Our Man in Granada

Lazy Bones in Leon is Crap

Service can be an issue in Nicaragua and once or twice I have been tempted to give an organisation a slagging on here.  But if you travel in developing countries you have to expect a few quirks here and there.

 Then again sometimes you just have to stick the boot in…

Can I just say that Lazy Bones Hostel in Leon was woeful.  At $25 for a room which had the only the redeeming quality of a private bathroom, with coldwater shower, it was overpriced.   At breakfast (which was, of course, extra) the next day, they replaced tortillas with dry, un buttered cheap sliced bread.  When we complained they said they had run out. Because, of course, there is a shortage of tortillas in Nicaragua.

Honestly, in any street in Nicaragua even I could find them in 20 seconds.

The coffee was undrinkable, they’d run out of juice, the eggs were salted to within an inch of their lives and the cheese was stale, unfried and prepared, only in the sense that it was sliced (brown rind included) straight onto my plate.

Later I offered to pay for one of our breakfasts but I was buggered if I was paying for both. To her great credit the fabulous receptionist sympathised but explained she had to call the manager.  The gringo queso grande arrived and then left us hanging as he chatted instead to buddies he met on his way over.

The receptionist was mortified and made “I feel your pain” eyes at us.  Ten minutes later we thought sod this, plonked down what we owed, minus the breakfast and walked out. The receptionist apologised again. The manager didn’t even notice us go.

I honestly wouldn’t have written this if he had been bothered to hear our gripe.  But seeing as he was so incredibly rude I thought I would instead write this and send it to him.

By contrast we visited fellow Leon Hostel, Big Foot. It wasn’t hard to see why it was so full while Lazy Bones was empty.  It was far cheaper too and so much more friendly. The food was great, the mojitos were fabulous and at the atmopshere was buzzing Their volcano surfing trip was incredible. See our pics here.

In the end though we thought we’d go a little upscale.  For $35, ie a mere $5 extra per per person, compared to Lazy Bones prices, we stayed in the Hotel Real – for that we got an edible breakfast, cable tv, air con and hot water showers.  We also got another great receptionist who couldn’t do enough to make our stay pleasurable

Kudos to the Real Hotel, and to Big Foot. As far as Lazybones goes…. well, they live up to their name if nothing else. Utter crap.

Making it work

I'm feeling happier this evening.

I spent a small part of the afternoon at a school run by Building New Hope, the organisation that also includes my employers CafeChavalos..

It made me realise what it was that I was missing.  Sitting on the porch, with my laptop, every day is all very nice but I was yearning for the warmth and smiles that I had enjoyed in abundance at KOTO.

What do you get when you fall in love...

Reality checks are good. Right?

I have a habit of going overboard. I convince myself how good everything is. That I’ve found paradise, fallen in love, won the jackpot.

What the heck. I have. This is it. The good life. The volunteer project is incredible. The set up allows me time to write too – and all from the comfort of a rocking chair on a shady terrace.

Side note: has anyone else ever tried typing in a rocking chair? It works perfectly. No bad backs, no cricked necks. Anyway...

Hot hot heat

I've mentioned already, I love the weather here.

Last night I was at my first expat soirée and very agreeable it was too. I should point out that the chicken wings were a triumph.   

There we all were, in our smart, casual, whitey's in the topics outfits. 

A New Start in Granada

Seeing as I've been delayed in Hanoi it's meant writing more about Vietnam than I anticipated.

But tomorrow I will finally leave.  Talking today to the kids at KOTO, the wonderful streetkid project that has been my employer for the last two and a bit years, they didn't really grasp that this was it.  Time, geography and economics makes it unlikely I will return.

And if I do, I am sure it will never be the same again. Nothing so good can ever be.

Because Vietnam was special.  Incredibly so.  There my life took a turn that taught me that I can actually make steps like deciding to move to Nicaragua.  I realised that this lifestyle, this adventure, it isn't just for other people.  I can do it too.

Granada, Nicaragua's Disneyland?

Gringolandia, originally uploaded by bralapa.

Stuck, as I still am in Hanoi, and with the great voyage to Granada set to start tomorrow, I'm still combing through blogs trying to get a feel for what will be my new home.

Needless to say 99.9% of what I read is good.  Granada is charming, the people are friendly, the food is good, the weather warm.

The downsides?  Well stray dogs and litter for starters - but that could just as easily by where I am now or any other developing nation.  Glue sniffing is an issue too.  Strange, I recall it was a huge issue in the UK back when I was still in Primary School - some 25 years ago.  It became illegal to sell solvents to minors and the problem seemed to disappear or maybe it just became old news.

I guess the biggest attraction, as an expat, to Granada is also my biggest fear.  In short, while it appears to be used to foreigners and well set up to meet their needs, a place can lose its identity altogether.  To put it bluntly, there is a fear that Nicaragua and Granada are becoming Florida retirement overspill.

Hot, cold, noise, quiet

Granada Fiesta originally uploaded by justinwolfe.

As sad as I will be to leave Hanoi, it’s perhaps just as well that I’ll finally be on my way during the city’s least lovable season.

While autumnal Hanoi is cool and romantic, and winter Hanoi is fresh and clear, nobody could love this early spring weather.