Grenada: Historic City of Many Colours

Street scenes near the Oasis (market in the distance)

We have had a time of mixed blessings here in Grenada Nicaragua. People are very friendly and the city is a vividly colourful mix of tarted up old buildings combined with the human warmth of a socialist economy amid significant levels of poverty and hardship, by comparison for example with Costa Rica or the US style development of Panama.



Christine finds the 31 C 66% humidity something akin to heat stroke which is relatively speaking a little extreme as we have had similar temperatures in Japan and Asia sometimes with much higher humidities, nevertheless it is still bloody hot and somewhat stifling and we will be glad to get to higher country in Guatemala assuming our flight tomorrow from Managua comes off as it should.


We have taken a few walks to the Central Plaza and to the market and took a taxi down to Lake Nicaragua, to make a photo essay of the spirit of Granada, with an emphasis on including the people, as well as the architecture and scenery, to give a glint of human feeling to the experience, so without further ado, here it is, with only a few comments to locate the image stream ...

A young racing cyclist presses past last century's horse and carriage

Coming to the central plaza and park

Panorama of the plaza and church with a volcano in the background (click to enlarge)

Two women talking in a doorway

Around the city markets

Ruins of the Old Hospital

Merced church (you can climb the tower for a view)

Two destitute street people

Tourists buying fruit at a street stall

The street that runs to the lake in the distance

Ferry terminal with a long pier behind extending out into the lake.

What is this Shiva lingam-yoni doing here?

Panorama of the beach at the lake to the right of the Ferry Terminal (click to enlarge)

Tonight we have been watching Che Guevara's "The Motorcycle Diaries" which recapitulate many places we have been from San Martin de los Andes through Valparaiso, to the Peruvian and Amazonian cities of my 1999 trip from the Andes to the Amazon. In the middle of the night there was a humungous flash of thunder and lightning and for the rest of the night, the power, including the essential cooling fan in this little cubicle room, was off and on like a yo-yo.