Big Corn Island to Granada

Today was yet another adventure. We woke up at 5:30 to catch the 6:30 panga (boat) from Little Corn to Big Corn. Dragging our luggage through mud and leaves, we ran to catch the boat as each person we passed told us to hurry. The boat ride this time was less choppy and less wet, but I still got off the boat ready to throw up while TC got off ready to pass out. Fun, fun. A taxi driver offered to take us to the breakfast spot below until 11:00, when we would check in for our flight to Managua.

We made use of the wifi here for a couple of hours until we were recovered enough to eat something. As we finished eating, the clouds cleared somewhat and we saw the first blue sky of our trip. In the sun, the water became a light turquoise and clue, the sand shone white, and swimming in the ocean was truly the stuff of travel magazines and Pinterest. 

We flew into Granada around 2:30 and a driver from the volunteer organization, La Esperanza Granada, was waiting to pick us up. However, we quickly realized that there had been a misunderstanding. I had received an email that the driver would have the key to our room in the volunteer housing. He was told that we would know which house we were supposed to stay in and he would drop us off there. Then when we called the director of La Esperanza Granada, she told us that she had sent an email that housing was full until mid-August, and we would have to stay in a hostel until we could rent a place. 

Our driver was very kind and drove with us from hostel to hostel until we found one with availability for a decent price. We ended up at Hostal Hamacas, in a two bed room in the center of the city.

Although these eggs and gallo pinto, or rice and beans, were absolutely delicious (seriously, I don't know what magic they did), it was a pretty somber meal. I would have appreciated the beautiful churches and vibrantly colored buildings, with the streets lined with shops and restaurants were it not for the uncertainty of not having a place to stay and of having to pay hundreds of dollars more than we'd anticipated. We ate this meal in the Parque Central (Central park) where we stood out as the obvious tourists, "the chinos", with everyone from vendors to children to stray dogs begging for our attention, food, money. I offered a piece of my tortilla to an eager little boy, but the dog was less interested.

The iconic church of Granada. 

After a walk through the neighborhood, we returned to the hostel where we can get wifi. And received the wonderful news that there had been a mistake. The director told me that there was in fact a room reserved for us, she had just mistaken me for another volunteer. We will be going to La Casa Roja tomorrow morning, where we will stay for the rest of our trip. And we get our orientation Monday morning so that we can start working in the schools! 

I should have known that things always work out :)