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A few musings: Granada has plenty of tourism infrastructure, much more than say, Merida in Yucatan, Mexico. Although without some Spanish one would have some trouble getting around independently in either place. Now I understand why so many hotels and restaurants here are run by ex-pats, or natives who have lived overseas and returned. Srs. Victor and Carlos lived in the US for many years; Srs. Szkiny and Morgan are ex-pats. Not that we sought out foreigner-run places to stay! Locals don't quite get that Western tourists expect people in the hospitality industry to smile, and waitresses to return to the table on their own initiative sometime after serving the meal. Nicaragua (like England) doesn't have much of a culinary tradition. The national dish, gallo pinto, is red beans and rice with spices. A Westerner tires ... read more

About an hour outside of Granada, Laguna de Apoyo is a huge round lake in the crater of an extinct volcano: like Ojo de Agua perfectly clear, clean water, with table service available. Unlike Lake Colcibolca, this lake gets very deep, very quickly. Why aren't there more (or any?) lakes this clean in the US? Victor and Katya set us up with a ride, as they had for the zipline. We had the driver take us to the lakeside restaurant they recommended, where we could hang out, take a swim, eat lunch, take another swim, play cards. We'd been there awhile when they showed up with their son, who is Benjamin's age. We thought it a bit of a shame that they made no effort to encourage the boys to interact. Still, it was fun that ... read more

OK, now we're all finally feeling good enough to fly: in our very first ever zipline adventure, on the slopes of Mombacho volcano. Victor and Katya made the arrangements with Tierra Tours. We survived it. It was fun! Even for scared-of-heights Melody. In fact we were impressed with their careful developed-world-level attention to safety, otherwise generally lacking in Nicaragua. I guess they had to find somebody who could explain to them what gringo tourists demand in that department. The jungle under the zipline does double duty as an organic coffee plantation. I bought a few pounds to take home. I learned from Sr. Carlos that Nicaraguan farmers have jumped from too-poor-to-buy-pesticide, directly to marketing their produce as organic. The organic food bandwagon came along and they jumped on. Good for them.... read more

Benjamin has been sick off and on ever since we got back to Granada. It started with fever then went to coughing and asthma. He must have caught it in Ometepe, although I'm the one who swallowed some lake water by mistake when we were fighting in the water. Fortunately he has maintained a good attitude most of the time. Leaving him and his mom mid-morning, Andrea and I took a long walk all the way down to Lake Colcibolca (a couple of miles I'd guess), where we had lunch. Along the way we stopped at a small cigar factory for a tour. (At the end of the tour the guide asked if he could ask us a few questions. It turns out he wanted us to help him understand a vocubulary list he had built ... read more

Hospedaje Soma has a little more capacity than El Encanto -- 26 vs. 20 -- and is near Moyogalpa. Otherwise their visions are similar, and we were happy with both in different ways. I slept very well having upgraded from two in a single bed to two in a double bed. Sr. Szkini knows Sr. Carlos, he appreciates German beer and stops by sometimes to have one; I told him he really should go out to see El Encanto one of these days. I think maybe last night the fans actually stayed on all night. Adios Ometepe! We hope getting a landing strip doesn't change you too much! A pleasant surprise - waiting at the dock in Moyogalpa for the ferry to San Jorge, we bumped into Sr. Carlos, on his way to El Salvador for ... read more