Hello Madda... Hello Fadda...

I met up with Nini in Granada after a whole day of travel and we stayed a night at Hostal Mochilas which had hot, stuffy dorms and far too quiet a vibe for the impending New Year's Eve celebrations. We agreed to go to the hostel Oasis instead.

Oasis was a large hostel near the local markets. It was far better than the last one. With open common areas where hammocks were strung up, it even had a swimming pool. And for those lazy afternoons, DVDs entertained half a dozen people who pulled rocking chairs around the tiny tv. There was a breakfast bar, a laundry wash tub on the roof and loads of bus information to the most popular tourist sights. The dim dorms had a dozen beds in them and the flyscreen doors were not particularly secure or private, but the place was airy and cool. And that was important.

Hot Granada

It was so hot in Granada it wasn't funny. It reminded me of Cartagena in this way, but also in that the city was really cute and full of character. Old school tile roofs, colorful painted rendered houses and people sitting on their front steps to escape any stuffiness indoors. Walking along any street, I would also pass many open doors where just inside, open shady courtyards kept people cool as they sat about, talking.

People rode a lot of bikes around since the center was quite flat, and there were horse drawn carriages pulling wagons of produce or tourists. Amongst these were every kind of car, cab and chicken bus.

The Parque Central was a messy looking square of trees, benches and people selling food and ice cream. The tourist street, La Calzada, was pretty but of course, touristy. It led down to the Lago Nicaragua which was grey and not particularly interesting, though a parkland which demanded an entrance fee was visited by literal truck loads of locals on the weekends.

All in all, a lovely town, but after exhausting the usual sights like churches and mercados, it was time to move on and check out what else Nicaragua had to offer.