Mi Loca Aventura de Nicaragua el Día 2 (Part 2)
¡Ahhh Granada, qué bonita ciudad! What can I say about this enchanting little city other than it totally captured my heart? Maybe photos will better express what words cannot?
There is nothing quite like arriving to a new destination and feeling as though you have truly stepped back in time. I also experienced this while I was exploring La Habana, Cuba and La Antigua, Guatemala. Sadly, it is surprising these days when there is not a McDonalds, Starbucks, nor Walmart in sight.
The first thing that greeted us as we wandered around the center of Granada was La Catedral; an enormous yellow church. It is considered to be one of the most prominent buildings in the country and it is easy to understand why when it is seen in person, as it is a masterpiece of architecture. Sinceit was constructed in 1583 it has been rebuilt several times due to war and earthquakes. Theneoclassical style can clearly be recognized in the facade of the building.
La Catedral, Parque Colón, and Volcan Mombacho are the perfect ingredients for
making a city unforgettable!
La Catedral is located at the east side of Parque Colón, which is the park in the middle of the city. Besides La Catedral, colorful colonial houses surround the park and it is full people selling handicrafts and food, as well as a perfect place to find a bench to sit down on and enjoy life.
Yet another view of La Catedral.
Afterwards, Cami took us to her favorite restaurant for lunch. On the way there I could not stop myself from daydreaming about living in one of the many pretty homes. I fantasized about buying one and decorating it with items I have collected throughout my travels along with traditional Nicaraguan goods. I would build a pool in the courtyard area and lounge by it daily with a cafe con leche and a good book. Plus, I would hire a sexy Latin man to be my pool boy (maybe I should have kept the latter part of the fantasy to myself, haha)!
This would not be a bad vacation home, huh?
The place that I most wanted to visit while in Granada was El Convento de San Francisco. This is another famous church in Nicaragua, however it is no longer in use and has been turned into a museum. There was no reason for wanting to visit it other than having seen it in pictures and loving the way it photographed. So, imagine my surprise when the restaurant that Cami took us to was directly across the street from the church!
Me and Adrienne on the steps of El Convento de San Francisco. We were so lucky to be
able to experience the church by ourselves, since no others happened to be there at
the same time as us.
I photographed the church at every angle I could think of and finally I was ready to get some lunch. The restaurant that we dined at was Kathy's Waffle House. Kathy is an American expat and decided she would bring some American cuisine to Nicaragua, which of course is quite exotic for the locals and European backpackers. Normally, when I am traveling I like to stick to the native cuisine, however a hearty American breakfast was totally calling me. And man, her blueberry waffles did not disappoint!
Adrienne and Cami at Kathy's Waffle House. I guess any waffle would taste good
with that kind of view?
Once we were done with our meals, we had to say chau! to our darling Cami, as she needed to return to Managua for evening classes. Before she left, she introduced us to this man who was taking us on a boat ride around Lago Nicaragua to the thousands of islands. Lago Nicaragua is the 10th largest fresh water lake in the world and for less than $25 we got an hour long boat tour of it.
A view of the marina Puerto Asese. Our boat was the
blue-topped one on the right.
As we cruised along the lake it was such a pleasure to get some relief of the intense humidity from the trade winds. Our guide was really friendly and provided us with a wealth of information regarding the lake and its inhabitants. Honestly, he did not need to say much though, as the spectacular views were more than enough.
About 20 minutes into the tour, our guide announced that we had reached Monkey Island. All of a sudden around 5 spider monkeys started swinging from tree to tree and calling out to us.
One of the adorable spider monkey's.
We docked the boat and Lola, the cheekiest monkey of the pack, jumped inside. I already shared with you this picture of Lola and I, thus I thought I would share a different one.
We left our new friends (with some bananas) for the rest of the tour. Now we were going to see some of the most expensive homes in all of the country. There are hundreds of islands for sale; averaging around $100,000-500,000. Once you buy the island it is up to you to build your own home. Of course, I started daydreaming yet again...
This was my favorite home. It is owned by a wealthy Chinese businessman.
At the end of the tour we got to see Volcan Mombacho in all of her glory. I just wish we had had the time to climb it or to partake in some of the mountain activities that are offered on it, pero así es la vida!
Once we were back on dry land we decided to go check into our hotel and take advantage of its pool. On our way there we spotted another church, Iglesia de Guadeloupe, that beckoned us to take some pictures.
The place we chose to stay in was Hotel Patio del Malinche. The rooms were average, but the grounds were really something else! Who cares about the room anyway while traveling? We quickly threw on our bikinis and ordered some of the best mojitos I have ever tasted.
As I was floating around in the pool, admittedly a little tipsy, I had one of those aha! moments. Life is simply about creating heaven on earth and that is exactly what I was doing with my traveling and especially in Granada.
Later in the evening Adrienne and I went for some dinner in town. The name of the restaurant escapes me now, mostly because the food was unremarkable. We reminisced about our lovely day together as 2 men with guitars played us Spanish love songs.
Me and my entertainment for the night.
As I drifted off to sleep I could hear the voices of the men earlier singing me a lullaby, "Bésame, bésame muuuuucho..."
There is nothing quite like arriving to a new destination and feeling as though you have truly stepped back in time. I also experienced this while I was exploring La Habana, Cuba and La Antigua, Guatemala. Sadly, it is surprising these days when there is not a McDonalds, Starbucks, nor Walmart in sight.
The first thing that greeted us as we wandered around the center of Granada was La Catedral; an enormous yellow church. It is considered to be one of the most prominent buildings in the country and it is easy to understand why when it is seen in person, as it is a masterpiece of architecture. Sinceit was constructed in 1583 it has been rebuilt several times due to war and earthquakes. Theneoclassical style can clearly be recognized in the facade of the building.
La Catedral, Parque Colón, and Volcan Mombacho are the perfect ingredients for
making a city unforgettable!
La Catedral is located at the east side of Parque Colón, which is the park in the middle of the city. Besides La Catedral, colorful colonial houses surround the park and it is full people selling handicrafts and food, as well as a perfect place to find a bench to sit down on and enjoy life.
Yet another view of La Catedral.
Afterwards, Cami took us to her favorite restaurant for lunch. On the way there I could not stop myself from daydreaming about living in one of the many pretty homes. I fantasized about buying one and decorating it with items I have collected throughout my travels along with traditional Nicaraguan goods. I would build a pool in the courtyard area and lounge by it daily with a cafe con leche and a good book. Plus, I would hire a sexy Latin man to be my pool boy (maybe I should have kept the latter part of the fantasy to myself, haha)!
This would not be a bad vacation home, huh?
The place that I most wanted to visit while in Granada was El Convento de San Francisco. This is another famous church in Nicaragua, however it is no longer in use and has been turned into a museum. There was no reason for wanting to visit it other than having seen it in pictures and loving the way it photographed. So, imagine my surprise when the restaurant that Cami took us to was directly across the street from the church!
Me and Adrienne on the steps of El Convento de San Francisco. We were so lucky to be
able to experience the church by ourselves, since no others happened to be there at
the same time as us.
I photographed the church at every angle I could think of and finally I was ready to get some lunch. The restaurant that we dined at was Kathy's Waffle House. Kathy is an American expat and decided she would bring some American cuisine to Nicaragua, which of course is quite exotic for the locals and European backpackers. Normally, when I am traveling I like to stick to the native cuisine, however a hearty American breakfast was totally calling me. And man, her blueberry waffles did not disappoint!
with that kind of view?
Once we were done with our meals, we had to say chau! to our darling Cami, as she needed to return to Managua for evening classes. Before she left, she introduced us to this man who was taking us on a boat ride around Lago Nicaragua to the thousands of islands. Lago Nicaragua is the 10th largest fresh water lake in the world and for less than $25 we got an hour long boat tour of it.
A view of the marina Puerto Asese. Our boat was the
blue-topped one on the right.
As we cruised along the lake it was such a pleasure to get some relief of the intense humidity from the trade winds. Our guide was really friendly and provided us with a wealth of information regarding the lake and its inhabitants. Honestly, he did not need to say much though, as the spectacular views were more than enough.
About 20 minutes into the tour, our guide announced that we had reached Monkey Island. All of a sudden around 5 spider monkeys started swinging from tree to tree and calling out to us.
One of the adorable spider monkey's.
We docked the boat and Lola, the cheekiest monkey of the pack, jumped inside. I already shared with you this picture of Lola and I, thus I thought I would share a different one.
We left our new friends (with some bananas) for the rest of the tour. Now we were going to see some of the most expensive homes in all of the country. There are hundreds of islands for sale; averaging around $100,000-500,000. Once you buy the island it is up to you to build your own home. Of course, I started daydreaming yet again...
At the end of the tour we got to see Volcan Mombacho in all of her glory. I just wish we had had the time to climb it or to partake in some of the mountain activities that are offered on it, pero así es la vida!
Once we were back on dry land we decided to go check into our hotel and take advantage of its pool. On our way there we spotted another church, Iglesia de Guadeloupe, that beckoned us to take some pictures.
The place we chose to stay in was Hotel Patio del Malinche. The rooms were average, but the grounds were really something else! Who cares about the room anyway while traveling? We quickly threw on our bikinis and ordered some of the best mojitos I have ever tasted.
As I was floating around in the pool, admittedly a little tipsy, I had one of those aha! moments. Life is simply about creating heaven on earth and that is exactly what I was doing with my traveling and especially in Granada.
Later in the evening Adrienne and I went for some dinner in town. The name of the restaurant escapes me now, mostly because the food was unremarkable. We reminisced about our lovely day together as 2 men with guitars played us Spanish love songs.
beautifully written...I want to go back to Nicaragua NOW! ASAP! Mi gato is there waiting for me lol
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I WANT TO GO TO MONKEY ISLAND! How cool!!!
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