Granada

I ventured out of my two-street village this weekend and went with the volunteers to Granada, one of the oldest Colonial cities in the Americas (to be honest, I don’t even know what that really means, but that’s how everyone here describes it). Granada is about two hours north of Limon. We had planned on taking the van there…until the van broke down on our way to the hospital to do rounds that morning. So, with no other options, I was forced into my first experience with Nicaraguan public transportation.


In Nicaragua, most people travel via bus. Especially in remote villages like Limon, hardly anyone has a car and the nearest cities are too far for the usual cattle-drawn carriage (I can’t remember the real name for these, but they’re a legitimate form of transportation here). So, there’s pretty much one way to go and that’s the bus.

Ever wonder what happens to big yellow school busses when they’re no longer in good enough shape to use in America? Well, Nicaraguans buy them, slap some ridiculous paint on the outside, deck out the inside with pictures of Jesus, and call it “public transportation.”

Every bus has a driver and then another guy who handles luggage and helps to “facilitate” people finding their seats. In other words, the second guy is an absolute maniac who screams, pushes people out of the way, and does super-human maneuvers with ridiculous cargo. The driver never stops for his assistant. If the assistant gets off the bus to grab someone’s bag/bike/bucket of fish (serious), the bus keeps moving while the assistant runs alongside, leaps up the ladder on the back, stands straight up on the roof of the moving bus, and ties down whatever cargo was thrown his way.

And this is all on the outside.

Inside, the bus is quite the experience. We got on early and had to sit for about 30 minutes before it left the station. During the waiting time, women and children circulate from bus to bus offering anything under the sun for sale – fried chicken, juice in a bag (that’s how it’s sold here…plastic sandwich bags are filled with juice and tied closed), flashlights, underwear, an assortment of baked goods, and even different colored nail clippers. I’m still trying to figure out who sits on the bus and thinks to themselves, “oh, I really need to buy a nail clipper before we depart for Granada,” but I guess that question will go unanswered for now.

The ride itself wasn’t too bad, aside from the woman who got on half-way through and brought with her two buckets full of fish…and the man who stood in the aisle next to my seat with his crotch so close to my face that I was unable to look to the right for a good 30 minutes. So, with a sore neck and a serious need for a shower, my first experience with Nicaraguan public transportation was complete and we had arrived in Granada.

The city itself is really great – it’s absolutely gorgeous, with tons of old buildings, lots of bright colors, beautiful churches, and an excellent view of Lake Nicaragua to one side and a volcano to the other. It’s crazy how different it can be just two hours north – there were paved roads, street lights, and even somewhat warm water in my shower!

In the afternoon, we took a boat ride on Lake Nicaragua, where they took us to a cluster of islands within the lake (there are over 300 right around each other) and drove us around the mega-mansions, old Spanish forts, and islands inhabited only by monkeys. We climbed to the top of an old clock tower to watch the sunset and got some great photos of the city…well, I didn’t since I’m currently without camera, but my volunteers did and they’ll share them with me when they get back!

That night, we had a great good dinner at a restaurant called El Tercer Ojo. It’s an “Asian fusion” restaurant in Nicaragua, which means a mix of Spanish tapas, Italian pastas, Indian curries, and traditional Nicaraguan fare all on one menu. Please note that despite being touted as Asian fusion there is not one single Asian item served at this restaurant. I guess that’s what gives it its charm.

I took the bus back early on Sunday morning so I could spend the day in Limon catching up on e-mail, cleaning my room, and watching the football game. We may not have pavement here, but at least we get football at a few select locations :) And thus ended my weekend adventure. I’ll post more this week about my job – it’s been an interesting experience so far. And I’m getting a camera this week so hopefully pretty soon you’ll be seeing some photos!