I headed over to Granada from Masaya and checked into a huge hostel with lots of hammocks and a pool. I’m glad I chose a hostel with lots of amenities, because I wasn’t a big fan of the town itself. After I grabbed breakfast, I wandered down to the local market. Whew! It was super intense. It reminded me of one of the markets in Saigon, except this one was outdoors and jam-packed with people, bicycles, buses, everything. The town center and parquet central is pretty… very touristy, and seemingly out of place. There is such a stark contrast between the colonial buildings that house expensive restaurants and bars, and the surrounding area. I found it unsettling actually, so I spent most of my time reading in a hammock in the hostel. I did talk to a few local people, including a hammock seller named Leonard, a jewelry seller named Chapi, and a painter named Nike.
The last day I was there, I was wandering far away from the town center looking for the bus station with another backpacker, and there was a lot of tension in the air. I definitely didn’t feel that my presence was welcome. Also heard about five separate sets of gunshots. Maybe some were firecrackers or something, I’m not sure.
In San Juan del Sur, I was looking for a non-existent hostel and found another one, super cool and it has free wifi. So the beach is two blocks away, there’s a market one block away, and I can work here. Hmmm, think I’ll be sticking around for awhile…
Off this dirt road is a staircase, about 300 steps to be precise, that leads to all these luxurious hotels and restaurants. The pictures are from a restaurant at the very top with a pool and amazing views over the beach. The menu was in US dollars – not a good sign for a backpacker! Honestly, as nice as it was, I felt strange being up there in the lap of luxury when I’m sure most local people haven’t even been up there. Sounds like Granada…
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