Day 6 & 7 - Granada, Masaya and Flor de Pochote

It was the weekend and time to make an excursion outside of Granada...I met up with some friends early in the morning and we headed to the artisan market in Masaya which is only about 20 minutes away by bus. This market in known for wooden furniture, hammocks and pottery. We took a similar bus to the one I´d taken to Catarina, but this time the experience was much more pleasant, probably because it was early in the morning on a Saturday. We perused the market, but only one of us bought a lot. I would have loved to pick up a hammock, but there was no way I was carrying it through my entire trip. After a few hours in Masaya, we headed back to Granada for lunch. The rest of the day I spent hanging out with my host family as I would be leaving in the morning for Masatepe.

On Sunday morning, I brought my things to the school where a taxi would take me to my next destination, Flor de Pochote right outside of Masatepe. The cab driver was very nice and he thought I would like the music in his car which was 1970s disco and pop remixed in English...pretty funny. After the 30 minute ride, we arrived to Flor de Pochote. The main house was quite nice with a gorgeous view of Laguna de Apoyo and a volcano in the distance. The closest city was Masaya which was also visible from the house. I was taken up a steep hill to my cabaña by one of the women who works in the house. My cabaña was much better than I had expected. It was pretty much equivalent to a bunk I lived in at camp, but all to myself. Also, the view was gorgeous and I had a hammock and rocking chairs on my porch so that I could enjoy the scenery. There were no planned activities for the afternoon, so I hung out and got adjusted to my new surroundings. I had dinner with the family who owns the farm and learned that he was from Denmark and she from Nicaragua. They have run the place for 14 years and it is a successful destination for ecotourism. Also, I learned that they did not have electricity for about a week and that it is common outside the cities to go for days without electricity. I was escorted back to my cabaña as it was pitch black and the electricity did not return by morning.