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MANAGUA: December 5 - December 6, 1999
GRANADA, NICARAGUA December 6, 1999 Well, here we are, in a country that I never thought that I would visit, after its violent history that I followed over the past several years. Sadly enough, Nicaragua is still slowly recovering from its troubled past. However, we have found it to be quite interesting and beautiful. We took a long 9 and 1/2 hour bus ride in yesterday from Honduras. It was a nice bus, however, with two movies to boot. We watched The Rock and some other movie about a superhero named "Phantom". Both movies were in English but included Spanish sub titles. However, the sound was so bad, we had to rely on the sub titles. I was very happy for this opportunity to work on my Spanish. We also spent time watching the beautiful scenery pass by us. We saw the green mountains of Honduras, the volcanoes of Nicaragua, and small villages and people along the way. We arrived in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua last night at around 5:30 pm. It was already getting dark, and we had to find a room quickly so as not to be walking around the city aimlessly while looking like lost gringo tourists with our big packs. A woman started following us around trying to help. We blew her off at first, but then took her up on her offer. She found us a clean little shanty just around the corner from the bus station. When I say shanty, you may think that I am kidding; however, this room was made up of 4 walls with a tin roof slapped on top and lots of large crevasses between the two. However, we did not see any bugs come in at night, and like I said, it was very clean. This morning we woke up and walked around the city. There is not much to Managua. The downtown was destroyed in an earthquake in 1972, and they have not restored the area yet. So, the only gathering place, except perhaps the market, may have been the old cathedral, but it is being renovated. Therefore, as I said, there is not much to Managua. Let me tell you, Nicaragua is a hot place. Walking around even during the morning caused us to sweat. After successfully loading our newest web update, we jumped on the next bus to Granada. We actually got lucky. An express van, which was quite nice was leaving and only cost around $.75 usd each. It was safe, clean and quick. The Spanish colonial town of Granada is very pretty. Granada celebrates the Immaculate Conception of Mary for nine days in early December. We are lucky enough to be here during this celebration. Every night, a procession travels through the city and ends in the main plaza in front of the Cathedral. The procession is made up of a police car which leads the parade, another car which played beautiful latin music, a marching band, and finally the float. There is only one float which carries the Virgin Mary. Many of the people of Granada congregated in anticipation of the one sacred float that would pass. Once the float reached the church in the main square, Mary was removed and carried into the church. Meanwhile, fireworks went off in the background. It was great to be a part of this great celebration that involved thousands of Granada's citizens. December 7, 1999 Another great day in Granada. Today Rich and I walked around Granada and took in the sights. That does not take too long to do normally, but we took our time. Aside from the mean old telephone service lady, we had such an excellent day just taking in the sights and ambiance of the city. In the early evening we headed over to the Restaurante Doña Conchis for our special meal. We had such a wonderful time at the restaurant. The setting was very Polynesian with tropical plants and open ceiling. The sangria was delicious, and the food was absolutely fabulous. After our luxurious dinner, we walked over to Parque Colón to see the final procession. Tonight was the final night of the celebration. The park was just filled with people, as were the surrounding streets. I had a great time just people watching. The children were so excited. They loved the opportunity to play and run all over the place until the late hours of the night. What I did find very sad was a young boy, around 10 years of age, walking around in tattered clothing selling oranges. I am certain that he wanted to join the rest of the kids in their frolicking. However, he has been forced to grow up at such a young age and take responsibility for family provisions. I was once again reminded of how fortunate that I am to have grown up with a great family and endless opportunities. But I digress. The procession was a great success, and once again, we were excited to have been a part of it. Next
Stop....Costa Rica!
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