Hitting the Flor in Granada

Granada at dusk
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We got up at a decent hour in Leon to catch a collectivo back to Managua, to switch to another to get to Granada. A German guy named Ule came with Hiroto and I. We got to Managua soon enough, but had to wait for 3 minibuses before we could finally squeeze into one. As soon as one would pull up, all the locals would push their way on it until it was full, it was hard to get a spot for 1 person, nevermind 3 people. While we were waiting for the bus we met another traveller that going us, Johanna, also from Germany. It was a quick ride to Granada, and when we got there the 4 of us went looking for "The Bearded Monkey" hostel. On the way there an old lady asked me for money but I didn't have any. She could only speak in Spanish, but she managed to swear at me perfectly in english after I told her no. Granada is a beautiful city, very similar to Leon but quite a bit bigger, and built on the edge of Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America.

The boat trip group
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Once we checked into our hostel I immediately ran into a bunch of people that I went Volcano boarding with, including a guy and his girlfriend from Calgary, they actually live in Paliser and we went to the same highschool, it's a small world. After walking around town and taking pictures we got a group of around 15 people from the hostel and went out to a bar. There was a live band there which was good, but when they weren't playing the bar played the typical reggaeton, which I'm getting really sick of. Every single song sounds the same to me. The locals seem to love it though. Nicaragua has probably the best rum I've ever tasted, it's called Flor De Caña, and a big bottle of it costs $5. We quite often used the phrase "So are you up for hitting the Flor tonight?"

I'd be scared if I got bit by a monkey...

Paradise
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The next day I had breakfast at the hostel, and then we got a group of 8 people organized to walk down to the lake and rent kayaks. It was a really long walk, and we were harassed by some locals on the way down, another local biked by and told us to get away from the people following us, because they were pickpockets. Eventually we found the guy that rents kayaks, but he wanted 25USD each for a tour, and we had to have a guide. So we said we don't think so. Then he suggested that we could take us for a boat tour around the islands for only $5. I think he just didn't feel like kayaking that day, and wanted to make it worth his effort if he had to paddle. We decided to take him up on his boat tour offer, and the 8 of us piled into his little boat. The tour was actually really good, and we all agreed that it was better than kayaking. There are hundreds of islands in a small aream and we got to get off the boat and check a few of them. One of the islands that we pulled up to was a really small one, inhabited only by monkeys. Our driver wouldn't go too close, because he didn't want the monkeys to jump on. So instead, this english guy John, in our group had the bright idea to jump out of the boat and swim over to the island. John climbed up on the island and the monkeys were not pleased to have him there. There was one especially that tried to push him in the water a few times, and when he couldn't the monkey grabbed John's arm and bit him. There was no blood, but I'd still be scared if I got bit by a monkey.

John about to get biten
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After our boat cruise we stopped off by the water for a beer before squishing 6 people in a cab and going out for dinner. After dinner we watch the hostel's movie at 8pm, until when right at the climax, the city's power went out. It was frustrating, but we ended up playing cards by candle light which was cool too. Once the power came back on we went out again and hit the Flor. The next morning Johanna and I walked down to the market to get some cheap local food for breakfast. What we ended up with was called yucca, but it should have been called yuck. It was some kind of mushy potato like vegetable with some fermented cabbage on top, all wrapped up in a leaf and eaten with your fingers. Neither of us could finish it and we ended up stopping for a smoothie on the walk back. That morning at 11am I planned to catch the bus to San Jose, Costa Rica, to meet Kristen and Chelsey.