Beautiful Granada, Nicaragua
Alia’s first school vacation came for a week in October, and we headed north to Nicaragua.
Ed, Jennie, Alia and cousin Richard chose the slow, local bus and spent a little over 3 hours getting through immigration matters at the border.
It was worth the effort to cross. Nicaragua is beautiful, colourful, warm, proud, friendly.
We thought we’d start in Granada and see where we ended up. We stayed there all week, finding new ways to explore and understand it each day.
First a little bit about Granada. It was founded in 1524, one of the first European settlements in the Americas. The architecture is a constant reminder of the city's long history as a capital, passageway (from the Caribbean to the Pacific, via Lake Nicaragua), cultural center, battleground, victim of pirate attacks, and luxurious home to many who exploited the region's resources. Spanish, English, French and Dutch all attempted to control Granada at one time or another. A troubling slice of history is the story of William Walker, a power-hungry American filibuster who, in his attempt to turn all of Mexico and Central America into English-speaking colonies of his own, settled in Granada and declared himself president of Nicaragua in 1856. He reinstated slavery and announced policies to encourage immigration from the United States. Walker was finally kicked out the next year, after a brave Guatemalan colonel, Jose Victor Zamala, stormed his house and took back the flag. An army of 4,000 Central Americans chased out Walker and his men, one of whom ordered that the city be set ablaze. The ancient capital was left in ruins.
We wanted to be there as friendly Americans, and nothing speaks counter to a history of war and oppression like a cute kid and her toy monkey. Alia took it a step further, insisting on wearing traditional Nicaraguan festival attire during her entire stay.
From behind every door in Granada, stories seem to peer out.
Inside every home, beyond the front room, lies a garden courtyard.
The convent halls open onto a spacious central area that invites contemplation (and dancing).
We missed the bugs of Monteverde, but we relished the edifices of this historic city.
When we craved a taste of daily life and wondered where people buy their vegetables and socks, we browsed and chatted in the Mercado Municipal.
And, of course, we sampled the delicious local specialties.
At the end of a long day of wandering, there’s nothing better than a good playground.
Nicaragua appears about to re-re-re-elect Daniel Ortega, after he reformed the constitution to allow his re-re-re-election and stripped the opposition of its legal status. In our small-sample survey of taxi drivers, this is not popular.
Nicaragua, thank you for this visit. Please protect your beautiful places, care for your kind people, remember your history, and build the playgrounds of the future.