Granada

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After 3 great weeks in Costa Rica, I finally moved onto to country #2: Nicaragua. The change was evident right at the border. We all filed off the bus to have our passports checked, and we were swarmed by about 20 little kids, all really skinny and hungry, asking for money for food. All those summers doing camps primed me to have a soft spot for kids, and this was really hard to take, I found it pretty difficult, and I still find this scene haunting me everyday since, again and again. The border took 2 hours, we got on the bus, and Nicaragua´s unfortunant title as the second poorest country in the northern hemisphere was easily identifiable. We passed rows upon rows of tin shacks lining the highway, kids labouring in the fields while their parents sold wares in the cities, and garbage strewn everywhere. When I arrived in Rivas, the first thing I noticed was the lack of street dogs that wereeverywhere throughout Costa Rica. An American at my hostel bleakly explained that due to the hunger issues throughout Nicaragua, dogs didn´t last long on the streets before they became someone´s meal over a garbage can fire. It was really grim to hear, but somehow it rang oddly understandable.

The next day I arrived In Granada, which is definently my favourite place I´ve visited so far in Central America. It´s a colonial town, built by the Spaniards, burnt down by the crazy American William Walker (along with some other charming cities), then rebuilt to it´s original grandeur. It feels like Europe, at about 5% of the cost. I eat here for about $1.50 a plate, and am staying in wicked hostel called ´The Bearded Monkey´for $4 a night. Upon my arrival, I quickly learnt that it was election time in Nicaragua, in fact today was election day, Nov. 5th. The real implications of this news stung clear shortly afterwards...no beer or alcohol was to be served the entire weekend! Bummer.

I spent the next day visiting nearby Lake Apoyo, apparently the deepest point in Central America. The next day I wondered about Granada´s charming cobblestone streets, and had some good political chats with several of the few Nicas that speak any English. Today I took a two hour lesson in Spanish, then went on a great tour of Masaya Volcano. After watching magma churning about in it´s giant crater, flashlight in hand, we trekked into 250 meters of cave network that moves towards the volcano´s core. At one point we turned out all the flashlights, and within seconds, we were surrounded by bats, and when the guide turned the flood light back on, we literally couldn´t see one another through the swath of black wings.

Tommorow I´m off to Isle Ometepe, but after a wonderful time in Granada, I wouldn´t be surprised if, time permitting, I were to return here on my trip back down to Costa Rica.

Pura Vida,

Ian

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