Nicaragua's volcanoes seem to rumble in sequence from one year to the next. As soon as one has stopped trembling, another begins to shake, and soon afterwards another will begin to threaten. In the pauses, the isthmus experiences the occasional earthquake. One day in the early 1990s a new volcano popped up just outside of Leon, and the scars of volcanoes long gone still litter the landscape. Even Managua has a crater or two, one of which supplies a good part of the capital's potable drinking water. Living in Nicaragua, you learn to enjoy life while paying attention to the slumbering giant on the horizon.

It was no surprise then on 9 February 2007, when Volcan Concepcion, the tectonic heart of the emerald isle of Ometepe, rumbled to life, spewing gas and ash down its western flank. Traveler David Ingram saw it, and wrote

The day was hot and some haze reduced the contrast, but you can see the ash and gas slithering down the western side and swirling up into a cloud that accumulated between Charco Verde and Moyogalpa ... and dissipated within an hour.

Thanks to David and to Emanuel Sferios for the pictures and the story. The picture below is Emanuel's.