A Rainy Day in Granada

The rains came today so after Spanish class we decided a horse and buggy tour of the city might be a fun rainy day activity. It definitely felt safer than taking a boat ride on the lake. Gerald said rain in Nica can quickly turn into a storm.

From inside the buggy

We ended up choosing a one hour tour around town. As we came around one corner a funeral mass was coming out and the procession was just beginning. We ended up becoming a part of the procession for a short time which was strange for us, but didn't seem to faze the locals.

Funeral procession

The carriage is one of only 5 or 6 in Granada and apparently there are times when there aren't enough. Since according to our driver, residents from all economic levels use the same carriages and with a population of over 130,000 I could see how that could happen.

Funeral carriage

The statue below is one of several monuments in the city for the poet Rubén Darío. He was a poet, a journalist and a diplomat and is considered the father of the literary movement, Modernismo .

Rubén Darío monument

If the weather was clearer you could see Lake Nicaragua behind the letters. But today all we got was a vendor seeking refuge between the 'V' and the 'E' LOL.

Extra big letters - Nica style

All throughout our travels we have seen horses grazing on the side of the road, but this was the only time we saw these little guys. It was literally the 'Three Little Pigs', plus momma and poppa.

Our driver made a point to stop at all the major churches. There were a lot of them, 80% Catholic, which makes sense since Nicaragua...is a Catholic Country (like Italy). I thought this one was pretty, it was the newest and most modern in the city.

After our tour we decided to pop into the Chocolate Museum. The presentation was very similar to the one we saw in Guatemala, but this one was attached to a Chocolate hotel and spa. Our homestay friend, who we finally exchanged names with, told us she had her classes in the back, so we decided to check it out. Coincidentally, her last name is Susson but she goes by J. Suss.

Simple but cool design

Back at the Chocolate hotel, we found the furniture so interesting. 

Colorful and fun

a little kooky

Medieval-like

At the end of our tour we ended up back at Cueva Nica where I had been taking classes. Gerald was still there for a bit and another of his past students, Tess from Austria, whom I had met briefly online back in December. We ended up chatting until it was time to meet Gerald and his family for dinner at Pan de Vida. He thought we might appreciate a meal of something other than rice and beans, LOL.

Hawaina / Supreme

So of course we had pizza - The Bread of Life. I may have shared a little with the Pan de Vida Pitbull. Not sure if it's a he or a she, but I thought she was sweet.

We had a lovely time meeting Gerald's family, his wife Ernestina, his 12 year old daughter Rosie and his 3 year old twin daughters, Stephanie and Maryam. The twins stole everyone's hearts and the staff couldn't help but give them free goodies. Gerald told me they had so much fun, they wanted to go back tomorrow!

When we left the restaurant there were two taxis conveniently waiting. By then it was raining harder and Gerald told us to jump in the first one and they would take the second. It wasn't far, but getting back to the homestay was an adventure. The link to the house address only worked on my phone, but the taxi driver had trouble following it. Before we knew it a young couple had jumped into our cab and thankfully the young man was able to give turn by turn instructions to the driver. He stopped a turn short of our place though, but we were close enough that I was able to figure it out. He made us pay 50 versus 40 Córdobas per person, but at 30:1 USD, we figured it was worth it!

Always an adventure, a dopo!