Nicaragua, the land of a thousand volcanoes

Monday, 17. January 2011

(Granada, Lago Cocibolca and surrounding area) On the banks of "Mar Dulce"

If someones connects to me my eyes and leaves me in the Columbus Park, I would know anyway, I'm in Granada.
The bells of the moving ice-cream vendor, the noise of passing horse-drawn carriages and the murmur of soft voices would tell me.

When one combines my eyes and I know I am in Granada, I would take off my blindfold to watch the warm glow of the sunset. I would take a walk on this indescribably beautiful hour of sunset, when starting to open wide the doors of houses from the colonial period. The neighbors come before their houses or sit in their rocking chairs to watch the development of the nightlife.

I would walk around so long until my tired feet ask after a rest period... This is how I understand Granada, because how else to describe a city that was founded under shock by settlers and buccaneers.
Granada is situated on the banks of "the Mar Dulce", as the Spanish settlers called the Lake of Nicaragua. A clean, well maintained and tidy city. It prides itself of the privilege of being the only colonial city in Nicaragua, which is still in the same condition as in the sixteenth century.
Enjoy the peace and quietness, in the typical radiating courtyards of Granada .. They give you the feeling that with every breath you inhale a piece of history.
(Excerpt from the book "Nicaragua, El País de las pequeñas cosas" by Artur Isale y Ruth Estelle, free translation into English )