It was great having a room overlooking the cool old church across the street until its bells started clanging at 6:00 a.m. - and again at 6:30 and 7:00 - like a giant, cacophonous snooze alarm. Ha! Time to get going, I guess!
Breakfast was included in our room price, and we're not just talking cold cereal and a muffin. I had bacon, eggs, and toast, while Tom chose banana pancakes. Each breakfast came with a bowl of fresh fruit and very good coffee. These were served poolside from the hotel restaurant.
Delicious banana pancakes
Granada was founded in 1524 by Spanish conquistador Hernandez of Cordoba, making it one of the oldest cities in the Americas. We ventured out midmorning, looking at the cool old colonial buildings and meandering vaguely east in the direction of Lake Nicaragua.
Iglesia San Francisco
Tile mural on Calle la Calzada
Iglesia de Guadelupe
The ultimate goal of our walk was the shore of Lake Nicaragua, where we planned to negotiate directly with a boat driver for a tour of Las Isletas. About a mile in, with the sun getting higher and hotter, we were approached about a tour. We appreciated David's non-aggressive style and quickly struck a bargain, to include a taxi ride to and from the dock and a one-hour private boat tour, with David as our bilingual guide.
Tour boats to Las Isletas de Granada
Rickety pier
El Capitan and David
Las Isletas de Granada is an archipelago of 365 islets (one for every day of the year) in Lake Nicaragua, just outside of Granada. The archipelago was created during an enormous explosion of Volcan Mombacho around 20,000 years ago.
Tropical isleta
Flying the flag of Nicaragua
Traditionally, the islands have been inhabited by fishing folk with no official property rights - and some still are - however, in recent years, the rich and famous have been snapping up these pieces of paradise to build their beautiful bungalows.
Indigenous habitation
Mansion under construction
The hour-long boat tour went as far as Isla de los Monos (Monkey Island) before returning via a different route, covering about five miles total. You can feed the monkeys, if you want, but we didn't trust them not to board our boat. Others were feeding them, though, as we pulled up, so we got to watch.
Monkeys eating potato chips
Jana and Tom cruise the islands
Volcan Mombacho
It was a nice excursion, and we hit it off with David, so we ended up scheduling another outing with him for tomorrow afternoon. The taxi dropped us off where it picked us up, and we wandered our way back toward the hotel, stopping for lunch at a food court on the way. We had delicious fajitas from the “Lady Bar.”
After a short siesta, we resumed our self-guided walking tour of the city. We began across the street from our hotel, at the Iglesia la Merced, The church was originally built in 1534 but was destroyed by pirates who traveled from the Atlantic up the Rio San Juan and across Lake Nicaragua to Granada in 1655. It was rebuilt in the 1780s and underwent an elaborate interior restoration in 1862.
Iglesia la Merced
Iglesia la Merced cupola
Like the cathedral we visited yesterday, for just a dollar you can climb the bell tower of the Iglesia la Merced. The view from the top is spectacular!
View from the bell tower
Our hotel from above
Roof of la Iglesia la Merced
Volcan Mombacho
Inside the bell tower
Next, we headed west into Xalteva, an old indigenous neighborhood of Granada outside the city center but only a short walk away. On our route were the attractive Iglesia de Xalteva and the gorgeous Capilla Maria Auxiliadora. We also happened upon a college with an interesting name.
Iglesia de Xalteva
Iglesia de Xalteva interior
Bosco! Like our dog!
Capilla Maria Auxiliadora
Capilla Maria Auxiliadora interior
Fortaleza la Polvera is a turreted Spanish fortress constructed in 1748. Supposedly, you can go inside and climb the turrets for some nice city views, but when we arrived, it was locked up tight. It may have been closed for renovations.
Fortaleza la Polvera
Street scene
Lastly, we explored the ruins of Granada's old hospital, a beautiful colonial structure in an advanced state of decay. Curiously, it seems way too ruined to ever restore, yet some of the edifices are being supported. I wonder what will become of it.
Ruinas de Hospital San Juan de Dios
Hospital viejo
Crumbling colonial edifice
In the evening, we went to dinner at Pizzeria La Terraza, located on Calle la Calzada, a pedestrian street lined with restaurants, east of Parque Central. We sat at a table on the street and were approached by numerous vendors. I was persuaded to buy some homemade savory treats and caramels, which we snacked on for several days. The pizza was good as well.