July 11, 2015

Today was the first of 2 days off.  We swam in Laguna Apoyo which is an extinct volcano.  It was amazing!  After lunch, we celebrated Aldrin's 18th birthday with a piñata.  then we went to Granada which is the oldest city in Nicaragua.  We are staying here for the night.  We were originally going to go on a boat tour, but the weather was bad so we may do that tomorrow if we have time.  We got a chance to walk around the city and look at some of the buildings.  Everything in Granada is colonial and brightly colored.  Our hotel is very nice and owned by a guy who is originally from Botswana (or Israel - I can't remember).  When we got near the lake, Elsa was tired so she decided to take a horse & carriage back tot he hotel.  There was room for six people total so Axie, Claudine, Alicia, Angelica, and I joined her.  The driver gave us a tour of Granada & took us all over & explained a lot of the streets and buildings to us.  It was awesome.  When we got back tot the hotel, we had a little down time before dinner, so we rested.  For dinner, we went to a restaurant called Nectar.  I had the Nicaraguan "Ropa Viejo" (which translates to "Old Clothes," but definitely does not taste like that, lol) - seasoned shredded beef w/sautéd veggies.  DELICIOUS!  It was a very active, but wonderful day.  Tomorrow, we get to go ziplining!  I'm so excited!

Laguna de Apoyo, an extinct volcano and lake.

Enjoying a refreshing kayak ride!

We enjoyed the afternoon at Laguna Beach Club, a resort on the lake.

Enjoying the sun and a refreshing swim.  The water was very nice!

Pastor Rich secures the blindfold on the birthday boy, Aldrin.

View of our hotel's courtyard & pool from my room

Iglesia la Merced, one of the many cathedrals in Granada

Girls just want to have fun!