The Glimpsers awoke at a very late hour today (late being a relative term, of course): 8:30. Straying from our routine, we skipped our usual breakfast at the comedor and instead trooped to Pan de Vida, the panaderia from our earlier ventures on Global Business Day. We were eagerly awaiting a breakfast of fresh cinnamon buns,  but unfortunately, there was a bit of a hold-up with some gas needed for the oven and our breakfast was pushed back a little bit. However, the students responded with great patience and waited graciously as the buns were made. A plus side of the wait was that we were able to witness the creation of the heavenly buns. After receiving our delectable treat, we were whisked away in horse-drawn carriages to Lake Nicaragua.

At the lake, we were led down a rickety make-shift dock to a small boat by our lively tour guide, Salvador. Salvador took us on a tour of the Isletas (little islands in the lake). They were vibrant and lush and some sported wickedly nice houses. There are a few hotels on the Isletas, one of which costs about $700 a night. Yes, it’s quite a fancy place these little islands. One of them is known as Monkey Island, as four monkeys live there (appropriately named). However, we learned that they were actually placed there as a tourist attraction; a bit disappointing. We were told that one of the monkeys, Lucy, could join us for some mingling on the boat. But she was sleeping or shy or too busy swinging from trees to come visit us.

The boat then dropped us off at a little restaurant called El Pirata. Some of us got refreshing drinks and all of us went for a wonderful dunk in the pool that overlooked the lake and Isletas. It was our first time swimming on the trip, and it was absolutely marvelous!

After some time at El Pirata, we headed back to the shore and were then taken in the carriages back to Central Park. We had lunch at the comedor and then four blissful hours of free time! Some of us went to the Internet Cafe, others to Central Park or little stores, and some took the time to rest. We then had dinner and our nightly meeting, and the students are currently working on a thank you poster for Julio, the owner of Pan de Vida, who was instrumental in setting up our scrumptious breakfast, beautiful boat tour, and fun carriage rides.

It was a wonderful day, a little slower paced than most. We were able to get a glimpse of some of the more touristy parts of the city in addition to having the opportunity to explore Granada of our own accord. The city treated us quite well today!

PS: Happy Father’s Day to all the wonderful fathers out there! We’re thinking of you!

Cheers!