Granada and Archipielago Las Isletas

Having spent some time in Leon and Granada, it is clear that Nicaragua possesses some beautiful towns with many attractive colonial buildings. Have a look at Viva for some quality blogging on Leon! Check out Viva!

Granada, in particular, has some beautiful buildings and from La Mercad Church bell tower you can get a magnificent bird’s eye view of the city, which we happened to time extremely well with the sunset. However, unfortunately we didn’t have ear defenders when they came to ring the bell!

We stayed first at Hostel Oasis, which has a pool and is a carbon copy of Lazybones Hostel in Leon. All the amenities were on a par with what you’d expect for the price ($19 for a double room and shared bath) however, the room was far too hot at night. Were it not for the quantities of rum consumed, I don’t think I would have slept at all! They do have air-conditioned rooms, but obviously at a price. The next day, too hungover to ask about A/C, we moved to Hostel Chelero, which was basic, a little cooler, and cheaper too ($15 for 2).

The city has a pretty Central Square (what city worth its salt doesn’t?) and the architecture gives it a very European feel.

There is a bustling market, if you like that kind of thing, and if you fancy a trip around the many tiny islands on Lago Nicaragua, you can get a taxi from Parque Central ($1.50) to one of the many lanchas by the lake shore. They’ll take you on an hour’s boat ride. Expect little white-faced monkeys (Cara Blancas), a wide variety of birds, and a nose around some rich people’s island pads. Of course, money doesn’t buy you taste, but it can buy you a small island with which to put something ugly on!

I'm not sure how much he paid...