Category Archives: 2010 blog posts

Back in Granada for our last three days, with many mixed feelings. This gracious and slow-moving city is the center of Nicaragua´s small tourism industry, and the effects of tourism are unfortunately obvious in the central parts of town. The main square is thronged with vendors selling overpriced souvenirs, and beggars flock to the outdoor cafe tables which line the main street. Anyone who comes up to you in the square and starts a conversation will inevitably get around to asking for money, so authentic interactions are few and far between unless you´re involved in some sort of nonprofit community project. Or unless you get out of the central zone and chat up the person standing next to you in line for something. Doña Olga, who sells grilled chicken on the sidewalk around the corner from our hostel feels like an old friend now, and we did hang out talking politics with her last night. But she´s well outside the tourist area, and all her customers are her neighbors.

Up north in Matagalpa, there is almost zero tourism. Hotels there are for country folk who come to town for bank business, dental appointments, or whatever. Or for the random traveller from slightly farther afield, like the doctor we met from El Salvador at our hotel. In Matagalpa, so many spontaneous conversations arose that we were almost socially exhausted at the end of a day. Everyone was interested in us. Anyone with any English would come up and shake our hands and say, “Hello. How…are…you?” in very carefully enunciated syllables. Middle school kids asked us how much our airline tickets had cost, and one urgently self-important local insisted on giving us a tour of the Matagalpa police station. We ended up travelling back to Granada with the Salvadoran doctor, in his brother´s car. They insisted on stopping and buying us iced coffees and introducing us to throngs of family and friends, and we spent a half hour in someone´s back yard, eating oranges, while the brother washed down the car. We offered a reasonable contribution to the cost of gas, but they certainly weren´t looking for anything from us besides friendliness.

So, Granada. Everyone here thinks tourism is just great, and wants lots more of it, and you can´t argue with poor folks looking for a few more of the world´s resources. But already the central parts of the city are beginning to become a Disney-fied caricature of themselves, and Bob and I keep on chewing over the complexities of it all.

Last night we handed about $10 to a charming rogue who approached us in the square with a funny offer of Spanish tutoring and a sad story of poverty and single parenthood. We liked him in spite of the fact that he was hitting us up for money… so even though we have no idea whether a word of his story was true, we went with our gut feeling and gave to him. The kids, we don´t give money to, though we used to; the local municipality is circulating flyers in English and Spanish, imploring travellers NOT to give money to the children who beg. Apparently there is basic nutritional support available to all children here, so no one is starving, and the kids who successfully beg end up dropping out of school because they can earn money on the street. The families suffer because the kids no longer have to stay home and obey parents, and then these street kids become prey for drug (glue) dealers and get sucked down into sad dead-end lives. It´s a confusing business.

Anyhow, speaking of tourism: we´re taxiing out to a volcanic lake this afternoon, to sit in the sun and swim and dawdle. The laundry elves will deliver impeccably folded clothing back to our hostel while we´re out playing, and tomorrow we´re taking a night-time tour of the local volcano. Finishing up our trip with all that we can cram in, these last few days.