Sadly, when they called me a taxi to take me to my next hotel, the C17 (Nicaraguan Cordobas) ride ... turned into the driver telling me it was C40.
And that he didn't have change for my C50 note.
Ripped off. Didn't argue with him. Just told Hotel Terrasol, who will never use him again. Penny wise, and pound foolish, on his part :-)
I'm now in the Hotel Casa Barcelona -- a really lovely hotel, about 10 minutes' walk to the South of town. It's a sub-optimal location, and in a pretty gritty area, but ... ah, well.
On a true downside -- at least for me -- I'm being bitten, again, for the first time since I hit Granada. Whether mosquitoes or no-see-ums ... hardly matters. I'm spraying myself with DEET, and soldiering on.
Two nights ago, for Bill & Tiffany's last night in Nicaragua, we all went to Charly's Bar/Restaurant, along with their friend, Julie -- an architect who's doing project management on people's construction/remodeling projects.
Charly's was phenomenal, as was the draft dark German beer that I quaffed !
Not wanting to say goodbye to Bill & Tiffany, I made them promise to meet me at the Dutch-owned Nica Buffet for a last breakfast and a great cup of coffee. Then, I had to let them go :-)
A couple of nights ago, Bill, Tiffany, and I stopped by the office/hotel of their general contractor. It's being run by two of his sons, right now, while he's back in the UK battling prostate cancer. Toby is about 28 years old, and a very decent sort.
We invited him to join us for dinner and drinks. We had a couple of pops on Gringo Gulch, then taxi'd to Las Colinas del Sur, where nobody (except me !) was thrilled about their food. What can I say ? I got lucky, AND was able to help others get rid of their food, including yummy rice and french fries :-)
Toby was supposed to meet Bill at their house, the next morning, but called to say he had Dengue Fever and was headed for the hospital.
Uh. Really.
You see why mosquitoes are more than just a nuisance for me ?? You do NOT want Dengue Fever. Trust me.
The last two days, I've been really tired, and ... have some sort of strain/sprain thing going in my right big toe. It's slowed me down, but hasn't yet stopped me.
And I've only got just shy of two days left, so ... I'll make it work.
Tomorrow, I'll be having lunch with Elise -- another student from La Mariposa. My pick of locations, since ... I've now eaten at every restaurant in town :-)
On this morning's sojourn, I grabbed a chocolate bar for DJ and one for my Mom, and ... two bags of coffee, ostensibly for the same ladies, but quite likely for me (Kidding !!). Of all the things I'll miss, I'll miss Nicarguan coffee among the most.
Luckily, I can buy it at home :-)
Last night, I had Hotel Casa Barcelona make me dinner at their restaurant:
- El spaguetti a la Bolonesa con verduras
- una ensalada de queso
- una porcion de helados vainilla
Spaghetti Bolonesa w/veggies, a salad with cheese, and vanilla ice cream. And a BIG can of Tona beer :-)
It was delicious. Rather than walk into town and eat, tonight, I may just lather up with DEET, and eat here again.
I wimped out on having my laundry done. I took one of my compressor clothing sacks, and used it as my washing machine. This hotel room has a wicker wastebasket, which -- to my way of thinking -- doesn't hold water ;-)
My clothes are April fresh, and -- with luck -- will be dry before I need them.
I've done Granada to death. Okay, I did NOT go to Ometepe, and should have, but ... que sera sera.
So ... a few pics:
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| Tiffany, with a dragon fruit martini. It was just incredibly good :-) |
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| Bill. |
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| I rarely take food pics, but my desert (fried pineapple w/ice cream), at the Ciudad Lounge, was THAT good ! |
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| Spotted along my walk by the lake. Deej ? Frogs ! |
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| One of the restaurants on the Central Park. |
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| One of the hotels on the Central Park. |
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| The gazebo on the Central Park. |
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| Fountain - Central Park. |
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| Statue on the West end of town. |
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| Hey. That's my Nicaraguan ophthalmologist ! |
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| The cemetery where most of Nicaragua's presidents are buried ... before a frantic lady warned me that guys on bicycle were stealing tourists' cameras ... and ... I left ;-) |
So ... as always ... Ciao for Now, from the food-and-walking intensive annals of ... The Gulag !
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