Link to the previous page Costa Rica - Farewell
Granada 01. April 2026Then we arrived here in Granada; the
photographer or retoucher responsible for the accommodation deserves the highest praise once again, it was just us, and we were feeling a bit down again. But as there was air conditioning in the room and the bed – and this really must be emphasised – had a brand-new mattress in perfect condition and lovely bed linen. He also knocked a bit off the price and brought us two fairly new chairs, so we didn’t have to put anything on the floor, as we’d seen in other rooms.
He couldn’t find a small table, so we’ve had to put the glasses on the floor after all.
By now we’re well aware that a lot of what’s on booking.com simply doesn’t match up with reality, but when it’s the very things you value most, the disappointment is still there.
Over time, you learn to distinguish genuine guest reviews from those written out of a sense of obligation, but why doesn’t booking.com do that already? How can a 10 be given if not everything is 100% right?
Right, but let’s turn our attention back to the good things.
We thought to ourselves, why not stay in Granada a bit longer and take the opportunity to find another place to stay for four weeks? We’ve got time, and you often get a discount for a four-week stay. We picked out a few well-reviewed places, but this time we wanted to view them first. We couldn’t get into most of them, but then something happened that’s so rare: one place matched the photos perfectly – perhaps not quite the surroundings, but acceptable. As it was vacant and no one was stopping us, we were able to have a good look around: Air conditioning, a lovely bed, a dining table, a nice kitchenette, a washing machine, a TV and a proper wardrobe, plus outdoor seating with greenery and a small pool. And all simply because Gerhard bravely unlocked the door to the property and nobody minded how long and thoroughly we looked at everything, as we were lucky that this particular room, of all places, was wide open with a bowl inside. As Gerhard had already tracked down the address beforehand, he somehow managed to get hold of the email address too, and we even got the whole thing for less than the first place and much, much cheaper than with the usual providers.
We’ve been here for two days now, and everything’s going swimmingly – we’ve even got hot water in the kitchen, which is a real novelty. We’ve descaled the shower in the bathroom, so everything’s working a treat. We’ve been doing a bit of exercise in the spotlessly clean pool first thing in the morning, and as well as the fully functional hob, we were given a whole set of pans and pots when we asked for them.
Here, a few young women are bustling about, constantly working up a sweat (it can’t just be the heat) – washing laundry, mopping, wiping down surfaces – at a breakneck pace, even though there isn’t much going on. We’re often the only ones there, so we have the pool (small but lovely) all to ourselves; well, it wouldn’t fit more than two people anyway if you want to move around freely (I suppose I’m allowed to show off a bit).
In Nicaragua, very large avocados are now ripe; they’re delicious, stay fresh for a long time, and don’t discolour or go soft, even if they’ve been cut open for a few days. One of the women brought me two from her own garden, which was brilliant, of course, as they were still fresh. She even refused to accept payment for them, which would have been the natural thing for me to do. Many people of all ages prefer to hold out their hand straight away, before they work or think of anything else. The difference compared to Costa Rica is quite striking, where there are lots of small stalls, lots of little fruit and veg stands, lots of small shops. Here, people approach foreigners far too quickly, and that can be annoying at times, especially when they won’t leave you in peace. But just now I was promised more avocados again, with a cheerful emphasis: ‘but they’re a gift!’
Granada is the oldest city in Nicaragua and was founded on 8 December 1524. During the colonial era, Granada developed into an important trading hub with a large port, from which ships sailed across the vast Lake Cocibolca and the River San Juan to the Caribbean and other Latin American countries. Between 1665 and 1685, the city was raided three times by pirates and was finally destroyed during the civil war of 1856. From 1870 onwards, the city was rebuilt, and many of the old buildings date from this period. The houses that were not destroyed in the fire of 1856 can still be recognised today thanks to their covered pavements. Another distinctive feature is the cheerful colours of the houses. We find this city very pleasant, with a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. This is difficult to describe in words, so we are trying to give a little impression of Granada through these pictures.
Granada is a really pretty little town with lovely restaurants, almost all of which have a beautiful, leafy courtyard. We treated ourselves to a fantastic meal yesterday, complete with an excellent cocktail, and we’re already looking forward to our next visit. The best thing was that we finally got ‘normal’ bread there again – not sweet, not soggy (you can’t squeeze it with two fingers), nicely seasoned, and they bake it themselves. On some days, if you get there early enough, they even have wholemeal sourdough bread. Well, that really lifts your spirits a fair bit.
There are still many churches from that period in the narrow streets.
The Church of La Merced is centrally located and was rebuilt following its destruction in 1856. The façade still bears black marks from the attempt to set it on fire. Here, we were able to climb the tower, which offers a fantastic view of the city.
The central Plaza Mayor is impressive, leading onto a wide pedestrianised area lined with many small restaurants. These often feature beautiful courtyards as well. ...-G.)
We’ve extended our stay here by another two weeks; in the meantime, we’ve been on a guided tour of the city and have walked up and down the pedestrian zone with its many restaurants, starting at the huge cathedral by the city park and ending at one of the smaller ones near the largest lake in Central America. We let our gaze wander over Granada from two cathedrals and, from time to time, enjoyed the best mojitos in the pedestrian zone.
We stumbled upon the market after a few days and visited it more often from then on; we even discovered a small shop selling natural remedies amongst the countless pharmacies, which naturally made me very happy, as I’d already given up on finding anything healthy in the way of vitamins or minerals.
In the past, horse-drawn carriages were mainly used in the town to transport goods to and from the market square. Today, the market consists of the large building and Marktstrasse, with countless small stalls lining the street, which is also very busy with traffic.
Nowadays, it’s carriages for visitors to the city, not just on the way to the market. Warning! – the black carriage is not recommended!!
And the successful Volkswagens are still driving around here too.
Not far from where we live, there’s a very long, ugly wall running alongside the road. After much speculation as to whether there might be a football stadium or something similar behind it, we found out that it’s a convent belonging to a religious order. From three sides, it’s absolutely repulsive – full of rubbish, stinking; in short, it’s ugly, and you wonder why they don’t just paint it.
The fourth side features a church entrance and a small entrance to a museum. As soon as you step inside, you find yourself in a different world. In the centre is a beautiful garden with a view of a volcano, surrounded by rooms displaying various exhibits. We were particularly impressed by the ‘Primitive Painting’ exhibition, which was the first time I’d really looked into the subject in depth; I found myself wondering what ‘primitive’ actually means here, and how many well-known painters would be capable of painting like that, with such perseverance – we were certainly impressed.
A monument has been erected to the Spanish conquistador and founder of the city, Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, on the way to the lake.
Whenever we heard the name ‘Malecon’, we always thought of the beautiful and fascinating pier in Havana. We couldn't have been more wrong – Malecon simply means ‘pier’. And there is one here too, complete with the old railway tracks from the port's heyday.
As we were there over Easter, we thought we might see a big procession in the town. Nothing of the sort; the only ‘procession’ consisted of a long line of cars driving down to the lakeside beach, towards the ‘Centro Touristico’. There were even more people there – a huge celebration, packed shoulder to shoulder.
Granada also still has the remains of a fort dating from 1748. There are also the well-preserved remains of a former railway station. Parts of the old rail network were destroyed in an earthquake in 1972, and operations were discontinued altogether in 1990. Whilst the rail network in Europe is being continuously expanded and modernised, here everything has been shifted to lorries and the roads, with all the problems that entails.
The Palacio de la Cultura at the Central Market.
...and in the evenings there were sometimes excellent dance performances as well.
In Central Park, amidst the historic architecture surrounding the grand cathedral, people gather to relax, enjoy snacks and smoothies, and, in the evenings, watch music, dance and similar performances on the main stage. We stumbled upon it by chance one evening as we were strolling along the long pedestrian zone, just as various groups were performing the most beautiful dances and music.
Inspired by the groups’ enthusiasm, Petra then gave an encore.
We hope to take delivery of a great car in the middle of the month and spend the next few weeks exploring new destinations and experiences in Nicaragua, before setting off for a completely new destination. ...-G.)
Link to the next page NICARAGUA – The First Island….
Translated with DeepL.com