He only went out for some milk A blurb of monstrous proportions - it was only supposed to be a couple of lines and the odd photo.

Around 3 times a week we go on activities, and a few of us have paid for extra trips too.  Butterfly and seed collecting, walks around the laguna seeing monkeys and birds, trips to nearby towns and museums, a fiesta in Masaya with lots of dancing and semi naked overweight girls (i particularly enjoyed that one), 6000 year old foot prints captured in volcanic ash in Managua, political prisons, insurrection Sandinista collections,  volcano tours and scuba dives in the lake.  The last two were great.  The volcano tour was around volcan Masaya and included walking down to the craters edge until our mouths were full of sulphur, our throats burned and our eyes streamed so we couldn't see.  After this we walked through huge clouds of acidic smoke, watched the sun set with in a beautifully polluted sky and went to see a cave full of bats and guano until a bat hit me in the face and we felt faint from the fumes.  I hope my travel insurance covers me for these activities.  I wonder if i could claim for a hair replacement treatment course, and blame my disappearing hair on travel dangers. 

The scuba was great too - this lake contains maybe 9 endemic species of fish (they are found no where else and have evolved in the lake).  It's a strange dive for me, being in freshwater, in a crater lake, devoid of coral and tropical fish, not requiring a wetsuit, guided by a guide who shouts Spanish at me, and with big unexpected crabs, and bubbles leaking through the porous rock.

It's been nice to stay in one place for a while, get to know locals better, get a better feel for a place and not have to unpack Bob all the time.  My Spanish has improved a lot, although it's still very poor (un paca as my dad writes).  I've got a feel for Nicaragua, and overall i like it.  It's the poorest of mainland central America, it's inflation is rife and it has a very interesting history: from evolution right through to the last few decades of war.  I'm glad i came here and got off the tourist trail for a while.