A Date in Granada

So there I was spending two weeks in Granada away from my darling .... but all was not lost, Porl decided that the 3 hour journey of two or three buses trips was worth the effort and he came to Granada for the weekend, yay!

We booked into a cute little hostel and made like tourists, wandering around the town, eating out, seeing the sites and enjoying our time together.

As you can see, Granada is an architecturally rich city ... and nearly every building seems to have an inside secret garden which I loved.

If you walk along the streets you'd never know that these amazing gardens exist but you enter a hotel or a shop and there in the centre you'll find a beautiful garden and often a water feature too.

22 or so years after Columbus, in 1524 the Spanish conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdobo arrived in Nicaragua.  His mission was to colonize Nicaragua, to bring it under the Spanish empire. 

Córdobo founded two important Nicaraguan cities, Granada and Leon; and the currency of Nicaragua, the córdoba, still bears his name.  He's one of the few Spanish conquistadors of whom there are no accounts of atrocities against the Indians which is very unusual in comparison with other conquistadors of his time.

Some historical accounts say that Hernández later switched allegiance from Spain to Hernán Cortés the conqueror of Mexico on the promise of more riches and this led to him being beheaded as a traitor by his boss Pedrarias Davila, in Leon Viejo in 1526.  

But other accounts say that Pedarias Davila, called behind his back as Pedarias the Cruel, was jealous of Hernández' popularity and for this reason had him beheaded.  Either way his headless remains were found in an important archeological site in Leon Viejo in the year 2000.

You've already seen lots of doorway shots from Granada but here's another for good measure :)

There are some talented artists around Granada, these paintings were on the outside of one of the school buildings.

Many people get around by bicycle and children seem very comfortable perched on their parents or parts of the bicycles, probably having been introduced to this form of transportation not long after they were born.

Horses were the theme for the weekend as everyone was gearing up for the Hipotica festival that we had had earlier in San Juan.

There were lots of people, locals and tourists making use of the horse drawn carriages to get around town.

The musicians were getting into the swing of things and there was a real festive feel in the air.

The town square in Granada is a busy place with one side lined with all the horses and carriages, the city's equivalent of a taxi stand and we decided that this would be a great way to see the city so after a little haggling we got a great $10 deal and arranged to be picked up at the hostel the next morning for a tour of the city.

Then we headed into the town square for a quiet lunch as we soaked up the atmosphere but it was not to be.  A group of street kids took a particular liking to Porl and tried valiantly to get him to buy their creature creations.  They really are quite cleverly made and we appreciated that at least they were trying to work and make things rather than just begging so we gave them a little something for their efforts, poor little things.

The next morning we set off on our tour.  The carriage and horses were prettily festooned with paper flowers .....

.... and despite having had one or two beverages the night before our driver, with the help of his co-driver managed to get us around the city without mishap. 

We visited the old train station, construction had begun there in 1882 but it hadn't become operational until four years later in 1886.  These days no trains are running but the buildings have been restored and serves as a school and workshop.  

We also visited the site of the old hospital, a very impressive building that is now in ruins and unsafe to enter.

The Old Fort constructed in 1748 was next on the itinerary.

 Aw, pretty :)

Our final stop and for me, the highlight of the tour was a visit to the 'La Merced' Church, where for a dollar you can climb the tower and get an amazing view over the city.

It was built in 1534 and from the tower you can see the Mombacho Volcano and the isletas.

And that was the end of our tour.  If you ever have the chance to be in Granada I'd highly recommend the horse-drawn carriage tour it's well worth the $10 or $15 that it will cost you.

There is also a boat tour of the isletas (little islands) that are inhabited by monkeys, this leaves from the marina at Puerto Asese and includes a visit to another old fort.  This costs a bit more but is on my list for doing next time if we get the opportunity.