Glimpses

Okay, posts have been seriously lacking in pictures lately, and I know that's what you guys really want in the end.  So, here's a look into the places and people I've been blessed by recently:

Fountain in Granada just at the mouth of my favorite walk - the broad mango tree lined path to the lakeside.

Lots of the churches in Granada were sparkling clean
and recently painted. I liked this one which showed its age a little bit more.

This lovely breakfast joint became a running joke between my friends and me here.  While making plans one day, someone suggested we meet at kahtaywafflayy. I thought  - huh? After several minutes of describing the place to me, my friends then had to sit through a fit of giggles as I realized what they were talking about. 

A marching band performs on the main square in Granada -

instead of a flag corps, they have these guys out front playing and dancing.

Pithaya! Or dragon fruit.  For all its crazy appearance, it's actually got a pretty mild taste to it.

 A taste of the political climate in Leon.

Rawr.

A few of the amazing folks I've had the pleasure of spending time with here. From left to right: Aurora, a friend I met while working at the Oasis and then followed to Leon,
Mainor, a veterinarian and class clown, me,
and Alex, a systems engineer student who will graduate this year and a fellow student of Spanish - he's from Nicaragua, but grew up on the Caribbean coast and so spoke only Creole English and Miskito until just a few years ago.

:)

Yo No Sé Mañana

  Last post I talked a little bit about songs that constantly float around in the air around here.  Aventura is big, but if you wanna talk really really big, you need to know about Luis Enrique.  He is a native son of Nicaragua who has made it to the world stage as  the prince of salsa.  This song is popular here in a way that I imagine Lady Gaga is in the States at the moment (who also by the way  enjoys a heavy rotation down here in Central America, where her name is hilariously close to the word for, well, poop), or this Justin Bieber person that I've just started hearing about.  In any case, the opening chords of this song will always take me back exactly to the barfront in Via Via, sharing  Flor de Caña rum with friends and singing along.  I will really miss Leon.


Yo No Sé Mañana

Viva León... ¡Jodido!

Greetings from León, Nicaragua!  The college town of Nicaragua, León is known for being filled with radical, party seeking university students, for it`s role in the revolution, and for its heat.  (official spiel here) I came to León after having finishing my commitment to the hostel and spending one last weekend enjoying Granada.

A friend of mine who I originally met in the Oasis arrived in León several days before me, and I traveled with two mutual friends of ours to meet up with her.  I have to say, there is just nothing as good as getting to travel with locals when I am trying to arrive in a totally new place.  The crush of taxi drivers ready with lies (oh, there aren´t any more buses today.....), the auctioneer paced flow of information from the bus men, everything is just a little less overwhelming when you´re with people who know when to listen and when to roll their eyes.

So far, León has been an absolute blast.  While I thoroughly enjoyed Granada and its people, I am excited to be here among new friends exploring new territories.