Nicaragua in Seven, Part II: Granada

Granada

The San Juan river runs from Lake Nicaragua in the middle of that Central American country to the Caribbean sea 119 miles to the east. The passage makes up the central waterway of the initial and occasionally revived alternative to the Panama Canal. Despite Nicaragua's relative closer proximity to U.S ports, cash strapped France, the protector of the Panamanian route, struck a sweet heart deal in 1903 with the United States on behalf of the Panamanians, enabling a cheaper acquisition to the Pacific.

Before the canal politics of the turn of the last century, the San Juan river was well known by Spanish rivals, as the path to the colonial stronghold of silver wealth, Granada. This regal city, nicknamed the "Great Sultan" in honor of its Iberian namesake, is perched on the northwest shore of Lake Nicaragua, and when Caribbean privateering was in full swing in the 1600's, Granada was convenient for plunder for the bands of pirates cutting across from the east, most famously Sir Henry Morgan and his buccaneers.

Iglesia de Guadelupe, built originally as a fort in 1626

Morgan sacked the town in 1665 and destroyed all Spanish munitions and boats. He left shortly thereafter to return to Jamaica with his spoils and to great fame. The city was sacked two more time in the next five years by other pirates. Granada would fall again in 1856 to William Walker, an American “filibuster”, who attempted to personally colonize Nicaragua. As he and his posse were beat out of the city, one of his officers burned Granada to the ground.

Our invasion was more humble as we arrived depleted and craving a solid meal. A hunger that was satisfied with some delicious beef fillets tasting of the green grass we had passed earlier that day.

It was evening and we found the city standing proudly, humming with activity. The social heart of Granada is the beautiful Parque Central. The park was filled with strolling families, couples on benches and teenagers break-dancing inside the cupola.

These Central American hip hop stars were a more focused and subdued version of their counterparts in Union Square. The Grenadino kids danced in the dark with no radio or live musical accompaniment. Looking up into the hushed and huddled circle of Nica-punk hair, skateboards and form fit jeans, one would expect to hear the typical street bass and holler of teenage exhibitionism, but instead it was mostly the creak of the cupola wood floor and the encouraging coos of peers as a dancer rotated upside down on her head.

The Cathedral de Granada dominates the square surrounding the park. It was rebuilt since the city was burned, but it is classic Spanish colonial in its reconstruction. The building’s bright hues radiate and set the tone for much of the warm and lively facades of the city. The interior is vast, but bland and more practical than its exterior.

Cathedral de Granada, rebuilt 1915

You are hard pressed to find a homely block surrounding the park and cathedral. The streets are a procession of yellow, magenta and turquoise. A look down one of these streets reveals Volcan Mombacho looming in the distance as the tiled roofs frame your view. Suddenly a horse driven taxi crosses your path and your antique postcard of the New World is complete.


The private homes on these streets are restored and in Castilian fashion open up into courtyards filled with fruit trees and plants. When walking by I had the chance to peer inside and see the gentleman of the house reading in his rocking chair in the shade. He was comfortable, there was music playing, and it was civilized. Outside it was just us rube tourists wandering the empty mid-afternoon streets suffering under the sun.

These homes are not far from the cluster of Internet cafes and the type of tourist restaurants you pass by initially with disdain, but after 20 minutes you succumb to anyway. Granada is very much a town oriented towards tourists and a growing ex-pat community. There are many nice bars and cafes, some of which have older American men practicing their Spanish with young dates over a bottle of rum.

Our time in Granada was brief, and in fact we saw very little. What we did sense during our stay was a charming town that should be explored more to meet the people who call the “Great Sultan” home. Because we were on the express highlight tour of Nicaragua, actually getting to know these Grenadinos would have to wait - I could smell coffee descending from the mountains in the North.


Next Installment:  The Metaphysics of a 3rd World  Speed Trap and My Continued Affair with Coffee farms