Around Granada - Haircuts, Carriage Rides & Market

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We said we were going to get our dose of culture - so why not a haircut! While walking around town we came across the Barberia and apparently "Corta su pelo," translates into shave his head. Carlos, our new friend the barber, started off making Steve go bald by shaving his head. I shrieked and said NO! Mi esposo gusta su pelo," -- anyway, I took the razor and showed him.. and after five minutes of debating in broken spanish, he was on the right track and Steve has a nice haircut for 30 cordobas, which is about a buck 30

For the next adventure, we took a horse carriage ride and city tour around Granada with Jose. We saw historic churches, forts, prisons - I am not even sure what we saw, but it was all built between 200-500 years ago with buildings surviving fires and wars.

Strangely enough, one of the highlights was a stop to the cemetery. The tombstones are like miniature cathedrals - with all members of a family being buried in the same tombs and spaces left for those still alive. It was very elaborate how they honor the deceased.

After, Jose took us to the cigar factory where we saw the cigar makers in action and then a trip to Lake Nicaragua, which is more like an ocean. In fact, it's a fresh water lake with sharks - go figure. More on the lake later- we will be spending a few days on an island in the middle of it.

After our tour with Jose, we took a stroll through the market. It was another world in there. Total chaos! We were the only gringos, and they knew it. The meat area was a sight. Slabs of meat hanging and laying on hot countertops, people chopping everywhere, blood on the ground and stray dogs scurrying about. We were so deep in the market it was dark and it seemed like nighttime in the middle of the day. Isles were narrow, people bumping into each other; it was noisy- it was easy to lose your sense of direction. Getting out of there was a challenge, but we followed the light and made our way through the maze of chaos.

Our evening, was the typical night - happy hour, dinner and relaxation outside in the quaint square with all the tourists.

We are leaving Granada today- via a bus to Rivas and then a connecting bus to San Juan Del Sur. I hope all goes well at the bus stations and we have a little less excitment than we did in Managua.

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