Adios, Los Patios!

As with all good things, they must come to an end (which Debbie Downer first said that, btw? I bet they were fun at parties).  The only problem with 6.30am flights back to Chicago is that they involve 3am pick ups from the hotel - and, consequently, not really being able to sleep at all.  I don't know about you but, once you wake up at 12.30am, its game over - no falling back asleep for me.

Anyway, I don't want to leave Nicaragua without sharing with you a bit more of this oasis of calm that has been my home for the last week.  It really has felt like a home from home and - for most of the week Lisa and I have been here - we've had it pretty much to ourselves.  So, I'd like to share it with you, dear blogwatchers, in case you ever decide to visit Nicaragua and come to Granada.  It won't disappoint.  Here is their website: http://www.lospatiosgranada.com

View from my favorite spot, tucked into the corner of the couch.
Best for blogging.

Bromeliad!
Site of my Spite and Malice throw down with Lisa.

Perfect for lounging.  Or monster games of chess.

The view back towards the lounge area

View from my balcony.  Room 5.
Did not suck.

The ginormous bathroom - almost the size of my
first apartment in Manhattan!

Looking out from my room across to the balcony, with
the heavy roller blinds made of bamboo

My room 

Funky arty skull-things

My bathroom - and more bromeliads!

My room for my last night (had to move from the balcony suite) -
still gorgeous, Room 1.

Well, as I sit here in my favorite seat in the lounge, waiting for the clock to tick round to 3am and to fly back to what's looking like a chockablock week already, here are my final thoughts about Nicaragua - what I loved and what I did not care for:

Did Not Care For:

• The mossies and being eaten alive.  I have so many bite marks on my legs, I'm sure if you joined the dots, they would spell out "FOR GODS SAKE, USE MORE DEET"
• The low-level squits I've had for the last couple of days now.  Not enough to be incapacitating.  Enough to be wary of farting.
• Cassava.  Circumstantial evidence connects it to the above.

Loved To Bits:

• How clean everything is.  OK, some of the buildings might look a bit ramshackle from the outside but everything is absolutely spotless.  No trash on the streets, all the buildings are nicely painted (even as you get further out from the center of town).  Wherever you look, someone always appears to be sweeping.  
• How quiet it is.  I realized, after a few days here, that one of the reasons this place feels so different is that you can barely hear any traffic noise.  The occasional car but nothing like the constant stream of traffic back home.  In its place, music.  And not annoying Justin Bieber (sorry Thomas) chart-type music, but local, up-tempo music that just wants to make you dance.  No wonder everyone from Latin and Central America has good rhythm - they are infused with it, every single day
• How respectful people are, especially as a single traveler.  For example, people will still come up to you and try and sell you things.  Thats to be expected.  However, one observation I soon made was that - unlike other countries I've visited - if you just smile and shake your head once, no, that they respect that and move on.  They don't constantly bug you and follow you and hassle you.   Even the guy with the guitar who comes into the restaurant looking to serenade your lunch won't bother you if you just say "no thanks".  I loved that.
• How much pride people take in their country and how much of it is already protected by national reserves and eco-preserves.  Makes you feel very hopeful for the future.
• The fact that none of the volcanoes exploded whilst I was here.