November 21: To the Granada of the New World

The 3:45 a.m. start and the 300 m walk down a rocky path to the bus station in the dark was not as bad as I had thought it would be. The bus arrived shortly. I find a seat and promptly fall asleep, awakening briefly with the extreme turns and bumps along the way, just long enough to glance at the stunning scenery passing by--foliage of varying shades of green. The roads leading to and from Monteverde are seldom paved--purposefully so. The inhabitants, to minimize the impact of tourist traffic on this ecologically significant site, request that roads remain unpaved.

I awaken just in time to get off at La Irma, the crossroads with the Interamericana, the highway that threads together countries from Mexico to Chile. I catch the Transnica bus, bound for Nicaragua. Border crossings by bus is tedious: bus searches and mass inspections. This process took 1 1/2 hours.

By the time I reached Granada, I was out of sorts--feeling dopey, nauseated from the exhaust fumes, and dehydrated in the heat. I planned to splurge and stay at a nice place. The guidebook had described a modern place with minimalist style, but the yellow walls, fluorescent lighting, and lack of windows were a real turn-off. Instead, I found a dorm bed in a very clean spacious brightly lit room.

I wander into the town centre. Granada, like its namesake in Spain, was built to be a jewel in the Spanish colonial empire. However, William Walker, the American filibuster, burnt a good part of it to the ground. The city was rebuilt, following the original city plan. Today, the city is filled with charming red-tiled buildings enclosing flower-filled courtyards.

I walk into Imagine Restaurant, not because I was hungry, but because I was too tired to continue. The tables were full, but Alison from Florida offered to share her table. Her positive attitude was just the antidote I needed for my current mood misalignment. Alison had just completed a surfing course and celebrated her half century mark while surfing. She invites me to kayak with her first thing tomorrow morning, which fits into my plans perfectly.

We split Kevin´s creation: mango bread topped with ice cream and chocolate, a concoction that was recently featured in Travel & Leisure--just the perfect food to put an upswing to my mood.