wanderlust.co.uk October 2019 141Spanish in 1524, Granada became one
of the richest cities in Central
America, with cobblestone streets
lined with mansions and a treasury
housing large reserves of silver
waiting to be shipped back to Spain.
In 1665, after navigating six
dugouts along the Rio San Juan and
across the lake under cover of
darkness, Henry Morgan launched
a daring attack and it’s said his gang
escaped with the equivalent of half
a million pounds in precious metal.
I decided to visit the scene of the
crime, hopped aboard the lodge’s
boat and within 20 minutes I was in
Granada. One of the region’s loveliest
colonial cities, it’s all postcard-pretty
plazas, ornate churches and rainbow-
coloured houses, where locals drag
their rocking chairs on to the street
to gossip with their neighbours.
Despite its turbulent history, today
the city moves at a languid pace. I sat
in the tree-shaded central park
where old men snoozed and young
lovers smooched, while shoeshine
boys plied their trade and women in
frilly aprons dispensed iced drinks, as
the sun bathed the cathedral in an
ethereal golden light.
Las Isletas also has a more active
side. Another day, I went for a hike
in the velvety-green Mombacho
Cloud Forest Reserve, brimming
with jewel-coloured hummingbirds
and extravagant orchids. In the
evening, I travelled 40 minutes
north west to Nicaragua’s first
and largest national park to peer
into Volcán Masaya’s crater,
exhaling sulphurous fumes, as
shimmering orange molten lava
bubbled away below me.