We packed our backpack and a small shoulder bag for a five day trip to Nicaragua leaving around 10:00 am. Larry made arrangements for a hotel in Granada for two nights and we stopped in Liberia to return our car. Rental cars are only allowed to be driven in the country where they are leased and are not allowed to cross into bordering countries. The car company gave us a ride to the bus station in Liberia where we were planning to hop on board a local bus to ride to the border. We arrived at the terminal around noon and found that we had just missed a bus but another one was leaving in an hour. A cab driver approached Larry to see if he wanted to taxi there, saying it would cost $40.00. The cabby was speakiing mostly Spanish and Larry was speaking mostly English so there was a lot of sign language and writing on a piece of paper going on. Larry said the bus was only going to cost $6.00 for us, both but he would pay $20.00. The cabby was not interested, but he approached another lady who was waiting as well. Larry saw him approach her and so he started talking to her about sharing a cab. In her thick French accent she said she would pay $10.00. So after a lot of talking and hand motioning with the cabby, the three of them finally agreed on a ride to the border for $30.00.
The cabby wasn't the best driver....passing everything that he could and he had a foot that would excell and release the gas pedal and excell and release and on and on down the two lane road known as the Panamerican Highway. With no air conditioning, the wind whipping us was a nice relief to the noon heat.The area was very dry and you could see the volcanos with clouds around the top to the east as we traveled north. We felt a change in temperature as we went into a higher elevation and the area became greener indicating that they received a lot more rain. There were not many roads leading off of this main highway and there were only a couple of small inhabited villages.
The lady, Margauxrain, that we shared the cab with, spoke fluently French, Spanish, and English. We called her Marga.She had been traveling by herself for 4 months through Central America with a huge backpack. She was a tiny thing and her backpack was as big as she was. She was from France and was planning to travel through Nicaragua to Gutamala and on to Mexico for another month. I still can not believe that she was traveling alone. What a wonderful help she was!
Anyway after about 45 minutes of riding north, we approached more than a hundred tractor trailers lined up waiting for their turn to go across the border in the traveling lane of the road. Those drivers had to have a lot of patience because they were waiting for approval to drive over the boarder and there was only one building that they could drive their trucks through to be inspected. It must have taken a day for them to gain entrance into Nicaragua. Anyway our cabby drove in the on coming lane, trying to manuver by tracter trailers, buses and other cars coming in our direction, passing all the tractor trailers that were parked. Wheeee...it was interesting at times!
Anyway we finally got to the point at the border where the cabby could not go any further and he stopped to let us out. From there we entered a air conditioned Costa Rican building to have our passports checked and then we walked through a fenced row about 3-4 kilometers to the Nicaraguan side. Vendors were everywhere selling baked goods and soft drinks. Nicaraguan men were flashing big wads of Nicaraguan cash at us wanting us to exchange our American dollars. Marga said that it was ok to exchange with them and I had read in our travel guide that generally they will give you a fair exchange. Larry stopped and exchanged $40.00 for 540 cordoves. We later figured out that we should have gotten 800 cordoves so they got a nice tip from us.The border crossing was really chaotic and it was a pleasure to have Marga there to help us get to the other side.
Since Marga spoke the language, she asked many questions and then led us to the non-air conditioned Nicaraguan passport office where we paid 24 dollars to enter the country. While we were getting our passports stamped, she found a bus that would take us to Granada that was air conditioned and had really nice relaxing seats. While waiting for the bus to get ready to go, we stood amongst the vendors and beggars.
One little old lady came up to us asking for a hand out and Marga gave her all of her Costa Rican coins since she was not going back to Costa Rica.. The little lady was not happy to get these and it was obvious that it wasn't enough. We had never seen a beggar complain about getting money. Which brings up the topic of begging. In one of the restaurants that we ate dinner in,the menu had a page devoted to how to handle the begging that takes place in Nicaragua. The page stated that the children in Nicaragua have plenty to eat. The government and other charities have set up kitchens for families to come to get the normal Nicaraguan food and the children have learned to ask for dollars so that they can spend it on junk food that is not available in the free food kitchens. Most tourist are not aware of this and give them money, making the begging more prevelent. Although the Nicaraguans appear to be living in poorer housing conditions, they look very muscular and robust, in other words, healthy.
Inside the Nicaraguan Passport office...no air conditioning....and it is rather warm.
Marga and I are waiting for the bus.
Vendors trying to sell their goods...I wondered how long the stuff had been in its little bags.
This lady sold hand woven hammocks ($10.00), storing one on her head.
We finally paid $10.00 each and showed our passports to the bus porter and climbed on board. The bus passed Lake Nicaragua and the two volcanos that formed the island, Ometepe, to the east of us. We drove for an hour passing through the towns of La Virgen, Rivas, Belen, and Nandame before arriving at Granada.
The bus pulled up to the side of the road and let us out. Another lady who had a home in Granada and also lived in Miami directed us to Park Central...our hotel was two blocks from there. We started walking. We admired the restored colonial buildings that lined the streets with their beautiful colors. We could not pass by an old cathedral, Iglesia de Xalteva, without walking inside.
As we left the cathedral, a young man with a horse and carriage asked for us to take a ride. Larry said, "Let's go" and paid him one hundred cordoves ($5.00) We climbed on board and he took us for a tour of the city before taking us to Hotel Con Corazon.He went by another cathedral. A funeral was taking place.
What an elegant hearst.
The driver swung by Park Central and pointed out many of the sites in the area. The roads were all paved with interlocking paver blocks, nothing was asphalt or cement. The horses were very well trained, not flinching at the cars or the horns that honked upon occasion. He drove us down the street, Calle de Calzada, through an area that had lots of restaurants and bars with outdoor seating. This area had been beautifully restored and was full of tourist having an afternoon refreshment. On we went to the Lake of Nicaragua, past the oldest church in the area, Igelsia de Guadalupe. It looked as though it had been burned on the outside and was not open. Two heathy looking boys approached us begging for a dollar....saying please, please, please! They had their English down.
Our hotel looks really good after a day of traveling.
We checked in and decided to take a dip in a the pool. The hotel turns 100% of its profits over to the education of Nicaraguan children. The average Nicaraguan has a 4.6 grade education. Only 38 % of the population has a elementary education. The hotel has set a goal to help 300 children graduate from high school. This was a nice, clean facility with private bath, air conditioning, internet, and cable TV; however, it did not have hot water.
After a good nights rest, we rented two bikes and rode to Parque Central. Just as Costa Rica, every town has a park in the center of town with a church on one end of it. We managed to ride our bikes to the cathedral and get inside before a little shower occured. After climbing the bell tower and taking some pictures, we rode our bikes to the market place.
Entering Central Park...the roads that are paved are interlocking pavers....all others are dirt.
Activity in the park
Napping at 10:00 am or did he spend the night there?
Red tile roofs of Granada seen from the Cathedral Bell Tower
View from the Bell Tower
With sun back out, we jumped on our bikes and started riding. We ended up at the market place. It was about two blocks by seven or eight blocks long and had everything from shoes to undies. Men sat behind old sewing machines mending shoes. There was a food market with lots of over ripe fruits. veggies, and meats....out in the open hot air. Big sacks of grains....rice, beans, coffee, and things that we had never heard of. Cars, motorcycles , horse and carts, buses, trucks, taxis and bicycles were passing all these vendors.It was so busy and active that it was almost too much to take in all at once...you just couldn't capture everything that was going on because a horn would blow at you to get out of the way or someone would yell at you to come look at their wares. It was exciting but we were glad to get down a back street away from it all after a while. Whew!
This market area dates back to 1890.
This is just unbelievable!
What cuties!
Larry was ready for lunch too so he suggested going up in the Iglesia de La Merced Bell Tower. It was a great idea because there was a wonderful breeze up there. We paid a dollar each and climbed up the narrow steps where it is claimed to be the best views of the city.This church was built in 1539, sacked by pirates in 1655, damaged by Leonese forces in 1854, and then restored in 1862. It had beautiful stain glass windows.
Visitors frequented here as well as locals who came in to pray.
What a view...the Cathedral at Park Central is in the background.
Rode the bikes back to Park Central....
and stopped to have a refreshing coke in the shade.
I did some shopping and then we headed our bikes to the lake ....many blocks to the east. The water looked very polluted. People were out swimming in the waves. We looked at the dock and tried to purchase tickets to ride the ferry for the next day, but it was closed. Riding back to the hotel, we decided that we needed a dip in the pool to cool off. We had a great day in Granda and were looking forward to riding the ferry to the twin volcanic island, Ometepe, the next day.
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