Granada, Nicaragua

This past week, Aleida and I made a list of places we wanted to see and things we wanted to do before I left Nicaragua.  So, we did the first thing on the list, and went to Granada on Saturday.  Granada is the oldest city in Central America.  It is also very tourist friendly, and there are many Spanish language schools there. It definitely has the Spanish colonial charm that I love.  It was actually overcast, a vary rare occurrence, but made for a slightly cooler day, which was great!

Driving into Granada: all kinds of transportation

Beautiful old Guadalupe church 

We rented bikes to tour the city (I had to select the tallest bike...still a little short...I miss the Netherlands)

At the lake shore of Lake Nicaragua 

Sarah in front of La Merced church and bell tower

Aleida, Amanda and Sarah climbing the stairs

The highest point in Granada, the bell tower

In the church, beautiful wooden benches which are worn down from use, Spanish influenced tiles on the floor.

At the Convento San Fransisco, Aleida and Sarah, Mombacho volcano in the background

On our way back, we stopped in Masaya, and had smoothies, while sitting on top of some very tall chairs!

White girl on a bicycle (chica blanca en una bicicleta)

For the last week, I have been helping out at NCA-Nejapa campus.  It is a Spanish speaking school, and I am helping in the English department.  They do not have any native English speakers, so I am helping in a bunch of the classes, and also am going to be helping them develop curriculum and teaching style to hopefully become a little more activity based, versus copying from the board style.  The campus is on the same property as the Nehemiah Centre, so I also pop in there.

Well, I definitely get a lot of stares (and catcall - not the most charming cultural difference) as I travel to NCA-Nejapa every morning.  Its not very often that you see a women cycling (pedal not motor) in Managua, let alone a tall, white woman, who is riding a bike that is bright pink.  Not that I can blame them, because I am looking around at all the different people and various modes of transportation that pass me on the way as well.  I took my camera on my way today and took a bunch of pictures of what I see on my 10-15 minute pedal.

Right outside where I am living

Motocar - its amazing how many people can fit in this thing!  It has seats for 3, but I think I have seen 6!

Huge trees frame the roadway, though it is the dry season, and the leaves are starting to turn brown.

Another Moto, and the intersection where I turn off the busy main road.

The road is shared with a lot of different transportation.

The start of the dirt road

Well kept gardens/backyards of Nicaraguan homes.

Crossroads before the last turn.

My Nicaragua home

So I have arrived safely, and slowly I am acclimatizing to the heat!  People around here say that April is the hottest, so I'm in for a treat!  Anyway, my Nordic skin has already taken a beating, since we went surfing on Saturday.  It was too fun to get out...though I finally had to concede after 4 hours.  I thought I was really smart on the skincare front, I am wearing a spring wetsuit that has long-sleeves and short legs. However, the rest of my legs and hands did not fair so well... on the bright side, it is easy to put aloe on those parts of your body.  It is unfortunate that I love the outdoors so much!

Here is a picture of my room, its downstairs at the house, where there is a bathroom next door, which I mostly have to myself. The family I am staying with are the Randall's.  Mark runs an orphanage about 10km away, and his wife, Kevin, is a learning-assistance teacher at Nicaragua Christian Academy. Their eldest daughter Sarah is a teacher at NCA, their second daughter is in the Philippines, and their youngest, Anna, goes to NCA and is in grade 9.  They are super chill people and generous to have me stay with them.  Aleida's apartment is about 50 steps away, well, 50 steps for me, 75 for Aleida!