Masaya and Granada

Volcanoes are like monkeys over here - you can find them everywhere.

Unlike monkeys, however, volcanoes occasionally spit out fiery rocks. This has happened quite a bit in the last week or so, with eruptions in Guatamala and Nicaragua. I'd planned to head to Masaya to trek around twin volcanoes but the trails were closed for a couple of days, so I headed to the Colonial town of Granada.

With some lovely colonial buildings, cobbled streets and a grand church, Granada is a nice place to stroll around.

There are also lots of nice places to eat, which is great if you have a good group. I'd picked up a couple of other backpackers and we spent the evening drinking fresh juice and eating Mexican food. And of course, sampling the local Toña beer. Granada is also home to Cafe de las Sonrisas, the first Central American cafe staffed by deaf-mute people. This meant ordering in sign language! Luckily, my waiter was very forgiving at my comedy attempts to sign rice and beans with a coffee.

Next it was onto the town of Masaya, with the aim of visiting the twin volcanoes of Masaya and Nindiri. Between them, they have no less than seven craters, with the largest, the Santiago pit crater, actively spewing sulphur into the sky.

I also got to go explore the Tzinaconostoc lava tunnels - formed when the outside of a lava flow hardens into a crust while the inside carves out the tunnel.

The tunnels are also full of bats, and I felt like Bruce Wayne when he fell down the well and was swarmed by the creatures. If I don't make it in the world of Forensic Accounting, it is good to know that I could fall back on a career as Batman.

Well, I'm off to Las Islas de Maiz, better known as the Corn Islands. 4am departure. Oh dear.

Looking out from the bell tower of the tallest church in Granada.

Lava from an eruption of Volcan Masaya in 1772. This lava was 6km from the cone.

A lovely view out over the Masaya region.

Danger - do not pass, the sign said. I couldn't resist.

The Masaya crater. Long dead, it has become overgrown with trees. You can see a landslide that happened a couple of weeks ago when the Costa Rican earthquake hit.

Walking around in the pitch black lava tunnels, this thing crawled over my leg. I don't know what it is but it looks mean.

Masaya market is located in the remains of an old fort. Not bad.