• Michael and Helen CookMexico to BrazilMichael and Helen Cook
    Granada
    Eating at Smile CafePicture menu and signs on the wallParque CentralThe cathedralColourful housesStreet MosaicsQuiet gardens

    Granada, Nicaragua

    Mar 21–23, 2024 in Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    Yesterday we left Costa Rica and took a bus to Granada Nicaragua.

    For the distance this was a very long and difficult journey. What could be done in 2.5 hours by car (180km) took over 9 hours. We waited at the bus stop (a bench under an underpass) for our bus for 3 hours. It then took over an hour to clear the Nicaraguan immigration before waiting another couple of hours in 38 degree heat for our bus to clear customs so we could continue.

    Granada is a lovely colonial era city which reminds us greatly of Antigua in Guatemala. Impressive churches, bustling markets, horse drawn carriages mingling with tuktuks and pickups.

    There is quite a lot of poverty on display and we were pleased to eat at an excellent social enterprise called Smile Cafe, which employs about 35 deaf staff and educates its customers on sign language. Of course a smile is a universal language too.    Read more