Hotel Terrasol Granada

... when bags of coffee plummet to $45 causing mass unemployment in Nicaragua. In 2006 Daniel Ortega was elected again 15 years after he left office, and the country is deeply divided. There are many not happy with his close relationship with Chavez, who in 2007 forgave Nicaragua its $31 million debt to Venezuela. And now Ortega has changed the constitution to enable him to stand for re-election in 2011. Which has caused rioting by those anti-Ortega and counter rioting by ...

... s a ´tourist area´, aimed more at locals. There are restaurants, playgrounds, and a few places to picnic or swim.<br><br>Within town, we climbed to the top of the belltower at one of the churches for some great views of the town and the lake. You can see on the horizon the tops of the volcanos on Ometepe Island, which will be one of our next destinations. <br>

... in various hammocks we decided that we would get a proper hammock with wooden frames on both sides to make it more stiff, and a swing chair - possibly the most comfortable seat you will ever sit on. However, we wanted to get them from the families that make the hammocks instead of going through the market where the hammocks have sometimes already been sold to shops who then put a price hike on the items. We wanted to support the families direct and headed to the ...

... swiftly on. Not very swiftly though because we had to wait about three quarters of an hour for the next bus which dropped us at a crossroads from where we had to wait again and then catch another bus. Remember now the roads are the pits on this island. With sore legs and tired bodies, bumping around the place on a chicken bus is not fun at all. We eventually got to the other side of the island only to be told that the waterfall was closed for the day and ...

... anders moet omschrijven).<br>Het stikte van de vleermuizen en toen we allemaal ons licht uitdeden en stil waren was het wel een bijzonder moment.....echt aardedonker....en ze vlogen aan alle kanten langs je oren. Bij terugkomst boven de grond was het inmiddels ook donker en zijn we doorgereden naar de andere kant van de krater...waar we in groepjes van vier personen meegenomen werden naar de rand van de krater....echt zo dicht bij de rand...zonder hekje (als dat al iets ...

... glaasje. Vanmiddag na school trouwens weer....Lucia kon er wel om lachen. Ik zal binnenkort een filmpje maken van onze casa zodat jullie ook mee kunnen lachen.<br><br>Vanaf zondag a.s. start de feestweek in Granada in het kader van de heilige Maria. Zondagmiddag rond een uur of vier zullen er een paar honderd toro´s door onze straat denderen en daarna zullen er dagelijs diverse evenementen zijn zoals carnaval, processies en spelen ...

... with wads of money who asked passengers if they needed to exchange money.<br><br>Near the end of the border stay, we had to get our luggage checked. I my baggage claim document to the border worker, he pointed to a button that connected to a traffic light right next to him on a table. I pressed the button, the light turned green, meaning I didnt need to have my bag checked. I put it back on the bus. <br><br>After another 30 min, I got my ...

Situated on the northern shores of the absolutely MASSIVE Lake Nicaragua (160km long by 55km wide), is the very pretty and picturesque town of Granada. This town was historically a very important town for trade through Nicaragua to the Atlantic via the Rio San Juan. In fact there were actually plans to make the panama canal through Nicaragua. Although that didn't pan out it is still the origin of a lot of Nicaraguan wealth. This is ...

... und Ausruhen gingen die Tage an diesem wunderschoenen Fleckchen Erde viel zu schnell vorbei. Ich haette es leicht noch eine Weile dort aushalten koennen. Oder auch nicht, wenn einem jeden Tag eine Unterhose geklaut wird(!), das wuerde schnell eng werden. Ah, diese Menschen hier, anscheinend schwirren auch hier zuviele Testosteride, oder wie das heisst, rum!

... just a bit we are off to get background info on Nicaragua, history, current issues then chat with Lutheran folks about the programs they are involved with here and then a tour of the city. After all of that I will be giving my presentation on intro to Fair Trade so keep me in your thoughts and prayers. Folks are waiting for the computer, so more later! kathy hope