From City Living to Roughing It

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We visited our friendly local coyote for more cordobas first thing in the morning. Then we signed up for a shuttle to Treehouse Poste Rojo at Hospedaje La Libertad – its free!!! One of our recons thru the hostels yesterday revealed a free shuttle to the Treehouse. So we figured we would give it a try. You have to sign up for it before noon (shuttle leaves at 1:30pm) – which turned out to be just writing your name on a whiteboard. As a direct result of our Type A personalities, we signed up for the shuttle at 10am so we had some time to kill.

We stopped for a bite to eat at an Internet café on the Northwest corner of the Plaza. Yum-my! I think it was called Euro Café in our guidebook. There is an awesome atmosphere and the paninis are as I already mentioned: yum-my! They also have Texas Hold-Em on Thursdays. If Sean and I were still in Granada we would so be there. It was only C$100 to buy in.

After our brunch we still had some time to wait so we hung out on the steps to La Merced cathedral. An older lady (someone’s grandmother?) stopped when Sean said Hola! to her. We visited for a few minutes in the most awkward/fun conversation we had while in the country. She deliberately slowed her speech down and chatted with us about Granada, things to visit and see and asked us about our travel plans. I hope she asked me about Sean because at one point I thought she asked about our relationship. I proudly told her he was my husband and she smiled. I think we (meaning the Americans and the nice Nicaraguan senora) did pretty good. Her name was Olga. She was the nicest lady we have met so far in Nicaragua.

When it became time to take the shuttle to Treehouse Poste Rojo we returned to Hospedaje La Libertad and waited in the courtyard. It seems to be a nice hostel. Finally a man showed up driving a Land Cruiser. He stuffed our bags in the back, along with another couple’s and some fruit. We all hopped in and began hurtling thru the streets of Granada spewing smoke and loud muffler noise. Drivers here don’t seem to know how to drive smoothly – they fight every gear on their vehicles often shifting with too little RPMs. I love watching Sean smile to himself while he diagnoses everything mechanically wrong with the vehicle. On our trip out of Granada poor Sean got stuck in the front seat with no way to roll down the window and AC is not an option.

The ride to the Treehouse was akin to a roller coaster ride. I have found it is best to stare out the side windows and NOT watch the road. We left the highway and finished the drive down a very rough two track. When we came to the end of the two track the driver stopped and pointed at a trail going up the hill (bottom of Mombacho Volcano). The couple with us (they are Austrian – I saw their passports) grabbed their bags and began hiking. Sean and I quickly followed.

We hiked straight up for about 5 minutes. It wasn’t that bad but it was HOT. At the top of trail was a treehouse/clubhouse and two smiley blonds from Canada. They “checked us in” and made us feel immediately welcome. They are traveling from Belize to Brazil. They stopped at Treehouse Poste Rojo and volunteered for 2 weeks. They briefed us on the “happenings”…. Apparently tomorrow night is Free Rum night. Sweet!!!



Some notes on Hotel Terrasol in Granada: It was well worth the money! It is run by a really nice couple who are full of information about their native country but they speak English which helped us feel more comfortable. The rooms are adequate, the beds aren't too bad and the Hotel is in a great location. We walked back to our hotel at night twice and it was well lit with street lights. There is also a night guard at the gated entrance who can let you in at any time. The owners obviously take pride in their establishment – don’t expect the Hilton – but we would love to stay there again.

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Photos

View from brunch spot
Located in the NW corner of the plaza.