That Old Title Was Boring Me

So Granada...got here on Friday evening after catching a taxi with the folks that I met on the bus to the Plaza Roberto Huembes. There we boarded an short bus that was already both full and moving and on its way to Granada. I would have sworn that we could not have fit another person on that bus, but that is why I would make TERRIBLE Nicaraguan bus driver. The bus stopped over and over again, with the ticket guy yelling "Granada, Granada!" I thought he was yelling "nada, nada" but again, I would be very wrong.

We got to Granada, got some money and set off in pursuit of a hostel. After a few misses, I ended up at Hostel Oasis (the couple ended up moving on to someplace mas barato). The hostel was awesome, with several huge dorm rooms, and a courtyard complete with hammocks and a pool. Much to my mother's delight, they also included free phone calls to the US. I went out for a quick dinner of gallo pinto, then passed out from exhaustion.

The next morning, I had every intention of chilling in a hammock all day, to recover from my day and half of traveling, but then one of the girls in my dorm invited me to come along with them to the Laguna de Apoyo. Several hours later, and with much consulting of guidebooks, we realized it wasn't going to happen, and we made alternate plans to go to Las Isletas in Lake NIcaragua. We managed to cram 7 people in a cab, with entertained the locals to no end - one guys legs were hanging out the window- and made our way down to the waterfront. We bargained with one of the lancha captains (these girls are amazing at bargaining) for a two hour boat ride around the Isletas - we even got to see *one of the) homes of the Flor de Cana family. We saw monkeys and went swimming in the lake and just gerenally had a chilled out afternoon. On our way back we met another guy from our hostel and had a few beers by the lake.

Somehow, that evening, we got invited to a party at the home of a French girl who had been living in Granada for one year and was going back. It was a crazy mix of locals and expats and backpackers, but it was a ton of fun. The best part may have been buying a gorgeous bottle of Flor de Cana for about $4 =)

I left Granada yesterday with those girls for San Juan del Sur, where I will be spending about a week doing Spanish School (and taking surfing lessons?)

MOre soon...kisses, Kristina

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