Granada is a city that loves colour. Walking through the narrow streets, we were surrounded by every colour imaginable (except those we reserve for our 'taupe' homes back in Canada). Overlooking Central Park is the impressive La Catedral de Granada with its 'Sistine-ish' murals. Climbing the bell tower of La Iglesia de la Merced is the best way to see the beautiful skyline of the old city.
Nicaragua is a land of volcanoes and Granada is surrounded by them. The largest is a volcano called Mombacho which has been inactive since 1570. Thousands of years ago Mombacho erupted and blew its cone into Lake Nicaragua creating 365 islands which are now known as the Isletas de Granada. Many of the islets are occupied and have hotels and expensive vacation homes on them. We took a boat tour and especially enjoyed visiting a few monkey islands.
Matthew and I hiked around the Mombacho crater which gave us incredible views of Lake Nicaragua, the Isletas de Granada, the city of Granada, and the active Masaya volcano in the distance. We did some zip-lining on the way down.
To the west of Granada lies a crater lake called Lagoon of Apoyo. On the rim overlooking the lake sits the small pottery town of San Juan De Oriente. The pottery shops are filled with endless displays of beautiful pottery. The nearby city of Masaya is home to the large Artisan Mall where every craft imaginable can be found.
Our travels are always about meeting local people and in Granada we lucked out by staying with Airbnb host Greg and his family. We really enjoyed staying in the Emma casita in his compound and getting to know his wife and daughters. Once again we had found a home away from home.
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