Granada

            I originally didn’t think it would be possible for us to make the four-hour trip to Granada, being away from the clinic for long, and making the trip by ourselves, but we ended up working it out and I am so happy that we did. Everything went surprisingly smoothly, both going and coming. We would show up to a bus station, get on the right bus, and then were off five minutes later. The three of us have been so used to things going wrong here, that we find our selves saying “no pasa nada” multiple times a day. In Granada though, everything went flawlessly. As we entered the city, Gaby asked me where we should get off and I realized I had absolutely no idea. As many of the passengers began piling off the bus, we followed and found ourselves in the Parque Central. We then decided to head down the main street in the city and soon arrived at our hostel.

            Walking into the hostel, I immediately had déjà vu, from mom’s descriptions and our facetimes when she stayed there, Casa del Poeta immediately felt like another home to me. My mom’s friend Marcela and her family greeted me when we arrived. They were all very welcoming and friendly to me, assuring me that if I needed anything at all, to come to them. From the very first day in Granada, it felt so special to be able to explore and share my mother’s love for this gorgeous city.

            Much of our time was spent just walking around and just exploring the city. Each house and store is painted a beautiful, bright color. The doors themselves are a work of art, inviting guests to enter and explore the tropical courtyard that hid inside each building. The main street, La Calzada, is filled with bars and restaurants, where people sit out at tables in the street watching all the people passing by. Nicaraguans were selling everything on the street; souvenirs, hammocks, gum, cigarettes, cashews, balloons. While they could be a bit of a bother, you simply had to say “no” and they would walk on, looking for other potential customers.

            The food at each restaurant was delicious, and it was so much fun being able to eat out again and choose foods that reminded us of home. By far our favorite restaurant was The Garden Café, where we all got different pastas and a panini and tried a bit of each. Our other favorite restaurant was El Tercer Ojo, where we went for 2 for 1 sushi night, and discovered the best sangria in the city. It also had a cool, lounge atmosphere, with live jazz music, giant Buddha heads decorating the restaurant, and chic boutiques on either side. On our last day we discovered Kathy’s Waffle House, which tasted just like home with its chocolate chip pancakes, flavorful hash browns, and savory bacon.

            Gaby was very excited about the cigar factory, so Cat and I both went along, but we all ended up really enjoying the tour. The tour guide’s passion for the cigar-making process was contagious, and although I’m still not interested in smoking the cigars it was very cool to see how they were made. We also spent a morning painting with a local artists, different scenes of Granada and Nicaragua. What a fun way to spend a Saturday morning!

            We spent a lot of time shopping around, after six weeks without any stores it was so fun to be able to look at all the fun things for sale. We visited the Garden Café’s store which sold local artisan handmade crafts, at least once a day to browse. The art galleries were another fun place to look around in, each had a few different artists that had their own styles and way of representing both themselves and their marvelous city. Although the little carts in the Parque Central were pretty touristy, we also enjoyed looking through them a few times to see all the bright and colorful gifts that we could take back with us.

            The weekend we were there happened to be a horse festival, so we found a spot in a Tona tent, bought a beer and watched the parade. I’m not sure what my expectations were going into the parade, but the actual event was beyond anything that I could have come up with. There seemed to be very little organization, ten horses would come down the street and then we’d wait five minutes for another fifteen. While the horses were all beautiful and looking their best that day, it was clear that many of their riders had been drinking for hours. At the same time as the parade was going, people would weave in and out of the horses selling beers, hats, balloons, with little concern for the poorly controlled horses, which seemed ready to kick at any minute. The three of us sat their just taking it all in, until thunder clouds rolled in and we thought it best to head back to the hostel.

 

            Since we were spending a week away from our own clinic, we logged some hours at a local clinic. It was a great experience, working with the poorer people of the communities near Granada that were trying to manage their chronic conditions or came in with little colds or infections. The three of us all agreed that our Spanish greatly improved during this time and we learned a ton from the doctors and nurses that were running the clinic and were gracious enough to allow us to volunteer with them.

            Lucha Libros is a local bookstore where we all picked a book from, and then we all enjoyed trying out different cafés, getting an iced coffee and reading or people watching. Granada is such a lively city, attracting people from all over the world with the brightly colored buildings which themselves seem to breath life as well. I instantly fell in love with the city, and had a hard time saying goodbye (especially since I was nursing a hangover from the previous night’s festivities). As sad as it was to leave, I know that I will have to return again one day because Granada is one of the many cities that has stolen my heart.