We visited the Catarina look out over Apoyo Lagoon in Nicaragua last winter. It was interesting to see the view from the top since we were staying at the bottom. The Apoyo Lagoon formed from the inverted cone of a volcano. It is warmed by hot springs and is the cleanest water in Central America. The green slopes hold a diverse variety of fauna. And a lot of Howler monkeys and Motmots. Our kind of place!
Boy were we attacked by "sales" people at this stop. My husband caved and bought 2 oval magnets. They are sized and polished so that they make a whizzing sound when you throw them together up in the air. The cats are fascinated by them. And they remind us of the trip. So I guess getting conned into them wasn't so bad.
Mombacho Volcano is on the right. I recently read in the newspaper that Nicaragua had a big earthquake. And all those Volcanos are no joke. At the active Masaya Volcano (not shown) they request you back into your parking spot. So you can make a quick escape! Uff da.
Our little cabana at the bottom of Apoyo Lagoon.
And our first outdoor bathroom!
It was quite the drive getting in and out of the crater for sightseeing. But worth it. We did all of our own driving in Nicaragua. And it is almost impossible to be a tourist driver and not get waved over by a police officer. So we had a whole variety of tricks up our sleeve for dealing with it. Tinted windows. Hats pulled down over our face hiding our gringo status. An expired driver's licence at the ready. And if we got pulled over we would act as confused as we really were. You heard right. We wouldn't need to act. But it never happened! I guess it is the watched pot phenomena. We've heard that if you just don't pull over, gas is too expensive to give chase anyway. But that was one thing we weren't planning to try.
A king fisher on the dock.
But what we really loved spotting were the Motmots.
The Turquoise-browed Motmot is quite a stunner. How does he keep his delicate tail so perfect?
We had a lot of fun at San Simeon on our last night. We were celebrating with a little Flor de Cana. O.K., a lot of Flor de Cana. When low and behold the owner brought out the aged 18 year variety. Some of the best in the world. Ours to taste for free! Well, we certainly didn't need it. But it made for a fun night. And more fun memories.
21 comments:
fabulous birds! an interesting area. :)
Cool birds and I loved reading about your trip! Lovely photos. Thanks for linking up, have a happy week!
I would call this trip a true adventure! I would to see all the animals surrounding you.
It is interesting how these people who live with the knowledge that at any moment everything that they have built and worked for can just go up in smoke keep a sense of humor. We were told that one man in Iceland, when he heard that in the next ten years there would most likely be a major eruption in his area had everything put in his mother-in-laws name.
You had a very wonderful trip and got to see so many prettys! All the flowers and birds- were very beautiful-- I think the volcanoes look scary!
love
tweedles
Seems you had a wonderful trip... Nice pictures... Oh, in India too it is quite common to be mobbed by sales-people at popular tourist destinations!!! Me and Hubby hate it so much, but sometimes laugh over their aggressive marketing and people falling prey to it. Am sure the outdoor bathroom would have been fun :)
And yeah, Beautiful bird... more so, the tail :)
Beautiful photos. Definitely a trip to remember. Thanks for sharing it.
The birds are so neat. It's beautiful there.
Looks like a beautiful place to stay and love the birds!
golly, it's like a place i thought I'd dreamed up - except it's real - because you posted photos of it . . the water is . . fabulous. Thank you for showing me a mott-mott . . I never would have guessed . . i really like the king fisher - i wish they would come visit my house . . not really likely. but - they seem to have so much character . . ya know?
What a wonderful adventure. That's a beautiful spot.. even with an outdoor bathroom. I just love those bird.. the tail is amazing.
Gosh! I have never heard of the Moymot but it certainly is a beautiful bird and I also love the Kingfisher.
Great birds, a wonderful place and I have to go to America.
well... the stunner has to be the Motmot! Incredibly handsome! Sounds like a very interesting holiday location -
The turquoise Motmot is just wonderful. The area is very lovely. Thanks for sharing.
Wow...the Motmot is amazing.... and, look at the dangly thing-me-bobs on his tail.... he doesn't even look real... so fantasy like.
Love that spot! Nicaragua, huh? Aren't those Motmots something else? Enjoy the life. Central America is a real treat. You are in one of those beautiful areas along the border there.
Beautiful photos- that Turquoise Browed Motmot is especially stunning!
oh my goodness how does he even keep those tail feathers, wouldn't they get caught on things..great post (I'm so behind as you were one I couldn't access :-( now I can though :-)
Beautiful photos! The tail on the last bird is amazing. It almost looks like a fishing lure.
The only reason I buy souvenirs that I don't need, is to help out the seller. I'm sure the couple of bucks means a lot more to them, then it does to me.
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