Sometimes Expectations are more than reality… But Monkeys make EVERYTHING better!

We spent our second day in Nicaragua in a rural setting.  The hotel was the Eco Posada a “sustainable” hotel that focuses on the environment and not using more than is needed.  During our dinner there I asked the owner about things like solar electricity and water catchment, she said that they were planning on doing water catchment because the government had recently implemented a program to bring electricity to the rural areas and that now they didn’t feel the need to focus on solar.  It was a question of where their resources would do the most good.

Our drive to Granada was shorter than expected we arrived a little after 11, and while I was hopping out to see about a hostel, Fritz was chatting to an American, I quickly returned to the truck to find out if he knew a place that would have parking and take our dogs… Score he did!  We were quickly settled into the Casa Cubana, a great little boutique hotel http://casacubanagranada.com/ that we loved!  The owner is an over lander whose camper is currently parked in Peru and he is returning to it at the end of the month. 

We took a quick tour around the town to get a bite to eat.  It is a cute little colonial town with a large cathedral and central park.  Leading toward the lake is “restaurant row” a well paved street lined with everything from “O’Shea’s Irish Pub” to “Comida Tipica Y Mas”. 

Once we found a place to eat in the shade (did I mention how hot Granada is?), we were approached by a man who quickly told us he was a street artist but his paints had been stolen the night before, he proceeded to tell us a poem and Fritz gave him a couple Cordoba and he went on his merry way.   

That evening we ventured out again, we went to a bar on “the strip” and soon a young man came by to offer me a rose made out of palm fronds, not wanting to encourage the begging/hustling of the kids (because it results in them dropping out of school) I tried to say no, but he was too cute and had too good of a gift of gab…”oh Patricia is a lovely name”, “in school we study about the environment that is why I make you a cricket”.  After he left there was another young man who told us how his flute had been broken and now he could not perform on the streets for tips.  Around this time we were discussing where we would go to next as Grenada had definitely made us a bit sour. 

In the morning after a great breakfast at the Hotel we decided to do a day trip to the Masya Volcano and the Laguna Apoyo.  The volcano last erupted this last April so much of the park was closed, but we did get to see the smoke billowing up from the crater.

 

The Laguna Apoyo was more interesting, it is the cleanest water in Nicaragua, and to protect it they do not allow motorized vehicles on the lake.  We at lunch at a restaurant nestled in the hill where Howler Monkey’s with their babies entertained us!  Our day trips made us like the area much more, and appreciate the people as well.