After going non-stop all week, today we finally got to sleep in. After eating the standard Nica breakfast (rice & beans), we packed up our bags and waiting in the lobby to depart from Jinotepe and head to Granada. Our bus experienced some mechanical problems on the way to pick us up at the hotel therefore Brooke, our tour-guide, took some of us to tour the marketplace in Jinotepe. In the market place they sold everything from clothes and dishware to fruit and raw meat. For some of the girls it was quite a cultural experience witnessing where Nicaraguan's do their shopping! I chose to hang out in the lobby to relax and read.
When the team returned to the hotel after the tour of the marketplace, Coach Erb asked me to try a piece of local fruit called Jocote. It looked like a small green apple and tasted both sweet and sour at the same time. In all honesty, I didn't like it at all! Finally we loaded up our next bus and headed towards the city of Granada. We passed several small towns along the way and the tranquility of the locals was transparent. It was fun to see people enjoying their Sunday by playing cards and socializing on their porches. It made me think that we are not all that different!
On the way to Granada we stopped at a little town called Caterina to take in the view and do some shopping. The view up top was amazing. From the lookout point of Caterina we could see the entire town of Granada, Lake Nicaragua, Laguna de Apoyo and Volcan Mombacho. Within the town there was a square of vendors and local artisans selling everything from key chains to shoes. I even found hand-carved figurines with the phrase, "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil". After a little shopping, we ate lunch at a restaurant with a view and chatted about our shopping purchases. During lunch we were serenaded by a few local musicians playing a guitar and a xylaphone. Directly after lunch we loaded up the bus and traveled on our way to Granada, Nicaragua's oldest Colonial city. We checked into our hotel which was located directly in the center of town over-looking the Cathedral and the town square. After check-in, we had the option to stay and swim in the pool or walk around the city to shop and get a city tour of Granada. I head out with Coach Erb, Stephanie and Brooke. Brooke told us a bit about the history of Granada and pointed out several historic sites around town. We walked around town and visited a church with people worshiping inside. Because it was Sunday, many of the local shops and businesses were closed so we decided to watch a local baseball game instead. Baseball is Nicaragua's most popular sport and the Nicaraguan spectators take their games very seriously. The game we ended up watching was of mixed group of older men playing slow-pitch. Among the team-members, no two baseball jersey's matched. It was hilarious!
After returning to our hotel, we washed up and walked to a local Pizza restaurant for dinner. Everyone was so happy to eat something different than the usual rice and beans. The pizza was a real treat and the perfect ending to a very fun day.
