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Published: September 13th 2009
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During my morning walk with Sarah Day 2 started with Sarah and I waking up slightly earlier than the other girls and going for a walk down to the water. It wasn't a long walk and there wasn't much to see down there. There was a bit of a beach but nothing exciting. We could tell from our half hour walk though, that it was going to be a HOT day!
After breakfast at the hotel, we walked down to the Bearded Monkey where we had signed up for a day trip to The Monkey Hut. On our walk we ran into a local parade in early celebration of independence day (Sept 15). Once at The Bearded Monkey, we paid our money to register for the trip, then went to an internet cafe to catch up on e-mails before heading off for the day.
It was maybe about a 30 minute bus ride to Laguna de Apoyo. It's a volcanic lake with crystal clear water. SO beautiful. There were kayaks, inner tubes, patio chairs, hammocks, and amazing water to enjoy. We spent a ton of time lazing about in the inner tubes on the water. I read a lot of my book too; Sarah lent
Walk to the Beach
Not much to see but still a nice walk me "The Time Traveler's Wife" as I want to read it before I see the movie, and I have really been enjoying it. We played cards for a bit too but more or less just were lazy around the water. GREAT day. My waterproof camera had it's first taste of water too. I love my camera.
NOTE TO TRAVELERS: The Monkey Hut was a HUGE highlight for us and probably the best thing we did in Granada. BUT please be advised that The Bearded Monkey and The Monkey Hut are now under separate ownership. The Monkey Hut actually offers dorm rooms as well, and we wished we had stayed there for a night. The tricky part is that The Bearded Monkey charged us $3 and told us it was for transportation. When we got to The Monkey Hut we had to pay $5 transportation fee and $6 entrance. When we said we had already paid transportation at The Bearded Monkey, the owner of The Monkey Hut said there has been a lot of miscommunication. He said they've been charging people a registration fee (a perk for them for getting the Monkey Hut the business) but not telling people that's Local Parade
Celebrating Independence Day what it is. They've sometimes called it a deposit too but they don't give the money back. The owner of The Monkey Hut said that if we wanted to return in future, just catch the bus outside of The Bearded Monkey at 10:15am and avoid signing up at the Bearded Monkey. Definitely a place worth visiting though!
After our day at the Monkey Hut, we were back to Granada for dinner. We decided to try a place called "El Tecer Ojo" (The Third Eye) which we heard had great food, and that it did! We had amazing soup on the house as an appetizer, plus bread with fresh mushrooms. I ordered a curry shrimp and it was amazing. I also bought a beer cozy (or Koozies as my American friends call them) as they were selling them at the bar and we thought it was fun. Now I'll be able to keep my beer cold at my apt too!
After dinner, we went back to the main strip of bars and restaurants and sat down for a few drinks. The local kids were back in the streets again. We saw another group with a tall puppet woman dancing
The Monkey Hut
View from upper porch (similar to the one we'd seen the night before) as well as a group of break dancers, and a bunch of children making things out of palm leaves. We were very drawn to this one boy named Alex. He was sweet and super shy. He made Libby and Pam grasshoppers out of palm leaves and then made me a flower. He left our table for awhile then came back later to give me a twirling spiral thing for free. I was falling for this kid and feeling terribly sorry for him and then Sarah pointed out something to me that disturbed me for the rest of the night. A bunch of the local kids were hanging out just down from us on the curb and a few benches. They had baby food jars which were filled with a substance that they were then taking turns inhaling from the jar. Sarah said she was sure it must have been shoe glue, as this is what many teens in Tegus use to get high as well. The kids in Tegus apparently pour some into a plastic bag and cover there nose and mouth to inhale it more. These kids were passing around
Lago de Apoyo
Beautiful volcanic lake with crystal clear water a baby food jar which they would crack open the slightest and inhale through their mouths. It brought me back to something I had read in the book "Enrique's Journey" - a true story about a kid growing up in Tegus and then taking the trains to get to the States illegally. I had read it, but never witnessed it... until that night. I was so disturbed and yet felt so sorry for these kids who don't have parents who ask what they're doing at night because at least the kids are bringing home money from their street jobs. I couldn't help but get teary. Sarah reminded me that crying would solve nothing but I couldn't stop from feeling devastated. We were all pretty shaken by it and decided to head back to the hotel. Took us all awhile to fall asleep but tomorrow was a new day.
Sad the things you see while traveling in these poor countries. In the end, I'd rather see it and be aware of it, then to be completely blind to what is happening in the lives of others. It's sad but it's reality.
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clara
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Love reading your blogs Sarah. I'm learning a lot from your adventures in Central America! It sure pulls at the heart strings when we see disadvantaged kids....doesn't it? I can understand with your innate love of children how much this must have upset you. Sadly, as you well know, our world is far from equitable.