Hasta luego, Granada!

I’m going to miss Granada. Even after only two weeks in this city, which by no means represents the rest of Nicaragua, I feel sad to let it all go. I can only wonder what the next two weeks are going to be like, as I have to now adapt myself to another living situation, a new schedule, and a new task at hand. On to Matagalpa! Marisol is also leaving tomorrow morning, so it’s going to be a day of change tomorrow. 

I had a great day today. Last night, our entire group rallied and met on the Calsada to finish watching the basketball game. The same poor guy who sells maracas has been hanging outside for the past three nights. We then headed to Encuentros, the place where we watch movies. We came prepared this time to go swimming; here are some pictures from the night. I’m going to miss everyone on Team Iniciativa for the next two weeks!

Chilling by the pool

Although I was looking forward to sleeping in today after getting very little sleep in the last three days, I was woken up by cackling, shouting and the loud smack of a ball being kicked back and forth, right outside my room at around 7:30 AM. Everyone wakes up super early here, and apparently does not find it rude to wake up everyone in the house at the same time. I went out to a delicious brunch with a few members of the group, where I had my first omelette since I left Duke. It was delicious, albeit a little to salty and oily. Afterwards, we went swimming in the pool at Hotel Coco, where we also had our brunch...it was heavenly, and I’m going to miss all of the fun times our entire group had together. All of us got extremely tan (Nicaragua is great if you want to get tanned because the sun is directly overhead) and a little bit sunburned. Afterwards, we went straight to Leo Tours on the Calsada for a tour of the isletas in Lake Granada, a huge expanse of freshwater. 

Brunch...of course, nothing could replace Wallace's omelettes.

The tour was fantastic. I thought the islands were beautiful and the tour guide was hilarious. The beginning of the tour reminded me of pictures I had seen of the everglades. Under Chamorro, the government cleared out expanses of the lake so that people could travel through lake. The dynamite cleared out swathes of volcanic rocks (all the 365 of Lake Nicaragua’s islands were formed through volcanic eruptions) and one ended up in a tree, both of which are still visible today. Even a few minutes out into the lake, we could see people swimming, bathing and washing clothes in the lake. People actually live in the lake, in metal shacks and houses very close to the water’s edge, on tiny little islands that can fit only a few houses to an a small town. Many of the islands are also privately owned by extremely rich Nicaraguans, who earned their money through coffee, businesses, and especially rum. “La plata del ron” is heavily represented among the private islands, on which magnificent mansions, docks, and landscaping can be seen. Among these esteemed owners were the ex-president, a Navy SEAL, a family that owned Presto, the most popular coffee in Nicaragua, the family that owns several rum/alcohol companies and a few banks, etc. There were also interspersed among the islands small settlements of native people, who eke out an existence selling fish. We actually stopped at one of these islands, where all 26 inhabitants, part of the same family, welcomed us in and prepared fresh pipa, or coconut water for us. A man, completely unaided and barefoot, shimmied up a fifty foot tall coconut tree and cut down a bunch of coconuts. They then hacked off the top and bottom so that we could drink the surprisingly abundant fluids inside. If you cracked the coconut open, you could also scrape off the thin layer of gelatinous flesh inside. 

I didn't even bother taking pictures of most of the mini-mansions, so this is a pretty bad take of a house on the lower end of the spectrum of luxury in the middle of the lake. 

I felt pretty uncomfortable about this particular island visit, because the people living on it were obviously not very well off and probably depended heavily upon the income they generated from our tour visits. This feeling was reinforced when after we got back from the tour, we received postcards on behalf of the people, thanking us for our visit. It reminded me of those pictures they send to you if you sponsor a child in Africa or something. Anytime we’re in a group of tourists I feel slightly invasive and voyeuristic, for the sake of my own enjoyment. Still, I won’t pretend that I didn’t enjoy the entire experience. 

Muy impresionante! The scale isn't quite right, so you really can't tell how high up he is.

Just to give you an idea...We definitely were more nervous for him than he was for himself.

Every island, which popped up every few seconds, contained a new surprise. Most were only big enough to hold a large house and some surrounding land. One contained four monkeys, one of which was enthusiastically sucking a lollipop. I’m not sure where he got the lollipop; most likely from one of the many tourists that pass each day. This particular island was maintained by a local vet who fed and cared for the monkeys. Other islands contained amazing houses, some of which were for rent or for sale. For example, Ramón, our tour guide, informed us that a friend of his was selling his island, which included a mansion with five bedrooms, pool and air conditioning, for $450,000. I now know where I should retire. Parents: you should save your money and buy an island here! I have way more pictures that I need to get from other peoples' cameras. We've got some serious photographers here. 

Other islands had amazing hotels and hostels, while others, in juxtaposition to the mansions they were only a few hundred yards from, were interspersed with meager metal and wood huts and shacks. Also notable was the amazing presence of wildlife, especially of birds. Everywhere we turned, there were colorful and graceful birds nesting, sunning, or fishing. One type of bird makes these satchel like nests and that hang in bunches from tree branches and warble when startled. It started raining in the middle of our tour, but I loved the experience all the more. Sitting in a small boat, buffeted by waves, cold air, and rain droplets, while upbeat Latin salsa music pounds in the background, and surrounded by amazing views of the wide open lake was exhilarating and relaxing at the same time. Voy a extrañar a Granada!

Until next time, Granada. T-14 days.