Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Weekend Recap....Part 1

This weekend was a blast! I got to visit Granada and Leon, two old cities that are about an hour away from Managua. They were beautiful. Here`s a peek at Granada:
 



 The city center is gorgeous. I did not feel like I was in Nicaragua at all. Although I have been completely safe in Managua, Granada seemed even better. Here people can walk around at all hours of the day and do not have to worry. That feeling definitely made me miss home.
There is also a higher percentage of gringos in Granada. I think its because every tourist falls in love with the vibes, arquitecture, and views. I sure did!


After a quick walk around the city center, Manfred and I decided to take a boat tour of the islands. Lake Nicaragua is huge, and is home to over 400 different islands. Another fun fact: its the only fresh water lake where sharks live!! Bullsharks lurk somewhere in the waters; I heard they are not dangerous though.  

 The boat tour was an hour long and cost 300 cordobas (about $15 US dollars). They originally attempted to charge us 500 cordobas so be careful and make sure you do not overpay. When I was talking to a friend she said she went on the same tour for only 200 cordobas, so I guess we too could have gotten a better deal.


The majority of the islands that we saw were owned and occupied by houses, hotels, restaurants, and bars. On one island there is a house that you can rent for three days for $300 US dollars. It looked beautiful.




Another small island is home to four monkeys. They have the perfect home because it is big enough for them, but small enough that they get lots of exposure to tourists.



Throughout the tour, the guides handed me lots of local flowers. The purple and white flowers are both water lilies that grow in clusters in the lake. The pink and yellow flower (far right) is the national flower of Nicaragua, and the flower in the middle, I do not know anything about except that it is GORGEOUS.

The entire city was amazing and laidback. It is definitely a location I will have to return to!

2 comments:

  1. Awesome photos! I saw these on Facebook and wondered where you were when you took them. Those flowers are gorgeous. Glad you are having a great time! Love ya!

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  2. Looks like a beautiful place and the sky looks clear. I didn't know they had that there this time of year. Love you Dad

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