Granada, Nicaragua

How long: 3 nights
Stayed: Sierra Hostel, De Boca en Boca
Travelling with: Susan, Derek and Tom ( met Vinnie)

Lazily took taxi from San Jorge with Susan and Derek and arrived in Granada at about 2 to find that our hostel reservation had been lost and we were now roomless. The guy in the hostel was very apologetic tho and was trying to help so it was hard to be annoyed with him. He helped us book somewhere else for the night and promised a free brekkie in his hostel for the following morning so off we went to sweat our way to our new hostel. Granada is bloody hot!!
Dumped stuff and headed out for a wander.
Granada is a beautiful "colonial" city(town) but prob not as nice as I was expecting...but that may be because I am spoilt after spending time in Cartagena...which really is a gem!! After a delicious lunch at the lovely Garden Cafe we headed off and saw a good chunk of the city and countless churches and cathedrals. After a few hours wansering in the heat we were then sorely in need of a cold beer and so finding ourselves in a very touristy, bar filled street we decided to take a rest.
The minute O'Sheas was spotted by Ms Feirtear I knew all was lost but as they had outside tables I tried to convince myself I was not really in an Irish bar in Nicaragua! That self deception wasn't to last unfortunately as she proceeded to take a pic and tag us on facebook...so i was ruined.
Being stuck in a particularly bad insomniac phase I headed home to bed at 8pm while the guys headed out and ended up in yet another Irish bar.
Woke up the next morning to Susan asleep on the floor....as the top bunk was too hot!! Had to laugh...from 4 star NYC hotels to the floor of a dorm in just over a week...her words :)
Next day was spent exploring more of the town with a visit to the cemetary, which was really fascinating with hugely imposing and ornate graves and a lot of memorials and graces from the Sandanistas. Next we hit the market which was hot and sweaty and a little manic and stinky but strangely enjoyable too. Back to the hostel and met up with Tom who had followed us on from Ometepe and then went out to the Garden Cafe again...so good we had to go back for more.
Evening was spent chilling at the hostel with a few beers and a bucket of guacamole.
Next day, after lots of faffing and messing around we finally got moving and Tom, Susan and I hired some bikes and went for a spin around town. In the afternoon we went on a kayak tour of the islets which was really great fun and really beautiful.
Back to the hostel where we met up with Vinnie, a Kiwi friend of Tom's who joined our merry band. Later headed out in search of some Latin dancing and after trying a few dead end options we ended up back in the Irish bar...much to my consternation. Turned out to be great fun tho and with enough Latin music to keep me on the dancefloors for the night showing off.
The night ended with people leaving in dribs and drabs and unfortunately us all ignoring the frequently received local advice of always getting a taxi at night...even for just a few blocks. Most of us got home fine but unfortunately not all. Susan was attacked and brought to the ground with a punch as he went for her bag. Thankfully Vinnie and a very brave Aoife from Carlow jumped in and fought them off but not before they had grabbed Aoifes bag. Scary stuff.
Everyone ok apart from a few cuts and bruises but a stark reminder to us all that we need to heed the local advice and as per Susans text to me that night....GET A FUCKING TAXI! :)
So, Granada was great. Stayed in a really lovely hostel and people are lovely and helpful and open. However, there is a lot of poverty there too and crime is getting worse....with gormless gringos being the main target.Read more