March 6 - 7

Ah, the mariachi band ending our happy day.

Go, Vladi!!! Dancing with Marta,
principal of a public elementary school.

By the shores of Lake Nicaragua, in Granada.


A few hams at the fortaleza (fort).


Wait! Who´s that?? What??

San Francisco, the oldest church in Granada.

Our stars at La Catarina, Laguna de Apoyo,
a beautiful volcanic lagoon.

This is Chloe (aka "Fram")

So, I´ve been asked to debrief about the last couple of days, although they´ve felt like weeks. Yesterday was our first full day sightseeing. We all were dropped off by our host families at Rafalea´s house at 9 AM and we were driven in our rickety orange bus around some outskirts of the city-initially to visit a mall to withdraw some money in cordobas, and then to marvel at some of the cathedrals. We saw the mostly recently built one first, which was composed using the most unusual methods of architecture some of us had ever seen (check out the photos from yesterday´s post) - and afterwards we saw the old original cathedral that was damaged rather beautifully in an earthquake, leaving a thick crack leaking down the roof of the east tower.

After lunch we were taken into Masaya to indulge in some of the markets- we were led kindergarden-style in single file line led by Nicaraguan friends though mazes of closely-positioned kiosks. We had lost a few of us by the end but it turned out alright. I hope I can buy a hammock at some point on this trip.

Today we went on a truly tourist-like trip through the colonial city of Granada, which is beautfiul and reminds me of Playa del Carmen in Mexico and some parts of St. Martin. We took a boat to one of the 365 islands with an abondoned fort to eat lunch, climb trees and take half a memory card full of pictures. I can´t even comprehend how many hours we must have spent just chilling there by the huge lake- we played card games, ran around and chased a tour guide´s puppy. On the boat back, we sang (some of us did) the Nicraguan anthem and when we reached land, we were personally serenanded with the same song by this adorable mariachi band. On our way back to the barrio we paid one last visit to Granada to join a crowd watching some dancers, then had a very sleepy hour or so drive back here to Rafaela´s.

Tomorrow we start school, so this made our last sightseeing day (for now, I hope). I had an amazing time to say the very least, but I must say I´m nervous about the days to come.

Have a good night =]