BajaNomad

Granada, Masaya & Las Isletas de Granada

monoloco - 1-20-2013 at 10:05 AM


Granada is a gorgeous old colonial town about and hour south of Managua









Granada is situated on the shore of Lake Nicaragua, or Cocibolca as it's know locally


Just a short boat ride from Grenada, are the beautiful Isletas de Grenada


Las Isletas are home to monkeys and many exotic species of birds


My guide Carlitos was quite knowledgable on the names of all the wildlife and the local history


Island panteon


Bird's nests


Most of the 376 isletas are privately owned and some of them have restaurants, hotels and private residences.




This home belongs to Carlos Pellas, who's family owns Flor de Caņa and who is the wealthiest man in Central America


Lake Nicaragua is huge with hundreds of islands and steady winds, so it's a great place for sailing

Masaya is known for it's handicrafts. This is the crafts market in Masaya, it's known locally as El Mercado Quemado because it was destroyed by fire in 1966 and 1978




I'm not much on shopping, but I have to say I was impressed with the quality of the crafts being sold. There were beautifully crafted textiles, leather goods, hammocks, and wooden objects carved from cocobolo and other rare and exotic woods.

DENNIS - 1-20-2013 at 10:08 AM

Excellent fotos. Thanks.

toneart - 1-20-2013 at 10:53 AM

Thank you, Mono! Great photos. Now I have to put Nicaragua on my bucket list. It's all your fault. ;)

Heather - 1-20-2013 at 11:32 AM

Those fancy houses remind me of some on the Pacific coast of Honduras...beautifully constructed and heavily protected.
I remember the flor de cana factory in Honduras...that place stank!

monoloco - 1-20-2013 at 03:40 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by toneart
Thank you, Mono! Great photos. Now I have to put Nicaragua on my bucket list. It's all your fault. ;)
Don't put it off, it really is a beautiful country. My next exploration will be to Ometepe and the Solentiname Archipelago.

DENNIS - 1-20-2013 at 04:14 PM

What is Flor de Caņa?

monoloco - 1-20-2013 at 04:16 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
What is Flor de Caņa?
It's a very popular brand of rum.

SteveD - 1-20-2013 at 09:46 PM

It's a small world!

We were in Nicarauga in December. It was one of the ports-of-call in a Panama Canal cruise. Saw the same sights in Granada and went to the Masaya market. Instead of Lake Nicaruga we went to the Tarcoles River and saw lots of crocodiles! Also went to a volcano. Just a quick look at the country but would like to go back.

A Relaxing Drive in Nicaragua?

oladulce - 1-21-2013 at 07:31 AM

Beautiful photos monoloco!

Try to squeeze in a boat trip along the coast North or South of San Juan del Sur- some of the most beautiful coastline anywhere. And a visit to the Volcan Masaya where you can stand at the edge and peer in to the active crater and hike around the lava fields with views of the lakes and other volcanoes.

Enjoy you travels.

Here's a little clip we made a few years ago that sums up the Nica driving experience which may look familiar to you about now.





[Edited on 1-21-2013 by oladulce]

monoloco - 1-21-2013 at 01:18 PM

Thanks for that Oladulce. I've been spending about 3 weeks here and a week home so I try to take a few days on each trip to explore, most of it has been great.

BajaBlanca - 1-21-2013 at 02:10 PM

wow ! Thanks for posting ... Nica looks so interesting ... traditional old style architecture that I really appreciate. Bucket list addition FOR SURE.