and smoke. A sign nearby warned that the volcano could erupt at any time but we were brave and stood our ground.

Vincenzo, Arthur and Alan (a different Alan) climbed the track to the highest point but all they saw was the other side, not a better view into the crater, so I didn't feel that I'd missed anything by not going up further.

Evidence of volcanic activity could be seen in all the diagonal and zigzag striations in the rocks and hillocks around us. It was all fascinating.

We stayed for as long as we could before the heat drove us back into the air conditioned van and we set off downhill.

At the Visitors Centre we stopped for the usual. Arthur produced the change we'd been given earlier and offered it to the bar attendant, asking for sodas. It was sufficient for 7 cokes so with a little sharing we all, Carlos as well, had a welcome cold drink. At breakfast we'd all made sandwiches and packed some doughnuts for dessert so as we drove, we ate our lunch and fed Carlos as well. He seemed very happy with his free lunch.

We were homeward bound by then but still had a couple of stops to make. First was Masaya Market. It was hot there and crowded. Many of the stalls seemed to have similar things for sale. Richard had his shoes polished for $1 US, Shirley bought a colourful embroidered bag and Elaine bought earrings. I looked and looked and had almost decided, as I was so hot, that all I wanted nothing but just in time I found something - a hammock. Phew! I'd hate to go to a market and not buy anything!

The last stop was at a wood carvings store. I would have loved to have bought the huge carved and brightly painted wall hanging that I saw standing by the door of the shop. The design incorporated icons of Nicaragua such as toucans, monkeys, tropical plants, etc. It would be perfect to hang on the wall of the downstairs deck at home but would probably not escape confiscation by customs. Besides, it was a bit too expensive.

We arrived back in town with time to spare. It had not cooled down at all and we'd spotted an open-sided bar that was close to the dock. It was calling to us so in we went. The area was chaotic. It was packed full of drinkers, pedestrians, bus after bus returning from tours, horses and carriages, officials directing the buses, markets stalls, hawkers trying for some last minute business, queues of passengers for tenders and you name it. It was all there.

At last it began to clear. All the buses had left and the queues had diminished as tenders carried passengers to the ship which was riding at anchor a short distance away. We finished our drinks and just a little reluctantly, made our way across the hundred metres or so to the dock to wait for the last tender to return for us.

On board again and still hot, we all rushed to our cabins to change into swimmers. By the time Alan and I reached the pool, most of the others were in. They were all in a huddle at the shallow end where they could stand up and I couldn't help thinking that they looked like the Japanese monkeys that crowd into hot springs to keep warm, only this was in reverse.

We were still in the pool when we saw the black smoke rising from the funnels that signified the engines were starting up and we were on our way again.

Off we go to Manzanilla in Mexico.