So I have finally arrived in Nicaragua after a fairly epic journey which involved a bus journey, 3 flights, a taxi and a long overnight wait at Miami airport. Although as far as airports go, there are fare worse once to be stuck in!
My first stop is Granada, a old colonial style town. First impressions are good. It's compact, colourful and quiet...although everything is eerily quiet compared to India! The town itself is lovely to walk around and the Nica's are welcoming, amiable people.
I find a super cheap hostel to stay in, called the Bearded Monkey, where a dorm room is only $5...so no complaints there. It's the perfect place for me to relax and get over the jet lag, with hammocks arranged round a beautiful courtyard garden. Bliss.
My first day/night is pretty quiet...a wander around the 'city' and an impromptu game of trivia in a local cafe followed by a very early night.
The follwing day i'm still totally knackered, so deicde to have an easy day of exploring the town. There are plenty of old churches and catherdrals, cute little streets and shaded parks to relax in. So I park myself under a tree near the lake and settle down to do some reading and a bit of writing, and all seems to be going just tickety boo and dandy when I'm joined by a 'friendly' local. He chats away to me in Spanish, but when it seems quite apparent that my language skills aren't quite up to scratch, he takes out a pen and paper and scribbles a little drawing. Of a penis. And a stick man and woman bumping uglies. How nice. So naturally I'm just a tad horrified, and as I get up to leave, he can't quite meet my eye, because he's far too busy vigourously wanking. It's a hideous state of affairs altogether and I practically sprint to escape. Hola Granada!
I go back to the hostel to contemplate exactly what is wrong with people, and there I meet my dorm mate Leo. We chew the fat for a while, then head out to get some dinner (beers and hamburgers, the stuff dreams are made of!). For $1.50 each, it's a pretty good deal. Then, uncharacteristically, it's another early night for me. The jet lag is still looming over me!
So far, my very minimal grasp of the Spanish language hasn't caused too many major problems, though I'm absolutely sure it would be a whole lot easier if I was fluent. Which I'm not even close to. But in some ways, I guess I'm comfortable getting by on the basics and pleading 'yo no entiendo' when I need to. Sometimes i think it actually simplifies things a little. But we shall see how this works out over the course of my trip...
Tomorrow, I'll leave Granada for Isla de Ometepe, an almost fantasy island right in the middle of Lago de Nicaragua. With 2 huge volcanoes emerging out the water, and plenty of flora and fauna, it's sure to be idyllic.
Just what I need....
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