Click on a photo to enlarge it.
The Masaya volcano is actually three craters, one of which is still active. If you are down wind it stinks and there are signs up
warning people not to spend more than 20 minutes here and listing various symptoms to watch out for!
We climbed the 177 steps up to the viewpoint and then walked around one of the inactive craters.
View from the summit into Santiago crater - 360° Panorama(move mouse over panorama and click on the arrows)
We are walking around the non-active crater - 360° Panorama(move mouse over panorama and click on the arrows)
Masaya Volcano
We went back the following day but the sulphur fumes were really burning our nostrils! We stayed for sunset and watched the parakeets who have adapted to living in the
sulphur environment. There were even a few Miss Nicaragua contenders having photos taken with the volcano in the background.
On the way to the town of Masaya the following day we got stopped by the police who wanted money and wouldn't give back Kirsten's
(out of date) international license back. (We don't hand out any originals) So Helen got the camera out and started taking photos
of the police officers and we soon managed to get rid of them!
We drove into the town centre which is not easy when there are lots of pot holes, topes, horse and carriages and cyclists coming at
you from all sides! Anyway we managed to park on the street and went to look at the old market which is housed inside what looks
like the walls of a castle.
After a short stop at the Catalina Mirador above Laguna de Apoyo we drove to Granada, Nicaragua's oldest colonial town that has carved
portals, elegant churches, colourful buildings and a fine plaza.
It is certainly one of the highlights of the trip and the pedestrian areas are full of street entertainers, break dancers and sellers.
There is certainly a lot to see. There are also a huge number of restaurants and hotels to take a look at. We can recommend the
all-you-can-eat-breakfast for $7 at the Choco Museum.
Hummingbird in Granada
We also met up with Uli who we know from Teacapan in Mexico and who now has a bed and breakfast in Granada. We were treated to a tour -
a very nice place and Uli has done a lot of the work himself. We were impressed!
We stayed at the local fire station which is just a parking lot but it only cost $4 per night per vehicle and we could plug into their
electricity - a good job seeing as we didn't have any propane and wouldn't be able to get any until we got to Costa Rica!! Filling
propane bottles isn't a problem but we have an inbuilt tank and there aren't many possibilities in Nicaragua. We missed our only chance
in Estelí because we were there on a Sunday when the plant was closed. So we ended up being without a fridge for two days after we
left Granada!
We also managed to get some repairs done. First of all we got our GPS mouse fixed - a loose cable needed soldering. Second we finally
got our "Check engine light" problem fixed even though we had to work it out ourselves!
After major engine repairs in Acapulco we didn't expect to see the check engine light coming on in Belize two weeks later. Since then
we have tried out numerous things to find out what the problem could be. No oil or coolant leaks, radiator water levels are fine. We
cleaned a number of connections, and even disconnected the emissions sensor to see if that was the problem.
Despite everything we tried, the light kept coming on. The worst thing was that it does make a difference because the computer in our
engine (a very small one compared to new vehicles that are mainly computerised) put us into a reduced power mode. We only have 4
cylinders as it is and not much power so that meant we were struggling more than usual whenever there were any hills to drive up.
Most of Honduras is hills so we were getting a bit worried and new we had to get the problem solved.
We needed someone who had a scanner for pre-2000 vehicles to check our computer. The fire brigade knew a mechanic so he came to take
a look but we had to drive to Masaya to another garage where they had a scanner. It turned out they didn't have one! So they checked
various things including the timing and reset it and after a test drive the light still came on!
Then we learned that you don't need a scanner to check what the problems are because our engine will tell you itself! A very valuable
lesson for budding mechanics like us! I won't bore you with the details of how to do it but it showed 3 problems - the throttle sensor
(which they checked and cleaned), the computer itself, and the knock control sensor - what the hell is that? They were using a Toyota
list on their computer which is all written in English. Well we couldn't translate into Spanish because we'd never heard of a knock
control sensor!!!
It took us 3 hours and we still hadn't solved the problem. They told us we needed to get the valves adjusted which Jesus in Acapulco
told us we didn't need to do, and that we should use higher octane petrol because that is the problem. We were becoming more and more
sceptical and wondered whether we would ever get this problem fixed.
We did get the valves adjusted and a small oil leak fixed and then we were told we needed new spark plugs which are only 6 weeks old
so we refused, then we needed an oil change which we also refused. Then a mechanic from the other garage turned up with a scanner
which said we didn't have a problem at all. After another test drive with the engine light coming on again, they said we needed a
new ignition coil.
The whole thing was getting ridiculous and because it was Saturday, we wouldn't be able to do anything until Monday. Helen looked
through the Haynes manual for our vehicle and found the list which included the now infamous knock control sensor but no other
information. So Kirsten searched on the internet and after a few hours finally found a racing website where the four by four version
of our engine is discussed in detail. One man had the same problems as we have and was asking what the knock control sensor is and
where it is. Someone wonderful person sent a photo of it and where it is!!!
So we went out in the dark with our torch and finally found our tormentor! When the mechanic turned up on Monday, (to take out our
ignition coil and get a replacement) we told him what we had found out and asked him to look at the sensor. He took it out,
disconnected the battery to reset the computer, and we started the engine - the light came on again. Damn!
So we arranged to go and get higher octane petrol, put some additive in as well and then meet him at his garage so we could order
an ignition coil. Believe it or not but after all this time and trouble we set off for the garage and for once the light didn't come on.
So we got petrol and additive and then went to do a test drive ourselves ... no light!!! Somehow there must have been a delayed
reaction and once the knock sensor was disconnected and the computer reset there isn't a problem any more. YEEHAW!!!
Thank goodness we didn't go ahead with getting a new ignition coil which would have been costly and for nothing and thank goodness
we know enough about our engine to be sceptical when mechanics try to fob us off with unnecessary repairs. They certainly weren't
very happy with us when we argued with their respective diagnoses. We're just women after all!!
Finally we had managed to solve the problem ourselves and Winnie was back on the road. In the meantime, Helmut and Agnes had left
the day before as they were meeting up with Helmut's brother in Costa Rica and we had no choice but to get Winnie's problem sorted
out once and for all. But because we sorted it out relatively early that Monday we had time to drive further south to the coast at
San Juan del Sur (still in Nicaragua) to meet up with them.
