Ernesto Cardenal and farewell Nicaragua

If you stay long enough in a country you are bound to run into someone of significance. During our last days in Nicaragua we ended up in Granada for a night during their International poetry festival. This is a big deal for the country where over 200 poets flood the city for a week. This year's motto was "Poetry is the song of the Cosmos" and was in honor of poet, sculptor, priest and activist Ernesto Cardenal.

The official banner of the poetry festival

 We had no idea who Ernesto Cardenal was but agreed that he definitely looked like a poet. That evening we went out for dinner to La Claraboya Restaurante, a place we had not tried. Turned out it was probably the best meal (and service) that we had in Granada. We highly recommend this place! To our surprise, while we were waiting for our meal, in walked Ernesto Cardenal along with a host of other people. They sat at a table next to us and were treated like royalty by the owner and staff. We immediately recognized him and began "googling" his name to find out more about him. To our surprise he was born in Granada, Nicaragua in 1925 and has had a significant impact on the country's culture, politics and catholicism throughout his life. Most interestingly, from our perspective, is that he played an active roll in the initial Sandinista revolution that began in 1954 and ultimately lasted until 1979 when the Somoza dictatorship was toppled. His poetry played an influential role in defining the turmoil of the time and injustices faced by the common people such as in the work Hora 0 ("Zero Hour"). He has won a multitude of international awards and is referred to today as the most important poet in Latin America. Naturally we were distracted by the man's presence in the same restaurant as us and when it came time for him to leave we interrupted his departure for a picture, which he graciously agreed to. So here is our closing set of pictures from Nicaragua starting with, Sullivan, Ernesto and Sofia at La Claraboya Restaurante in Granada, Nicaragua. What stood out the most about Nicaragua was the people. We absolutely loved their ease of smile, willingness to help or openness to talk. All of us are looking forward to a return visit and hopefully we will run into some of our new friends.

Ernesto Cardenal with Sullivan and Sofia

Sullivan ripping it up at Playa Hermosa

Mostly what Sullivan looked like during our holiday

Catching the last rays

Grandma at Playa Hermosa

Barb and Leyla enjoying the playa

Chips off the old blocks

Playa Ostional, searching for shells

Cerveza Toña at playa Hermosa

Our last night with our caretakers Alfredo and Luis

Sofia and her friend Jimmy the lizard

Sullivan and Sofia with their teacher Lucia at the Latin American Spanish School in San Juan Del Sur

My friend on Isla Ometepe

Horseback riding at Haris' Horses on Isla Ometepe

Brahma calf on Ometepe beach

Lunch on Volcan Merida beach

Farewell

Tips on tipping in Nicaragua

First of all, I don't claim to be an expert on this subject but I did learn a thing or two during our 6 week trip to this lovely country. When we first arrived in Nicaragua I felt a little unprepared for the service we were about to recieve at the airport. While waiting for our baggage at the carousel two gentlemen offered to help us collect our bags and get them out the door to our rental vehicle. I immediately welcomed the help because between the four of us we had way too much luggage and there were no carts around. These fellas had a trolley so it was all good and they also expedited us through the final luggage scanner (yes, there is an x-ray procedure after you collect your bags before exiting the airport building). I really appreciated the help and these two guys worked hard to get our excess luggage out smoothly. At this point I knew a tip was in order but I was left guessing what was fair, I had know idea! The last thing I wanted to do was not pay them fairly. In the end I figured $5 would be OK and I think that was pretty reasonable. After this introduction to some great Nicaraguan service I decided to look into what the average Nica in the service industry might earn. I understood that Nicaragua was a poor country but I had know idea that most people earn less than $3000/year. This equates to about $10/day. From some of the other reading I have done on the web it looks like a typical daily wage in the service sector might fall between US$5-$10/day. After this research I realized that I could make a difference in someone's day with a tip (propina in spanish) that wasn't going to break my travel budget even remotely. In restaurants a voluntary 10% tip is added to most bills which is good because it separates it out from the 15% government tax that is also on the bill. We got in the habit of leaving extra cordobas for the service since the 10% was being shared with the cooks as well. During a trip over to Isla Ometepe we hired a guide to take us up the Rio Istian on kayaks. We paid good money for the trip ($100 for a motor boat over to the river, 4 kayaks and a guide for 3 hours) but felt the local guide did an excellent job so we tipped him about 200 cordobas ($8). Again, not a huge amount of money for us but it may have doubled his wage for the trip, which is quite significant. I was also very impressed by the service we recieved when we took our rental car in for a cleaning. For 120 cordobas ($5) two guys hand washed and waxed the vehicle, vacuumed the interior, polished the windows and wiped down the interior! I love this kind of service!! I was so impressed that I had to give them a couple extra dollars (50 cordobas) so they could at least have a cerveza on me. At our rental house, which we had occuppied for 6 weeks, there was a caretaker/gardener that we had grown to really like and appreciate during our stay. He was also checking in with us to make sure that we were comfortable and had everything we needed, more importantly, he was our window into the Nicaraguan people. Leyla had many long conversations with him about his life and living in Nicaragua. I wanted to leave a good tip for him at the end of our stay and I struggled with this one a little. In the end we decided $80 was decent, after all, we had enjoyed his beautiful gardens for 6 weeks! This was more than a week's worth of wages for our caretaker so I suspect he was thrilled but again not a huge amount for us. What we came to realize in Nicaragua is that you can expect good service and you can expect service sometimes unexpectedly. Therefore it is important to be prepared and carry some $1 bills or 20 and 50 cordoba bills around. A dollar or two will make a big difference in this country where you are guaranteed to receive service with a smile.

Sofia's Granada

This blog entry featuring Granada, Nicaragua is presented through the eyes of our 11-year- old daughter Sofia. Since she recieved her Canon Power Shot from her grandparents on her 11th birthday she has been taking some incredible photographs. Leyla and I are intrigued to see what she sees and we would like to share these with you. Her photographs fill most of the blog entries already, including the dead fish and howler monkey, and this entry features her work. 

Sofia (self portrait)

Our visit to the oldest city in North America (founded in 1524) surpassed our expectations. Granada lies on the western shore of Lake Nicaragua (Colcibolca) near the base of Mombacho volcano. This former Spanish trading hub has preserved much of its colonial architecture and it is interwoven into the hotel, restaurant and gallery scene within the historic central core. 

View of Granada from Mombacho Volcano.

We stayed three nights at the Hotel Colonial, which is situated half a block from the city's central square. This is a beautiful hotel that takes full advantage of its colonial architecture to create a garden oasis for the guests.



Grandma, Sullivan and Sofia arrive at Hotel Colonial



The courtyard at Hotel Colonial

Granada's central square is a lively scene, bustling with craft vendors, peddlers, small tiendas, live music on weekends, dogs and a long row of horse carriages eagerly waiting to show you the city. Lovely hotels, restaurants, a cigar shop (featuring the fine Nicaraguan tobacco), a huge cathedral and of course Remax, are some of the typical establishments surrounding the square.



Granada Dance



Finger love

  

Ants perspective





 

Yellow is the colour 





 


Mombacho from Calle Vega





Hard day



Busted



Palm frond art

A visit to Granada is not complete unless you hire a horse carriage to show you around. The horse and buggy culture is very much alive in Nicaragua, but I can't help but wonder for how much longer. For anyone wondering what it was like on Canada's streets during the transition from horse to automobile, come to Nicaragua soon. The following set of photographs show what some of the streets and buildings are like in Granada. 



Our car has eyes




My barber




Contrast




Potential




Part time



Chubby guy in trike taxi




Tractor fun



If you wander around long enough on the fringe of the historic district you will eventually find your way into the local market. You can pretty much buy anything here, from giant carrots and spices to underwear and piggy banks. It is an adventure in sensory overload and should not be missed. 



Grandpa just fits



Spicy





Lots of dried things




Waiting for Cordobas




Carrots like volcanoes



Your day isn't complete until you have dined outside on Calle La Calzada. The street is bustling with musicians, street vendors and restaurants that spill out under the stars. Happy hour is very happy when two local cervezas run you about $1.25! This is where I had my 43rd birthday dinner and I have to say it was a memorable one. 



Typical dining atmosphere



I connected with this guy





Lovely girl selling her mother's candies



Serenade





Loved



Yes Vic, your son is 43





Complimentary birthday cake



 If you visit Granada and you have had your fill of the heat and busy city streets then hire a horse carriage to take you down to the boat dock at the city beach. There you will find a number of passenger boats ready to take you out to the islands off Granada's shore. There are 365 islands immediately offshore that formed 25,000 years ago when Mombacho Volcano erupted sending an avalanche of rock into the lake. Today the islands are a cruise of contrasts where you will find the richest of the rich in Nicaragua with their private island mansions mixed amongst your everyday rural Nicaraguans. Perhaps more outstanding is the area's natural beauty.



For sale




Inviting tree




Laundry and a swim




Pads



A gift



The closing photograph for this blog entry was taken outside our hotel as we were heading out for dinner. We saw the horse carriage we had ridden on earlier coming toward us at a good clip. Sofia wanted a picture of it but it raced paced us and she took the picture a little late. As it rounded the corner the outside horse slipped on the pavement but recovered quickly and continued on its way. Sofia's picture captures the slip perfectly, even the sparks coming from the horses shoe. This was her favourite picture from the excursion. Be sure to include Granada in your travels through Nicaragua and take a spin on carriage 35 with Milton, he is a friendly guide and his horses know the streets. 



White lightning