Great Granada

13th February 2016

Granada really is a gem of a city.  The colonial architecture still holds a sense of splendour.  The streets are easy to walk as they don't have the terrible mis-shapen cobble stones of Antigua Guatemala.  After dark, a large number of the locals open up the doors to their homes out onto the street and enjoy having the breeze blow through for some relief after the daily 36 degree heat.  As I walk the streets, I see past the family members that congregate in the doorways on rocking chairs into many people homes.  The fine furniture inside reflects how well the people of Granada are doing.  Most of what I see are very nice antique pieces.  The homes are like the Tardis and I see way back into the guts of the building.  the rooms are large, and comfortable.  Some have courtyards with lush planting beyond their living area.  I suspect the bedrooms are situated off that yard, as the ones at my hotel do.

The blessed breeze only comes as relief if you don't move.  With all the walking, i still manage to maintain a light sweat throughout.  There's something quite magical about this town.  The architecture especially.  If it were not for the heat of midday, there'd be many more people living here.  This is my favourite country since Belize, and that only won because they speak English there.

I'm planning my buses to Costa Rica for Monday the 15th, but am having second thoughts now.  It would be nice to stay and relax here a while, but I really shouldn't.  Costa Rica has been top of my list for a long time, and it's only a bus ride away now.

Early today after arriving from Managua on a 75 pence bus, I took a walk through the centre, and after lunch carried on down towards the lake and along the edge for a mile where numerous locals send their weekends relaxing in the shade of the trees.  Sadly, the whole area is covered in litter, but I suspect they don't even notice that (seeing as it's them that deposit it).

At one point as I wandered, a soldier armed with some automatic rifle, approached me, getting up from his lazing under one of the trees.

"Fotographia de la lancha prohibado." -  Photographing the boat is not allowed.

"What boat?"  I hadn't even noticed.  There was a blue camouflaged boat just off the shore.  I hadn't even noticed a boat.  "No problemo," I said and walked away.  Checking my photos I had the boat in the background of a shot of some horses.  There are up to a thousand people along a mile long stretch and if they don't want people taking photos they should park up elsewhere.  Especially when there are such good zooms on cameras these days.  Oops, there it is again.  Butter fingers.

On the way back I buy a coconut.  I don't remember having one since India, but they were cheaper there.  This one is 50 pence!  The woman selling them expertly carves a small hole in the top so you can drink the milk with a straw.   Then, when you're done with the liquid, she wields her machete once more to cleave it in two and makes a kind of spoon from the outer shell with which you can scoop out the delicious flesh inside.  The milk wasn't that good on this occasion but the flesh was lovely.  I must remember to have more of these soon.