Granada and all its glory

This is a great city. Everywhere I travel lately, I seem to find myself in a Colonial City. Antigua, with its fancy restaurants, bright buildings and safe side walks (safe from holes, not pickpocketers of course); Ayacucho with it's run down center, one decent cafe, and the constant smell of dust and trash. Then there's Granada. Somewhere in the middle of the two previous cities I've visited, it's center is impeccably restored (except for gapping holes in the sidewalks), and the central square is lush and tropical with kiosks selling drinks and snacks in each corner. These kiosks and various outdoor restaurants primarily serve locals although there are one or two more expensive places to eat that cater to tourists.

They say this is the second most touristy city in Nicaragua which is very strong evidence for how poor of a tourist industry there is in this country. Other than a few white faces wondering around, most people seem to be local. I've met a good group of them who've taken me out dancing and shown me around town. Despite my burgeoning social life, my best friend may be a 12 year old street kid who comes to my hostel for lunch most days. He's quite charming, if not slightly dirty. I have a thing against giving money, so instead I bought him lunch. Now he seems to be part of my daily routine.

Things were going quite well with my spanish tutor, but I think he was drunk and hitting on me at our last lesson. Must find a new teacher.

So my days are consisting of reading spanish: newspapers, books and UNICEF reports. And chatting with people around town. Yesterday I stumbled upon the market. This seems to be my favorite part of the city so far. It's where prices are a third of what they are in stores (although, in reality there aren't many 'stores' so the market is the only place to go for things like vegetables and bootleg movies). And while the smell is less than pleasant at times, there's something mesmerizing about wondering through the endless maze of wooden stalls.

Right now it's the rainy season...and as I write, I'm looking out over the hostel's courtyard as the rain is pouring down off the tin roof into the tropical garden. The rain only lasts about a half hour, but it's a welcomed relief from extreme heat.

That's all for now...