Granada, Nicaragua!

our hotel in granada
see all photos »

On Monday, we left very early (600) for Nicaragua. The bus ride to the border wasn't bad at all, but waiting in line at immigrations was horrid. It took us over 3 hours to the our passports stamped. But despite this, we made it to Granada in reasonable time. I absolutely love Granada and Nicaragua. The city is very reminiscent of Spanish colonial times. All the buildings have very tall ceilings with large doors and courtyards. All the buildings are painted bright, beautiful colors. Many of the sidewalks aren't cement, instead they're tiled. There's a large, shaded plaza facing a beautiful, yellow church. It's a pleasant place to be. Our hotel is also really nice. I get my own double bed! It's heaven. :) There's also a small pool and lovely courtyard. Anyway, a few of us went out on Monday night to a bar called Cafe Nuit. It was a nice, relaxing night.

our room with the lovely double beds
see all photos »

Tuesday we met with a group called Casa de Las Mujeres. They work to improve the situation of women in Nicaragua. We visited 2 of the marginalized communities they work with. These people live in horribly sad conditions. They're so desperately poor! It was so sad seeing all of that. An uplifting thing, though, is what Casa de Las Mujeres is doing. They're building basic homes for these people. So, instead of living with barely a roof over their head, they're able to have separated bedrooms, a small kitchen, and bathroom in the house. They're also working to treat the blackwater from the homes. The work they're doing is very important.

I absolutely love Granada and Nicaragua. The city is very reminiscent of Spanish colonial times.

the courtyard of our hotel
see all photos »

In the afternoon, we went to this huge market in Masaya. They have everything you could possibly want from beans and rice to clothes to artisan stuff. I bought a bunch of stuff for people back home.

Yesterday we hiked up the Mombacho Volcano (measuring basal area on the way up haha). It was a looong, very steep hike but definitely worth it. At the top, we took the mile trail around the crater and got a great view of Granada and Lake Nicaragua. The way back down was even harder (especially on the knees and with the heat). But we made it back fine. My legs are killing me today though. :) In the evening, a few of us went out with our professor Carrie. It was great hanging out with her.

the bitty pool
see all photos »

Today, we had a free day. Yay! We all went to a laguna in the middle of volcano crater. Hundreds of years ago, the volcano totally blew its top and created a crater. Over time, rain water filled it up to make it the deepest body of water in Nicaragua. In fact, they don't even know how deep it is because they don't have the proper technology to check. The water was beautifully pure. After hanging out at the laguna for a few hours, we went back and some of us went to the Masaya market again. I had to pick up a few more things.

the view across the street from inside the dining room of the hotel
see all photos »

We just got done with a lovely dinner at a great restaurant. We're all kind of sad because this is our last trip with the group. In a week, we'll all be in different parts of the country for our IP. It's crazy that we're already at this part of the trip. It'll be good to be alone though, even if it'll be hard. That's all for now. Tomorrow we leave really early for San Jose. I'll update again next week.