Granada, Nicaragua is America’s oldest city. With rich colonial heritage, it was founded in 1524 as the first European city in the Americas.

Catedral

We spent a few days in Granada, wandering the streets and enjoying the the history.  At the top of the Torre de la Merced, there is a bell tower that you can climb up for $1 and take in some good views overlooking the city.

We had a lot of fun just hanging out in the park, watching the people and trying all the random street food.

As with most places in Nicaragua, there are no street names.  Well, technically they are named and in Granada some even have signs but, when you ask directions from the locals, their answers are strange and hard to interpret.  The way people gave directions in Managua was as follows: there are several landmarks in the city and the directions start there and then they tell you how many blocks and in which direction.  North and south are norte and sur but east and west are arriba and abajo.  This has to do with the direction of the sunrise and sunset.  In Granada east is al lago, “toward the lake.”  A bit confusing if you don’t carry a compass around in your pocket!

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