Cactus and the desert work together in Arizona like salt and pepper.
Inside the row after row of RV’s, park model homes, clubhouses and accessory buildings, swimming pool and hot tub, pickle ball and tennis courts, are varieties of cactus. There are upwards of 2000 varieties of the prickly plant spread over the world. Most all of them have shallow root systems, the ability to gulp up water quickly and hold it for future use, and all withstand dry harsh hot climates.
These cactus have been planted, like the palm trees, at strategic locations in this RV resort. Many residents have additionally planted their own little cactus gardens in front of their park model homes also adding ceramic lizards, fountains and colorful potted plants. The largest cactus in this area is the Saquaro that can live 150 years and grow to 15 feet tall and there are many in this park. Saquaro are such special cactus that they are protected by the state government.
If you dig up a saquaro in Arizona you are looking at a fine and jail time. Cactus rustling is now on the books but they won’t hang you for it,yet.
Rustling cactus, on face value, looks like a pretty easy crime, except for the needles. The downside is that selling a stolen cactus to a buyer, in a place they are already plentiful, seems like a bit too much work to make the theft have an upside.
In the downtown historical district of Truth or Consequences, hot springs bubble to the surface.
In old days dusty cowboys would hang their chaps on mesquite branches and swap stories with Indians who hung their moccasins on adjacent branches to look like rabbit ears. In newer days, hotels have been built above the springs and guests soak in claw foot tubs to their heart’s content.
The only admonishments to guests at River bend are not to indulge in drugs and/or alcohol, limit the time of your soak, keep hydrated, call for help if needed. River Bend Hot Springs is well maintained and now you hang your chaps on hooks inside private soaking enclosures. For social folks, there is a public soaking pool just outside the office.
Looking out from my Tierra private soak, the Rio Grande meanders, not in any hurry to get to Juarez.
Each time here, there are more amenities.
Jake, as one of his worker’s admits, ” does a damn good job of fixing things and making the place better. ”
When I lived here I visited two times a week. Now, two times a year has to do.
Hot water soaks seems to often straighten out my bumpy thinking.
A good placebo usually beats bitter medicine every day of the week.
This Lagoon was formed 23,000 years ago after an explosion on one on Mombacho’s bad hair days.
It is fed by a number of surface and underground water sources and is one of the first Nature Preserves created in Nicaragua to preserve the country’s natural landscape.
In tourist season there are kayaks in the water, swimmers, picnic’s and family outings, hiking, diving and other recreation. The Preserve has public areas that give access to the water for free or private businesses that let you use their facilities for six to seven dollars U.S. a day. A round trip shuttle to the Lagoon is $15.00 from Granada, if you go with a group tour, and you can spend most of the day at the Park working on your tan..
This morning locals are washing clothes,bathing, swimming, wetting a hook, and kayaking . The water is unusually clear and the bottom of the lagoon is covered with scattered lava rocks, small and large, reflections of clouds floating on the water’s surface.
In the old days, Hollywood came out with a movie called ” Creature from the Black Lagoon. ”
Believing in things we can’t see is difficult, but it doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
One good thing about being human is most really bad stuff we aren’t going to live long enough to see.
When Mombacho throws a big fit, again, it will shake out this entire country.
In the heat of the day, the beach in San Juan Del Sur is almost unoccupied.
There are few people walking its length, even fewer walking into the surf too cool off. Waitresses and waiters stay under their canvas roofs and swat insects with menus. Dogs stretch out on doorsteps.
Early morning, and evening, is a different story.
These times of day visitors and locals come out to watch the path of the sun, swim, look for pieces of eight, exercise, play games, cool off.
In the harbor are sailboats from around the world, a more exclusive set of boat people who move with the seasons from port to port, dock, enjoy the provisions, pastimes and possibilities of land living.They are a salty bunch and if they don’t like it here they pull up anchor and go somewhere else.There are ports around the world waiting and they can dock on islands in the oceans where only pirates have hung their hats. This little beach town is promoted in International Living and other publications as a destination, a trendy place where beautiful people want to go.
Evenings, the town looks gentler than during the day. Under hard edged day light, the town looks rough, like a two day beard, a stack of dirty dishes, a flat tire.
The city beach curves in a half circle from one end of the town to the other with the marina and shipping port on one end and expensive hotels and condos on the other.
On the top of the biggest mountain is a statue of Christ, called ” Cristo. ”
For twenty U.S. dollars you can ride to the top of the mountain, say a Holy prayer, and pay your respects.
On the beach, at sunset and sunrise, I can pay respects for free.
Mombacho Volcano is only two thousand feet above sea level but it has a commanding presence.
From the Vista Mombacho Apartments, as well as most places in Granada, you can see its summit with its halo of clouds, a reminder that we live on an active planet spinning through an unimaginably large solar system in an unmeasurable universe.
As you climb Mombacho, it gets cooler, and once you start hiking you lose sight of the sun, moving up and down narrow paths cut through the jungle. You step on stones and steps made from tree trunks. The canopy is over head and you wouldn’t want to get off the path because there are canyons and drop offs.
Water drips from leaves, ferns and trails are slick.
Jose directs our attention to a bromelia that thrives in this rain forest.
He explains what monkeys really like to eat.
There are monkeys in this rain forest, as well as jaqaurs and small mammals. None have reason to interact with awkward, loud humans.
After our lesson, we continue, cool, secluded, smarter.
The animals are watching us, hidden in the undergrowth.
Nearing the end of our trail, Jose takes a side trek to show us fumeroles.
At this spot, the Earth’s breath is moist and hot. There is a steady updraft of steam in columns as if it was squeezing up between clenched teeth.
If you believe in dragon’s, you would call this dragon’s breath.
When you lean over, the steam is warm, seductive.
I hate to leave.
Dragon’s cast deep spells.
It is always good to hear about red berries.
Walking in this rain forest we are truly in a different world within our world, surrounded by green, the smell of decomposing plant life, the sounds of unseen animals. The city, though not far away, is actually very far away. As we hike, our voices are captured by the space around us and it feels like we are being held here by unseen forces.
Whether you are on Mombacho in Nicaragua or in rain forests in Costa Rica, the advice is the same.
Don’t eat anything if you don’t know what it is.
Red is nature’s stop sign.
Jose makes sure we know that there are some things you are not wise to do in this preserve, even if temptation is strong.
Being tempted in the garden goes way back in human history.
The last time Mombacho erupted was in the 1500’s.
It is a strato volcano and deposited lava in its last explosion for miles around its base. The rich volcanic soil around the volcano is a bonanza for coffee, rice, and bean plantations that cover the agricultural lands stretching below us for miles. From our observation point at the mountain’s top we can see Lake Nicaragua, the Laguna de Apoyo, the red tiled roofs of Granada and thousands of green acres of fincas.
This morning Jose, our guide, leads Ur and myself, around one of Mombacho’s craters.
Nicaragua is in the Ring of fire that is a belt of earthquake and volcanic activity where the America’s meet the Pacific Ocean . Managua has earthquakes and Ur, from South Korea, tells me that that city, where he now volunteers, is still suffering from last year’s quake.
Visiting Nicaragua without visiting a volcano is like visiting Disneyland without going on a ride.
The chances are Mombacho isn’t going to erupt any time soon, but tomorrow can always spin out of control with one turn of nature’s dial.
When this sleeping volcano wakes, the Earth will tremble.
The three hundred foot rock walls of the crater go straight down as if a giant using a post hole digger, dug a hole for a fence post and then walked away without filling it. Light on the sides of the walls is the color of the fire in the bottom, and, at that bottom, are moving waves of reddish yellow molten rock.
” It looks like Hell, ” someone says, and a woman clutches her cross, and says a prayer.
For the scientist,this is just a fissure in the Earth and the magma belies intense heat and pressures at the core of this planet. it is all explained by the Big Bang Theory..
Sightseers move along the length of a stone wall along the crater’s edge, fixated on the fire in the hole. It is a dark, starless night, and some sightseers have brought flashlights to help them see the path around the volcano as they scramble for better places to see it. This whole place smells like fireworks on the Fourth of July.
Walter, our guide, motions me to the exact spot where I can see the cauldron.
Ancient men would have sacrificed to the Gods here, but that custom has been abandoned.
Now, we worship ourselves.
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