First of all, there are cats on the roofs here. Entire societies of felines tiptoe along from one roof to another, hunting for small birds and rodents. Occasionally they surprise a homeowner by leaping down into an open courtyard in order to attack an unlucky hummingbird or a plate of rice and beans.
We've been staying at a guesthouse with an extremely kind family. They even brought us along on an outing to the Nicaraguan national zoo with their toddler, Ernesto. Ernesto loves running, and he loves birds almost as much as a roofcat. This made the zoo trip quite entertaining!
Granada is a colorful colonial city of exceptional beauty. There are several Spanish churches built in the 16th century, their stucco walls cracking and mud-caked while their sanctuaries are lovingly cared for and pristine.
Almost as soon as we arrived, we met Mr. Cool. Mr. Cool is a wanderer from the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua, where Caribbean culture dominates in a way that seems strange in Spanish Latin America. He speaks perfect English without so much as a hint of a Spanish accent, and would seem much more at home in Jamaica than Granada. He wanders the streets here, painting small pictures on pieces of clay and selling them to tourists. With a kindness typical of the people we have met here so far, Mr. Cool composed a spontaneous love poem for us, speaking with the relaxed cadence of the Caribbean as he pointed to the trees, the birds, and the flowers of Granada.
Be sure to check out our pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/davidmstaples
2 comments:
glad you guys made it! we're looking forward to hearing more about it.
HURRAH for blogging! Can't wait to read more. Prudence says hi and that she would like to catch one of those long-legged birds.
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