The streets of Granada, Nicaragua

I arrived in Granada by public bus from Leon, stopping in Managua and getting to the heart of Granada in mid-afternoon. As soon as I stepped off of the bus I felt Granada was much calmer and more relaxed than Leon, although it has the same things like markets, street food and plenty of activities. Here there are so many excursions and activities to do in and around, with volcanos, treehouse parties and adventure excursions.

Upon our first night my friend Maddy and I went to Banana Burger, a local food art restaurant but… it was closed. So, the owner gave us food to take back to our hostel and cook! It was so generous of him and tasted amazing. A few hours before there was a boy no older than 10 that saw me holding a traditional Nicaraguan meal in a bag, he didn’t ask for money, instead, food, so of course, I gave it to him. Strangely, this is the cheapest country I’ve ever been in but 60% of Nicaraguans live in extreme poverty and cannot afford food. I found a love for Nicaraguan politics after learning about the country on free walking tours and after my friend Roxy gave me a book about the revolution; The Country Under My Skin by Gioconda Belli which I highly recommend.

The hostel I stayed in was De Boca en Boca, it was an intimate space and easy to meet people. Each day they hold activities and you can book tours through them. The size was intimate which is what I look for in a hostel, but there are plenty more hostels like The Townhouse and Oasis Hostel around the city. From here, I met a lovely group of 4 of us and we cycled to the lake and then kayaked around the 300 islands in Lake Nicaragua with a local tour guide. It cost £10 for a full day excursion where we kayaked around wildlife and watched howler monkeys swing from trees.

I don’t talk about food much as I am not a big foodie person and enjoy more homely foods. But Nicaragua is full of street food and places to try local dishes of fish and other traditional foods. Across the park, there are plenty of restaurants and bars in the heart of Granada. A caution: in Nicaragua, there isn’t much-filtered water because the tap water is drinkable, but it’s really only for locals or those with stronger stomachs. I drank it and gave some to my friend Cam, but the entire day he was sure to let me know that the water is indeed, not drinkable for westerners.

On Wednesdays, hostels around the city provide a boat party sailing around the lake. We had a great day at the lake drinking and chatting, the trip ends at one of the islands which is like a private beach. It is filled with games and good music, we had a great time there and I wouldn’t skip it if you are in Granada on a Wednesday. The boat party was a great way to meet people and a good laugh.

All week I had heard about the infamous Treehouse Party every Friday, around 20 minutes away from Granada. If you want to stay at The Treehouse, there are options of treehouses, hammocks and dorm rooms, I stayed in a dorm from Thursday to Saturday. I didn’t do much research into it but arriving, we had to walk a lot with our bags into the jungle. The bedrooms and bar/bathroom/everything is around 5 minutes of uphill walking. But the view is worth it, you can see acres and acres of green, monkeys are only a few feet above your head and there is the constant hum of jungle life surrounding you. If you rein Granada I would come to the Treehouse and stay, as the parties entry is $20 for those who aren’t staying in the treehouse, and it is only £11 a night. It’s a great party and a good location to meet other backpackers.

Overall, I thought Granada was beautiful and you could easily spend a week exploring the city and taking tours to places like Masaya nearby and the lake. Granada is easily accessible and from there it is easy to access the pacific coast beaches and Island Ometepe nearby!