Granada vs. Antigua

Friday, Jan. 25, 2013--Granada

The obvious comparison to be made with Granada, which is the main colonial city of Nicaragua, is with Antigua, which is the main colonial city of Guatemala.  There are many similarities.  They are about the same size.  They both rest near the base of a major volcano. They both have wider streets than most colonial cities.  They both are filled with wonderful old colonial buildings that tend to have plain fronts and very fancy interior courtyards.  Antigua is more elegant and more restored than Granada.  And Antigua has more art galleries, fancy restaurants, fancy hotels, etc.  But Granada seems more authentic in some way.  Restoration may have been limited, but it seems more of a city of its people rather than a "Disneyland."  The more time I have spent here, the more I have come to like this city.  It's comfortable.  And it is possible to be here without it costing nearly as much as it does to be in Antigua.

I spent most of the morning walking further afield in the city than I had previously.  I went all the way down to the lakefront to begin.  It's an area that is undergoing a great restoration effort. A waterfront park is being rebuilt, and the streets to and along the waterfront are being rebuilt also.  I was amazed to find that this part of the city feels undeveloped.  There are huge lots that are vacant.  It almost feels rural, although it is only maybe 4 blocks away from the buzz of tourist activity.

From the lakefront, I headed toward the old train station.  There is no longer a train, but the station itself is nicely restored, though vacant.  There are 2-3 old train cars there to give an idea of what kinds of service were provided.

From there, I headed out to the baseball stadium.  I had already learned that there would NOT be a game today; the next game here will be tomorrow afternoon, but I wanted to see the facility.  It's not a huge stadium; but it is larger than most minor league ones in the US.  Actually, tonight, I saw the local team playing on TV in the city where they were having the playoffs today and yesterday.

Near the baseball field were two side-by-side supermarkets--La Colonia and La Union.  Both were modern, air-conditioned ones which are much nicer than the Pali chain which is owned by Walmart, is not air-conditioned, and operates like a warehouse-style grocery store with the goods displayed in their packing boxes.  It was obvious that the two nice supermarkets were built for the foreigners who live here and for the upper-class Nicaraguans.  A number of American expatriates have bought and restored old houses here, and there were several of them shopping in the two markets which had gourmet sections, imported items such as smoked salmon and European wines and cheeses, American brand products, etc.

Back in town, I sat in the Parque Central and read for a while.  When it became too warm, I returned to the room for the rest of the afternoon to read newspapers on the computer and to update and "clean" the computer while enjoying the air-conditioning.

In the evening, I went back to town to enjoy the busy activities of a Friday night.  Busloads of people had arrived, including one group that was "witnessing for Christ."  From what I've read, this city gets lots of missionary groups.  Does that make their vacation to a colonial city tax deductible?  But there were many locals out to enjoy the evening--watching performances (juggling, miming, clown acts, etc.), sitting at the sidewalk cafes enjoying drinks, food, and the baseball game on big screen TVs, etc.  Mariachi-type bands were moving up and down the main tourist street playing at the cafes.  People were going to the one cinema (Cine Karawala) here (to see The Hobbit).  Everyone seemed happy.