Granada, Nicaragua: Europe without the price tag

On Thursday last week I found out my visa had been denied and I needed to go Nicaragua for a few days. On Friday afternoon I was looking through a guidebook which told me Australians needed a pre approved visa o get into Nicaragua. It was at that point I began to worry. Some quick calls to various Australian embassies which were open assured me I would be ok and the rules had changed. Saturday I was all day with some of the staff. On Sunday I left my host families house at 4:30am. It was sort of a rushed thing. I’ve never been to another country without that little notice.
We crossed the border at about 12 noon. As we were coming from Costa Rica where there is Swine Flu we all had to get checked and fill in medical forms. They took our passports, told us to get off the bus, and we waited for 90 minutes. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in Latin America behind Haiti. While waiting people tried to sell us food, phone calls, shoes and our passport were stamped we worked out which local vendors to support.The poverty was fairly confronting, like the 8 months pregnant woman trying to sell hammocks she makes to feed her children. On Sunday afternoon we arrived in Granada, a city settled in 1524, and known for beautiful architecture. We crammed a lot into the following 38 hours; wandering the streets, going to the markets (local and tourist), walking and swimming along the sore of Lake Nicaragua, lying in hammocks, visiting a few churches, eating pizza, accidentally gate chasing a private party at a bakery and listening to the music, going to an ancient pottery museum and touring by boat some of the 350 Islands of Lake Nicaragua. We stayed in this great little hostel which was super cheap (like everything in Nicaragua). Complete with hammocks and a beautiful court yard.
One of the best things about the hostel for me was that we got to meet David, a Modern Orthodox Jew in Nicaragua for a few days travel and some volunteer work. He spent Monday with us. All too quickly our time in Nicaragua came to an end, and it was time to head back on the 6am bus and the relative wealth of Costa Rica. Next time my visa get denied...I might not complain so much.