Granada, Nicaragua

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Granada is an old colonial town - quaint, cute, small - but enough to keep you occupied for a day and a half. There are lots of churches, some of which have the outside in a pastel color and others that look more like a traditional old concrete church. There's a central park with lots of benches and trees and lots of people hang out there all day long.

From Lonely Planet: "Nicknamed 'the Great Sultan, ' in honor of its Moorish namesake across the Atlantic (Granada, Spain), Granada was founded in 1524 by Francisco Fernández de Córdoba, and is the oldest city in the New World. It was constructed as a showcase city, the first chance that the Spanish had to prove they had more to offer than bizarre religions and advanced military technology, and it still retains an almost regal beauty,."

I stayed with a couchsurfer last night - American from Florida who is doing the Peace Corps here. It was great to talk with him and 2 other PC volunteers about their experience.

I went to two other nearby small towns today and took buses all by myself :-) It was a little scary at first but the people here are so helpful and friendly. One of the "buses" is more like a small van - reminded me A LOT of the vehicles we used in Uganda. Only in Uganda, they probably would have crammed about 10 more people in this 19 or so passenger van whereas here it seemed to be only filled to capacity most of the time.

For dinner, I went to a restaurant with typical Nicaraguan food. Ordered chicken, salad, and potatoes and thought it would be a decently healthy meal. Turned out to be a fried drumstick (some of you may know I really don't like eating meat on the bone, ick), cole slaw with extra mayonnaise, and french fries.

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Photos

View of City
I went up the tower of gorgeous church called La Iglesia de la Merced. If you look far away, you can see the lake of Nicaragua in the back.