Nicaragua is known as the Land of the Poets and its writers used poetry to express national sentiment through the decades of political turmoil. Granada, beyond being a beautiful colonial city, also has a vibrant arts scene in part because many of Nicaragua’s leading poets hail from the city.  Luckily for us, we were there at the same time as the International Poetry Festival and each night we were able to walk to the main square to enjoy offerings (in Spanish and English–and French, too!) It was a lot of fun to see the street vendors switch to evening fare and the lights turn on as people settled into their foldout chairs and turned their attention to the stage.

During the day, we could wander through the cobbled streets and see the beautiful colors and fascinating mix of old and new so typical in countries emerging into a modern economy.

It was interesting to see the sizable expat population the city hosts, evidenced by the Thai, Chinese, and Italian menus all over–to the point where it was difficult to find “local” restaurants. I was surprised how little street food seemed available, aside from snacks, and wondered whether we just always missed prime time or if it was simply not a “thing”. After such delicious street food everywhere we went in El Salvador, it was surprising so little was available in Nicaragua.

We followed the main drag down from the cathedral at the center square to end up at Lake Nicaragua. As you can see, the wind was in fine form, but it wasn’t cold and we enjoyed the juxtaposition of the old colonial city next to such a large body of water, marveling at how the large waves made it difficult to remember we were at the edge of a lake and not an ocean.

 

 

 

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Jeff and I have a slight difference of opinions when it comes to where we stay–he likes the consistency of a chain, I like the adventure of a local experience. Sometimes location dictates choice and sometimes we just take turns. In the case of Granada, local won. Not realizing the international poetry festival was taking place, our first choice wasn’t available; however, Granada didn’t let us down and we got an incredible experience at Hotel La Bocona. We were told Granada’s colorful buildings are representative of an era where building color signified the owner’s rank, profession, or social status. Our hotel (with the glorious blue walls) was a former colonial mansion, remodeled (wifi!) but still reflecting an era of different building expectations. The rooms are grand–with 20 foot solid wood doors opening to 20 foot ceilings that the AC tried desperately to cool. Our room had two (two!) king beds, complete with mosquito nets and carved wooden frames. At 1400 sq ft, it was enough to live in and we enjoyed dinner one night on the enormous table. The interesting part, and why Jeff shakes his head whenever I suggest local, is the bathrooms, while private, weren’t en-suite and we were given a key and shown where to go around the corner . . . I say it’s part of the adventure–Jeff rolls his eyes and remains a good sport. I’ve included a few photos of the courtyard and the interior of the room–it’s impossible not to be impressed. That and a short walk to the center of the city made it a great place to stay. Even for Jeff.