We had not originally planned to visit Laguna de Apoyo but after a couple of glowing reviews we decided we should check it out. The crater lake was beautiful beyond our expectations - crystal clear water with minerals from the volcano - so swimming was not only refreshing, but also good for your skin.
The Friendly Hospedaje Crater’s Edge - a cozy hostal run by a Canadian woman - had a relaxing floating dock and few kayaks which we took out for a spin. The hostal served dinner family style for all the guests and we enjoyed dinner with a couple of guys from Switzerland, one of which lives in Colombia and graciously invited us to his place if our travels took us in that direction.
Originally we thought we would spend only one night but once there we decided to extend our visit and soak up some more of the benefits of the sulfur enhanced water and relaxing atmosphere.
From Laguna de Apoyo it was possible to hike to the neighboring village of Catarina, one of the Pueblos Blancos (white villages). We got directions from the hostal and head out on the road in search of the trail. We were suppose to be looking for a road to the left after a certain hotel. Well, we didn’t see the hotel, so we didn’t see the turn (which in retrospect was unbelievably obvious) and we walked for about 40 minutes up the main road to the highway before we decided we had missed the turn. So, we backtracked all the way back down - it seems that the turn was about 3 minutes from our hostal - so our 3 hour hike has now just become 4 ½ hours. Oh well, a little less time to lounge by the waterside. We continue down the road and came across a family of howler monkeys jumping from tree to tree. It is unclear who is watching who, but notwithstanding my patience in waiting for one of them to come into a clearing in view of my little tiny point and shoot camera I come up empty and am ushered along by my husband … time to stop stalking the monkeys.
A bit further down the road while looking for the next landmark to turn onto the narrow trail up the hillside we run into a guy we met at Mathilda's near Playa Maderas where we were surfing a couple weeks back. With all the cities, roads, directions, hotels, etc. it is always a trip when you are traveling and you run into people you have met at other stops along the road. Our hike continues up through the forest along a muddy trail that climbs steadily up the hillside. At one point we run into a farmer herding his cows up the trail - we suspect they were coming from the neighboring fields.
Eventually we come to the clearing and a short while further up the road we find the mirador - an established park at the top of the hill, surrounded by small restaurants and shops with trinkets for the tourists. We enjoyed the spectacular view of sparkling Laguna Apoyo, with the massive Lago de Nicaragua in the background, while we enjoyed some well deserved cervezas. Then we decide to take the easy way back and catch a taxi to the top of the road leading to Laguna Apoyo.
We know this road well - having been up and down it early today when we missed the trail entrance. Now there are several farmers walking their cows from one place to the next and other locals apparently coming or going home for the day. As we turn the corner for the last stretch of dirt road before our hostal a pickup truck passes us, stops and then backs up to where we are wallking. A young couple stick their heads out and then tell us to be very careful - they were just robbed at machette point coming down the same road we just walked down! We are shocked as we found the people we were passing to all be so friendly, but I guess it was just the luck of the draw - and luck was on our side today -- had we only been 10 minutes behind it might have been us being held up. Luckily they just lost their camera and were not harmed. The owner of our hostal was shocked as she was not aware that anything like that had happened before - I guess even the sleepy little towns are not free from the random opportunistic thief. We were a bit spooked but decided not to let it change our plans so we dropped off our camera in the room and with only enough money for dinner we headed to the fishing village for dinner. Although the machette incident left our bubble of security in this quiet little town with a little hole, we truly enjoyed our stay at Laguna Apoyo and highly recommend a visit here when visiting Grananda.
