Casa Chandler Granada

Lovely little colonial city crammed full of gringos & therefore more varied but expensive restaurants & bars.

Went to the fort, where I ascended vertical steps through a trapdoor into one of the guard towers that has views over the city - sadly prettiest buildings distant & obscured by telegraph poles & lines.

Stopped by the French bakery to stock up on croissants for breakfast - yummy treat!

Staying in some rooms at the back of a ...

... to the palm trees to the colorful colonial buildings and churches, it is very pleasing on the eyes. Not to mention the vast lake it sits on and the green volcanoes that surround it!

We found our hostel pretty easily, and we like it. Not quite as nice as Lazybones, but it definitely has character. It´s in a huge airy old building that looks out over the busy mercado central. We´ll probs only be staying there for one night anyways. We then headed ...

... opposite a place that did the best smoothies in Nicaragua and we decided to have lunch there, two fruit smoothies packed with tropical fruits. After that we headed up to the infamous Mercado Viejo, where local artisans sell their wares including leather goods like sandals and bags, woven fabrics, wooden carved objects including a lovely ice bucket that Al and I had to unfortunately put back due to lack of space and... hammocks! After doing a walk round and ...

... I had to sit on the spare tire lying on the floor at the
back of the bus and when I leaned my bag against another bag the other
bag started clucking. They are not called Chicken Buses for nothing. I
was so sick of public transport, by the end of the day I was ready to
suicide bomb the bus.
When I finally got off after 8 painful
hours of incredibly slow bus travel I checked into the hostel and went
out to the lake to watch ...

... we´d get a bus there, that we´d probably have to take another bus at some stage and then a taxi back. Not a chance!! We arrived at the bus stop to be told that the bus we wanted wasn´t leaving for another two hours. On the advice of a friendly local we went to Santo Domingo beach which according to him was ´like a little piece of the Carribbean´. Sure it is!!! We got there and it was a dirty beach with a few chairs and an even dirtier looking lake. We ...

... klaar en niet veel later zaten we in de microbus op weg naar het national park. We waren wel een beetje moe...maar we wilden toch gaan!!
Als eerste hebben we een stop gemaakt bij de eerste krater...die nog actief is. We hebben vervolgens een klim gemaakt naar een mooi uitzichtpunt. Vervolgens zijn we doorgereden naar volgend punt waar we helmen en zaklampen kregen uitgedeeld....en zijn we afgedaald in de grotten welke ontstaan zijn in de lava (ik weet ook niet hoe ik ...

... more tactile activities such as making
our own healthy refreshments that were rich in the nutrients we had
discussed during the workshop.
We also wrote a letter to the
municipal office of the Ministry of Health in Tola to request visits
from Ob/Gyns to give consults to the pregnant women in the community at
least once every two months. Without this service, most women go
without sonograms and other “standard” prenatal care ...

... the way to the lake. Hope to get to one soon. Haven´t heard from Vince today but got an e-mail from him in the morn yesterday. I´ll copy it here: I finally got my tourist Visa after sitting in their office for an hour yesterday and from 8:30am-10:30am today. I am exercising my patience on this one. I still have to get my vehicle permit which is at the ferry terminal I am going to get there early to make sure everything ...

Ometepe is an island on (massive, ocean like) Lake Nicaragua - somewhat mythical looking with its twin, linked, volcanic peaks rising to the clouds. Anyways, we arrived into Moyogalpa, checked in to Hospodaje Cental and grabbed some beers. The hostel was colourful, the staff and most of the bar patrons were really camp and there was a pet deer ...

... bosques y observar muchas aves y monos.

Catarina es un pueblo cerca de Masaya, con vista a la Laguna de Apoyo.
Catarina es famosa por su majestuosa vista a la laguna. Catarina también es conocida por su suelo fértil y sus viveros. Hay varias tienditas donde venden árboles, plantas, palmeras y otros
materiales de jardinería. La gente viene desde Managua para comprar sus plantas aquí.

El mirador de Catarina es uno de las colinas más altas ...