after three days of surfing, fishing, and lazing around san juan del sur, i headed for granada on saturday afternoon. we arrived in granada amidst a bustling array of street vendors doing everything from repairing shoes to selling hot dogs and mangos. granada is quite a contrast to the sleepy surf town of san juan del sur where the city is nearly silent during the day (since most people are out at the beach). in san juan, the gringos and nicas come out at night to go to the bars and to dance at the pulsing bass at the disco. in granada, the days are full of noisy vendors and buses calling their destinations out like it is an animal´s mating call - managuamanaguamanagua. we were challenged to get dinner after eight o´clock last night, and we were the only ones in the bar we heard was the place to be. it is an interesting flipflop of activity.
i have really enjoyed my time in granada. everywhere i walk there is something new to appreciate. there are a number of parks, each with their own character. there is a main central plaza with a beautiful yellow cathedral. a park with sculptures and poems honoring the revolutions and fighting that has taken place in granada, which was burned to the ground after one occupation. another park is on the lake where there was a celebration for the ascension of mary over the weekend. at the festival, there was a carnival and bull riding and lots of fried food (some of which was tasty). they even had bright red candied apples. i learned at one vendor that all the apples are from washington! i went to a fort to look over the city and counted at least five catholic churches amidst the tiled roofs of brightly painted cement houses and stores lining the narrow streets. i love the color scheme here - yellow next to fuscia next to lime green next to pink next to cobalt blue and so on, each accented with complementary colors in the finish and metal work.
on sunday, i went to a mass at what was described as the most local church in granada. the church bells from the multiple churches in the city filled the air throughout the day. i considered trying to make it to a mass at every church, but i think one was sufficient. it was a relatively quick mass with a nearly full mariachi band! outside of the church, i met a man named conrad hooker whose village in eastern nicaragua was flooded and can no longer feed its inhabitants. in his caribbean cadenced english, he painted the picture of what it is like to live in the northern part of the state where there is little infrastructure and no money to support creating one. to my knowledge, there are a number of peace corp positions stationed out near where he lives as well as a few ngos, but it sounds like there is a long way to go, even to just make sure people have access to food and water.
after leaving the church, i heard drumming coming from the central square to discover a parade led by the local high school drum line followed by every adult baseball team in granada. there were about 12 teams in full uniform parading down the street. beisbol is the nicaraguan national pasttime (even over futbol). it was fantastic! later in the day, i saw another procession. there was a horse-drawn hearse, ornately crafted and accented with black lace curtains. there were about seventy-five people walking behind the mobile tomb and a band riding in the back of a pickup truck in the rear. although the two processions had very different purposes, they both made me stop in my tracks to pay attention to what is happening in my surroundings. i think that is one of the most important experiences of this trip for me - paying attention to the details happening in my current surroundings.
yesterday i had another chance to pay attention to my surroundings at laguna de apoyo. it is the most beautiful volcanic lake i have been to so far in nicaragua! the water was clear and a nearly perfect shade of aqua. i could see the bottom, and even a few fish that were swimming in the lake. after a long bus trip and walk to get there, it was nice to relax and enjoy the quiet sounds of the waves lapping on the shore while drinking pitaya juice and eating ice cream.
today i am headed to the northern part of the nicaragua, to esteli and miraflor. each day holds something entirely new to discover. traveling is fun!
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