Angela Killian

We left Maderas for some city life in Granada. Our hotel arranged a shuttle to Granada for us through the company Nica Time. It was $15 USD per person one way and it was door to door service.

We booked a room through Airbnb at Pure http://www.purenica.com/- the gym equipment is older, but there are a lot of different weights, yoga balls and they offer fitness classes, yoga and massages. There is a vegetarian restaurant onsite as well, but we didn’t try it because we like meat after working out! Day passes to the gym are $5 USD. You can buy a day pass, plus add a yoga session for $7 USD. If you stay onsite, everything is free. 🙂

There are only 2 rooms available at Pure. They are pretty basic, but have private bathrooms and a fan. We paid $35 per night.

The first night we ventured out to the main walking street – Calle Calzada. It’s relatively safe there at night time, but beware of pickpockets. There are young guys in red shirts on bicycles that clearly scope out the tourists. I don’t know what kind of operation it is, but they are up to something.

We explored Parque Central and it’s mostly a lot of people selling trinkets. There are also several horse carriages parked nearby (the horses look like they are starving) and the drivers will offer to take you anywhere.

There is a coffee shop off the park called Café Las Flores. http://cafelasflores.com/ – We went there so I could try the local coffee. To my disappointment, the shop sells Café Las Flores coffee beans, but serves different coffee, which didn’t make any sense to me. Why would I buy coffee when you won’t let me sample it? So I got a VERY disappointing $3 USD chai latte. Joe got a fantastic iced latte for the same price. Café Las Flores offers day trips from Granada to one of their nearby coffee farms. After our bad experience in the shop, we skipped it.

The architecture of Granada is lovely and it’s definitely worth a stopover. There are beautiful churches and lots of different food options. From the outside, businesses and shops look like fortresses, but you will be pleasantly surprised upon entering to find pristine courtyards and thoughtful décor.

On Calle Calzada:

Margaritas- Sports bar that plays American sports. We watched college football there and took advantage of their 2 for 1 happy hour specials.

El Kapuyo- Restaurant that specializes in healthy, vegetarian food. Although, they do serve meat dishes and you can add chicken breast to any of their fabulous salads.

Other food recommendations:

Reilly’s Irish Tavern- Friday night is “Ladies Nights”- no cover and girls drink rum and coke for free! Be careful, the pre-mixed R&Cs are strong!

The Garden Cafe- http://www.gardencafegranada.com/ – Lovely space where you can sit inside or outside in the courtyard. There is a shop onsite that has unique (and overpriced) souvenirs.

Kathy’s Waffle House- http://kathyswafflehouse.com/ – Hangover CURE! Try the huevos rancheros and be sure to order a waffle! The frappuccino is more milkshake than coffee, but it’s delicious!

Pita Pita- http://www.thepitapita.com/ – Mediterranean food with lots of vegetarian options. From the outside it looks like a fast food joint, but on the inside it’s a nice spot for a quiet date.

Tele Pizza- http://www.telepizzanicaragua.com/ – Chain pizza place that offers delivery. We ordered there and took it back to our room. They offer pizza by the slice and full pizzas. I recommend the Ensalada D’Lucia (large salad with walnuts, cranberries, feta and balsamic)

Annoyances and Tips:

1- Don’t wear flashy clothes or bring your electronics out, especially at night. There is always someone watching and waiting to take advantage.

2- Young children will come right up to your table outside of restaurants and give you a “free” flower made out of leaves. If you accept they will ask for money. Some have even asked me for water or my iced latte that was sitting on the table.

3- There are several guys walking around selling sunglasses. Some of these salespeople also double as marijuana dealers!

4- Skip the lake- it’s a far walk from the center of town and a bit sketchy during the day. I don’t recommend going there at all at night time, unless you’re with a local. There is a lot of garbage in the water and the park nearby is rickety and full of groups of young boys. We walked the entire park / lake and it was disenchanting. We did not feel welcome as gringos.

5- Don’t walk around alone. It seems safe enough during the day, but don’t walk around by yourself at night, especially if you are a woman.

6- Catcalls are normal and harmless. Ignore them and keep walking.

7- It’s rare that you will see police here. We saw some at night time and there are security guards at certain restaurants / bars, but they mostly aren’t around at all.

8- Watch out for cars, motorbikes and bicycles! They don’t stop for pedestrians. In fact, they speed up!