Exploring Granada

Last week we donned our masks and hand sanitizer and went out to explore Granada. Granada is an easy 1.5-hour drive from San Juan Del Sur.

Granada is a beautiful city. It was named after the Spanish city of Granada by Francisco Fernández de Córdoba (Nicaraguan money is named after Córdoba). Granada is located on Lake Nicaragua. It was a key trade center for the Spanish because boats could access it from the Caribbean Sea. Granada was a target for pirates because it was a rich city.

We went on a Wednesday and the city was not crowded. We have heard from others that during the day people social distance and wear masks, but at night Calle La Calzada, the busy street with restaurants and vendors, is packed and most people are not wearing masks. We did not stick around long enough to see if Calle La Calzada was packed, but during the day it was easy to move around the city and stay far away from people.

When we arrived, we visited some of the famous churches in Granada. The Spanish brought Catholicism to Nicaragua in the 16th century. There are five main churches in Granada: The Iglesia la Merced, the Cathedral on Parque Colón, The Iglesia de Xalteva, the Iglesia Guadalupe and the Antiguo Convento San Francisco.

We stopped into the Garden Café for breakfast. The workers were wearing masks and shields and took our temperature upon entering the restaurant. We had to sanitize our shoes and wash our hands. The restaurant opens into a courtyard, so there is fresh air. The tables were set up far apart from each other. Lucas and Henry shared the gringo breakfast and a strawberry, banana smoothie and Judy and Michael split the avocado toast. It was delicious.

After breakfast, we decided to take a boat tour. We want to support the people of Nicaragua and tourism is a big part of that. It is tricky with COVID, but we were able to take a private tour and we felt ok with it. We took a horse carriage ride to the dock.

The boat took us to see the islets of Granada. These are a group of 365 small islands that were formed by the volcanic eruption of Volcan Mombacho thousands of years ago. Many of the small islands are privately owned and have beautiful homes on them. There are some hotels and restaurants as well.

We do not think we would like to live on one of these islands. Can you imagine getting all the way home and realizing you forgot something at the store?

We only made two stops on the boat tour. One was to visit the San Pablo Fort. It is a Spanish fort built in the late 1700s to protect Granada from pirate attacks.

The second stop was to feed monkeys. The monkeys were friendly. They did not try to climb on us or the boat. They gladly took the fruit we offered them.

It was great to get back out on the water. It took us back a few months to when we were in Bocas Del Toro taking boat taxis around those islands.

When we got back from the boat tour, we went to Pita Pita for lunch. Pita Pita is an amazing middle eastern/Mediterranean/pizza place. Lucas and Henry at pizza and Judy and Michael shared a beef shawarma plate and tzatziki appetizer. We all shared the molten lava cake for dessert.

We planned on going to Lago de Apoyo in the afternoon, but the weather looked iffy and we were all a little worn out from the morning.  We will visit Lago de Apoyo soon.

We drove into Managua before heading home since we were so close. Lucas wanted to buy a remote-control car and Henry needed new sandals. Lucas ended up getting a set of two remote control cars from Radio Shack that do not work. We will have to take them back.

Henry got a sweet pair of silver Nike sandals. He told us that he cannot wear “these beauties” to the beach.  We will see about that.

Michael got a remote-control car from Walmart that does work, so the kids have been playing with that.

We did not want to, but we ended driving home in the dark. Driving at night in Nicaragua is tough. Much of the drive from Managua to San Juan del Sur is pitch black. There are no streetlights. There are people walking on the side of the road and bikers biking without reflectors. Animals also dart into the road unexpectedly.

Also, about 30 minutes from home, Lucas and Henry started screaming about ants. Our red ants are back! The car was packed with stuff and it was dark, so we had to keep driving. Lucas got a few bites. We were told this is common in Nicaragua, so we will just continue to battle them as we see them.