Granada, Masaya, and Lori´s Arrival

Phew. Once again, so much has happened, and I feel that I don´t have enough space to describe everything.

Granada is the #1 tourist destination in Nicaragua. After being there, it´s easy to see why. It is a gorgeous city with an almost european feel. The buildings are all different bright colors, made of of adobe, with markets all in the streets. Parks and courtyards are littered everywhere. The city itself overlooks Lake Managua, which I believe is the second largest lake in Central America.

It is also the only lake in the world with real, legitimate sharks in it. They are bull sharks, fierce creatures that adapted to the fresh water back when the lake fed into the ocean. They were, and sometimes still are, such an epidemic that people do not swim in the lake whatsoever. Anyway, kind of a cool fact.

The city is abundant with hostels, where many other student backpackers stay and form a kind of dormitory atmosphere. Vince had joined us from Managua, and we all stayed in a dorm at Hostel Oasis. This was easily the best choice for a place to stay, and I think I payed about $40 for 3 nights, breakfast every morning, and beverages all day. Complete with real showers and bathrooms too! It had a garden/courtyard, which had at least 6 really comfortable hammocks hung throughout. In a second courtyard, sourounded by trees and the clouds (or stars) above was a really, really refreshing pool. I expect to be tagged in pictures on facebook, because I have none myself... and I need them.

The first night we went to a sports bar for dinner, and I got to watch a Euro2008 soccer game, which I was every excited about. On the way to the bar, a pothole on the side of the road was exposed (with no grate on it, because the Nicaraguans steal the grates to use the metal), and, being in the front of the pack, I pointed it out and said ¨Watch out, there´s no grate on that.¨Behind, Pete repeats my words. Behind Pete, CJ has his nose buried in a map of Granada, trying to locate the sports bar. He takes a step forward with his right foot, planting it over the drain, and plummeted. Luckily, he is really freakishly tall, so he hit the bottom before pinching anything else. However, he pulled his leg out to find that from his knee down he is drenched. Matt and I thoroughly enjoyed a good laugh. =]

Saturday we rented bicycles and rode around town and the surrounding areas. We rode up to a penninsula, enjoyed the views of the lake and islands, and ate lunch at a pricey restaurant. (By pricey, I mean 150ç, or $7). This is another reason Granada is so popular... it is really cheap living. There are stories of many Americans and Europeans retiring here. Because it´s just perfect, and everything you want in a retirement dream.

Speaking of a dream, that´s what the weekend must have been, because all the travels went surprisingly smoothly, and the temperature was always perfect. It was sunny, temperate, with no rain whatsoever - in the middle of the rainy season. Also, more importantly, there were NO bugs! I think it was because of the weather, but, regardless, not once did one of us have to swat a fly away at a meal, or at a mosquito while reading in the hammocks in the garden at dusk. Yeah, a dream.

Saturday night was one of the best meals I´ve had in a long, long time. We went to Pasta Pasta!, an Italian-esque Nicaraguan restaurant. We all had the best meals with wine, bread, dessert, all for still-enviable prices. I went for the pasta, because if they include the name of the meal itself in the name of the restaurant, it had better be good - was my reasoning. It sure was good.

Sunday, the group and I went for a zip-line tour. That was fun. We drove for 45-minutes on the bumpiest road you can imagine, but worse. It´s like that scene from Ace Ventura, When Nature Calls, when Ace is driving down the road with his head out the window because it´s just too dangerous to have his head inside the car without a helmet. On the tour, we zip-lined across the canopy on 17 lines, with a group of very professional, english-speaking (!) guides. Along the way, we encountered HUGE ants, called Tiger Ants. They are black, with a large yellow posterior, and long black legs. Matt was dared to eat one for 220ç. There was no way in hell any of us were even going to touch these ants, because the name itself sounds something put on Earth by AntiChrist, but Matt accepted the challenge. It has been recorded on video that Matt picked an ant off a tree, put it in his mouth, and chomped away. He went for the quick chomp, but, as he was chewing, was kind enough to give a commentary that included: ¨Ah! He´s not going down with a fight! Very Sweet.¨ Once again, I enjoyed a hearty laugh with CJ, Anna, and Vince.

That night, we did what Matt´s travel book said was the #1 thing to do in Nicaragua, which was to see the sunset over Granada from on top of... some church. Naturally, we got sucked in like the tourists we are, and took tons of pictures. (CJ´s rule is quantity over quality, and decide on the ones with better quality later). Afterwards, we went to a bar that had karaoke. And, I actually sang. I sang a beautiful rendition of Real World by Matchbox 20. I was told I did ¨a great job¨, and that people liked it. They did clap once I was done, but they might have been just clapping because it was over.

Monday morning we left Granada for Sabana Grande, but stopped in Masaya on the way, Nicaraguas largest and best marketplace. It is the best place for tourists to buy souveniers. It really was, and I ended up with a Toña shirt (the Nicaraguan beer), a few gifts, and a really nice hammock... similar to those in Hostel Oasis, of course.

Well, just a few quick notes on the week before I go, until next time. The special cooker is done, as I´ve mentioned. Some other components are also now constructed, which are what make it an autoclave. This is a large step. Also, I have done some basic testing-set-up testing. Now, next week, I am ready to jump right into testing and getting the data we are really searching for. Further bulletins as events warrant.

Thus ends Chapter 1 of Nicaragua, The Reckoning. Now, we beging Capter 2: Lori´s Arrival.

My boss is here, and she is excited to see the progress. I am also very excited she is here because I have been looking forward to getting much done with her. Also, she brought my new camera! I now have a camera... I just need pictures. Hopefully, by next time, I will be able to post some pictures!

That´s all I´ve got for now. Please check back soon, because this time I think I expect to be back sometime in the week.

Pace y Salud,
-Daniel