Hostal Dorado Granada

... with its nearby large and right wing neighbour the United States, Estados Unidos, under Reagan’s administration and hence the Iran-Contra Affair began – and a decade of bloody civil war in Nicaragua. When I was a kid I remember watching the news and the trial of Oliver North and having little comprehension of the complexities of what was going on, only that North was seen as a scapegoat and that the US were selling arms to Iran to fight Iraq. The ...

... grote kamer en een dakterras met uitzicht op de vulkaan...en we worden prima verzorgd...om 7 u gallo pinto met koffie en vers fruit.....na school warm eten (van alles en nog wat)...en om een uur of zes cenar (een lichte maaltijd).....en overal lekkere vers geperste sapjes en drankjes bij. Ja...de posada bevalt goed...gaan we vaker doen!

Inmiddels zijn we ons aan het inlezen op Ometepe en de Corn Islands!
Ziet er veel belovend uit!!

... up and tried chatting with the other people staying in the not so popular but laid back hostel. Chatting was good, but I was still so tired so went back to bed.

Monday, 13 September, Day 230

Granada, Nicaragua

I had a much needed nothing day. There was so much to do around Granada and I felt a little guilty spending the day in the hostel, especially since I had spent the last three days doing nothing on bus’s, but I felt exhausted. It ...

... van enkele vrijwilligers op school en werd er flink gedanst, gegeten en waren er een aantal optredens van de kinderen. Ook waren we nog actief bij het neerhalen van de piñata...dat is een pop vol met snoepjes welek met een koord aan het plafond gehangen word.....één voor eé´n worden de gasten (wij dus ook) geblindoekt en mogen ze met een stok proberen om de pop kapot te slaan...tot groot vermaak van de kinderen. En als hij kapot is ligt de ...

... was no problem really, because lets face it - you don't necessarily have to be faster than the bull, just the person next to you, and the Nicas aren't about to win any Olympic sprinting medals any time soon.

Frankly, I would say that any fatalaties or other serious injuries will have been the result of the crazy displays of bravado/cruelty put on by the locals. A lot of the time the festival was less running-with-the-bulls and more running-up-behind-the-bulls-and ...

... a black leather purse, not a potato sack.

Luckily and impressively, Sophie struck up a conversation with a Granada local on the bus, making our introduction to the city quick and painless. The gentleman is also a lawyer, which could come in handy...he left us with his business card and assurance that we had a friend in him if needed. Way to go Soph!

Oh how I´ve missed rain! It is refreshing and, with our bags equipped with rain ...

... and it is
crazy the stark contrasts between sections of the city. There is
a famous photojournalism work about America´s poor called How the Other Half Lives,
which was written at the end of the 19th century. It covered the New
York slums and depicted how life in America was very much divded
between the rich and the poor, negating the preconceived, media proported notion that poverty ...

... Park betaald worden en vanaf hier vertrekken de wandelingen in het nevelwoud.

We hebben keuze uit 3 'trails': 'Sendero El Cráter' een wandeling van 1 1/2 km rond krater 1, de hoofdkrater, welke je zonder gids mag doen, de 'Puma trail' die enkel met gids mag gedaan worden of een combinatie van krater 1 en Puma (ook enkel met gids). Wij ontdekken het nevelwoud liefst zonder gids en kiezen voor de wandeling rond krater 1.

Een prachtig aangelegd en goed ...

... of waste [specifically, plastic waste] on their streets, highways, streams and rivers. Many Nicaraguans work hard every day cleaning the streets in front of their businesses and homes. However, every day, millions of people throw non degradable plastic bottle and thin plastic bags out of their homes, their cars, and buses. It is unbelievable to me how little regard they have for the appearance of their country. The highways have glistening ribbons of plastic like ...

We went down to Granada which was a lovely part of Central America. We stayed for a few days at the Bearded Monkey and then went over to Omatepe for a few days. We climbed volcanos and rode motor cycles around for two days. We also went to the fresh water springs. I wantched the World Series on Omatepe. Omatepe is one of my favorite places inthe world and a very special place!!! I have now climbed Maderas and Conception!