Granada, Nicaragua

I´m going to begin by stating a deductible fact; Central America functions by a system of organized chaos. With that preface, I will now admit that we missed another transfer on the morning we attempted to depart for Granada, Nicaragua. The local bus dropped us off at the ferry dock literally 30 seconds after it left the island. The waves trailed behind, mocking us as I screamed obscenities aloud.


With 3 hours to spare, I updated the blog.

The bus stations here are insane - especially the ones in the pueblas. They are bustling mercados of their own. There is no differentiation of product and it seems that everyone is selling. If so, who is buying? Regardless of the economics, entering and exiing a bus is always entertaining. Once on the mainland again we caught a bus from Rivas to Granada. This bus was especially entertaining. In the rain our yellow American school bus veered around slower vehicles on the two lane highway. More than a few times oncoming traffic was ¨closer than it appeared.¨ Nascar meets inter-city transportation. Max and I laughed the entire time while the tourist couple behind us gritted their teeth.

We immediately found a gorgeous hostel, complete with hammocks, dark wooden furniture, internet, open-rooved courtyard, and a huge painted mural. A heavy rain forced us to take it easy on the first night.

Granada is a beautiful colonial town with old cathedrals and colorful buildings. The parque central is luch green and locals fill the benches all day. Tourists love Granada for its old European influence. I did enjoy the aesthetics of the town, as it was a needed change from the other cities, but I must offer that no puebla has possessed the same amount of colonial magic as San Miguel or Guanajuato in Mexico. Then again, maybe I´m biased.


We took a day trip to Masaya to visit the mercado de artesanias. It was well worth it. We purchased a few gifts for loved ones as well as some for ourselves. Most notably, we purchased a Nicaraguan flag as we plan to purchase a flage in each country that we visit. Max also picked up a few more cigars so that we can celebrate his upcoming birthday in style.

Okay, I´ll offer that we accidentally took the bus past the town initially. We hiked along the highway to our intended destination. Just a quick detour.

My favorite part of the day was throwing a football with a local Nicaraguense. I have never come across a person with an American football while travelling. I saw the kid sitting with the ball across the street and I motioned for him to toss it over. We played catch for a good ten minutes before I forced myself away. If your wondering, I still have my arm. I was oddly proud that the kid liked American football. The sight of that ball alone still evokes so many emotions in me.

The best part of the colonial towns is the food and cafes. Max and I downed a great pizza on the calzada and he found a new love - the local ice cream. For breakfast we stopped in at a cafe and ordered nearly every drink on the menu. The waitress looked at us like we were crazy when we ordered a Fanta, Coca-Cola, coffee, hot chocolate, and a banana-orange-pineapple smoothie. At the end of a complete and relaxing day we then took ample photos in front of the colored walls. In all, Granada was a great stop.

Next stop, the capital of Managua.