Hotel Spa Granada - Day One

Today is my first day at Hotel Spa Granada. I found it on Yahoo Travel's Best Boutique Hotels around the world. It looked cool and Sophie wanted to experience a different culture.

The hotel grounds and rooms are lovely. The furniture and art are perhaps not the best and sometimes limited in execution but the idea is nice. Sometimes it feels like the styles are a miss match. This is not something I mind. So pieces work very well together and with the overall ambiance. Sometimes, it just doesn't work well. Nonetheless, the pool and garden paths are lovely. There are many adorable statues and pieces of art or woodwork that add some lovely character.

The owner is sitting a few tables away from me and has been on the phone for quite some time. He seems to have several money issues with several different people. It also appears he has billed someone $1700 when the going rate is $1200, so they will need to 'make a note of it and remember it for next time." The owner is an American man probably in his 40s.

When I signed in they manually swiped my credit card and asked me to sign it without a price attached. I was not comfortable doing that. They said that they would fill it in when I left - which would also be the time I should sign it, I said questioning their approach. I agreed to sign it but only with a crossed out zero in the dollar amount. You can't just give someone a blank check. And now hearing the owner complain about problems he is having with other customers and workers only adds to the question of weather or not they are on the level when asking for an signed credit card slip with no price entered in.

Earlier today the weather was perfect for swimming and laying out for a moment. It was also nearly stifling hot. Now, it has rained and there was a cool breeze which has allowed for a pleasant tranquility.

I was supposed to have Wifi in my room but the signal is too weak so I have to go to a common area.

According to Wikipedia, hotel rooms go for $10-35 per night. I'm paying $49 per night. Wifi would be nice. I know in other parts of the world that might be cheap but the car that backfired for the 5th time and not for the first time today is also not in other parts of the world neither is the lack of safetly felt here. Apples and oranges cannot be compared.

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Hotel Spa Granada - Day Two

Open Air Market in Granada, Nicaragua

Transportation Between Managua and Granada, Nicaragua

Massage at Hotel Spa Granada

Buying Nicaragua Honey

Water and Cashews in Nicaragua

Water & Cashews in Nicaragua

So, I had some tap water and cashews about an hour ago and now I feel sick. The last few cashews tasted kind of weird so I'm inclined to think it wasn't the water plus the lady at the hotel (Hotel Spa Granada) said the water is fine to drink. That being said, who gets sick from cashews?!? By the way, the cashews were local as well. I'm in Granada now.

Everyone says don't drink the water in Mexico but I haven't heard that about Nicaragua... not that I've ever heard much besides the problems from a few decades ago.

According to WikiTravel, drinking the water in Nicaragua is not a good idea. Lonely Planet states that drinking the water in Nicaragua is generally okay. Nonetheless, I still feel yucky and wish the lady behind the counter hadn't discouraged me from bottled water. Maybe they were out of it?

Note: I met a man in town that got very sick from the cashews. He said they nuts are washed in the creek and that the creek water isn't clean. I haven't had any more cashews during this trip and have had some water. I'm still not sure I should be drinking the water. It probably takes a little while to adapt to it but bottled water is not always readily available and the humidity and heat is rather intense down here in Nicaragua.

Managua Backpackers Inn (Very Unsafe!)

Well, I needed a place to crash for my first night in Nicaragua. My flight didn't arrive until 12:14 am and from everything I've read it is not safe to travel at night.

I paid in advance to have a taxi meet me at the airport and did not leave the glass doors of the airport until I saw my name on a piece of paper staring back at me. I was the second person through customs and had no problems with the passport check point although it seemed odd to pay a $10 fee to get through. This was a new one to me. Everywhere else I've travelled simply stamps the passport without a fee. Actually, police corruption is why I didn't end up renting a car. I read that it wasn't worth it and that public transportation was pretty good.

The glossy-eyed man that picked me up at the airport didn't speak a word of English and had had enough to drink to where we more like glided along the road in a boat with a rickety sound. If this evening experience was any indication of typical respect for the laws of the road then it is barely necessary to slow down at all for a red light. We certainly stopped for none of ours.

I enjoyed the ambiance. It was raw and completely unrefined. Although, I did try for several minutes to find the buckle to the seat belt, to no avail.

Once at the hostel, we rang the doorbell for several minutes before the girl who was working the night shift woke up and responded to our racket. She completely slept through the phone ringing quite loudly as we found ourselves quite impressed to hear it so clearly from the street.

Several minutes later, I parted ways with the taxi driver whom I had pre-paid via the hostel and through PayPal earlier in the evening. The receptionist was groggy and seemed to know the written number nine and the word PayPal which was enough for her to understand I had already paid for the room so she showed me a bed on a top bunk where I will soon find myself cuddling my ever so tiny travel bag.

Apparently, there is a breakfast and transportation to Granada. Hopefully, I will keep my belongings long enough to make it to my destination!

Ants are crawling everywhere in this hostel. Perhaps it's just how it is here in Nicaragua. Perhaps I'll need to get used to it. It would be nice if my hotel was not ant infested, but whatever. I'm sure it will be fine. There is a pool here. Since I don't have a lock for my locker I don't think I'll use it. But there is also a pool at my hotel in Granada, so if it is warm enough hopefully I will be able to swim. The weather is very muggy and damp.

I have met three people so far. One at the airport and two here at the hostel. The first was a German girl who will be staying for free at a hostel she will be working at in a surf town. The second is a hippy-type dude who lives in Jacksonville and is from North Carolina. I sat next to him at the airport but didn't talk to him until after he arrived here at the hostel and got through the language barrier with the receptionist. He didn't fair as well. Although he had paid a $2 deposit on HostelWorld to reserve his bed, he still ended up giving the lady at the desk (who is currently sleeping on the couch next to me) a $20 bill which will or won't get worked out in the morning. And the third is the Polish girl who spent the summer working in NYC then traveled to Honduras and Panama without incident only to get mugged right outside this hostel my 6 little guys at eight o'clock in the morning.

Wish me luck... the kind of luck that means I will wake up with my computer and other belongings still with me.

So morning came and I met a few of the guys on the hostel who all seemed fairly cool. Lots of longtime travelers who had been on the road for months or years. One guy was living off his California Unemployment Insurance which the State of CA keeps conveniently extending. He was coming off of spending 7 years in the military based out of San Diego. Now he's a long bearded hippie not wishing to answer questions. Either he's on the run or is paranoid from too many drugs. In the meantime, he was nice enough and a group of us walked over together to the other hostel for breakfast.

Before parting, the owner of the hostel said that it was perfectly safe to walk over to the second hostel for breakfast. I told him that the Polish girl had told me her story explaining that she and a male friend had been mugged by some 6 local kids. The owner gave further detail to her story stating that the kids were between the ages of 11-16 and sniff glue to get high. All of sudden he seemed fairly well acquainted with the boys and who they were. When I asked, he said that he did not know the boys. He informed me that I was staying in a poor country where people don't have anything and that makes tourists a likely target.

Okay, so let me get this straight. Was the backpackers mugged because they were rich tourists or because the boys were glue junkies looking for their next high or thrill.

Basically, the owner of the Managua Backpackers Inn was a pompous, middle-aged, full-of-himself, blowhard with a condescending patriarchal attitude. He said I should expect such things in when traveling. I told him it wasn't my first pony ride.

He said that's why he had lockers. I asked if he had locks for the lockers. He said, "No!". Not knowing they had lockers without locks meant that I didn't bring a lock. Trust me, I have them and often bring one just in case. But even so, hostels usually sell locks... just in case.

The owner of the hostel had told the Polish girl that they would bring over breakfast in the morning to make sure everyone was safe. NOT! Basically, the guy bullshits every chance he gets and simply feels that one traveler to the next will never know the difference.

The Polish girl had told me that she had heard that muggings were quite common outside the hostel. The owner said that this was a one-time incident and had not happened before. The boy who worked the desk said that if you turn left (for breakfast) as you leave the hostel you'll get mugged but if you turn right it might be okay. The owner said that the kids know that tourists are there so they are targets. By the way, how did the owner know the age of the kids and that they sniff glue if he wasn't there when she was mugged and if he didn't see the mugging.

My honest opinion of this hostel is that it is terribly unsafe and the owner couldn't care less. The guys were very cool to wait for me and to make sure we all walked together. Nice group of nomads.

One of the reasons I picked this hostel was for the pool. I asked about it and was told not to swim in it because it wasn't safe and would make me sick. There was a sign near the pool which said not to swim in it, as well.

So to sum it up, the hostel had ants everywhere, no lockers with locks, a rude indignant owner who seemed to blame his guests for being there and being tourists if they happened to get mugged. My favorite line was, "You have to expect it!" Really? I've traveled a lot. I don't ever 'expect' to get mugged. In fact, I do my best to be a safe traveler and everything possible to avoid getting mugged.

He spoke to me as though I had never traveled before and as though I simply had no clue that Nicaragua was a poor country. He informed me that I was in the safest part of the city. His entire property had gates around it, the windows were barred and the backyard and roof had bobbed wire. What exactly do the bad areas look like?

I strongly suggest staying anywhere else. Honestly, it might be cheaper to give the glue sniffers $10 and a couple bottles of glue. I'd bet they'd be more grateful and loyal for the contribution then he was!

Packing for & Traveling Light in Nicaragua

One 12.9 pound travel bag that fits in front of my seat on Spirit Air is all I packed for an eight day trip to Granada, Nicaragua to celebrate my daughter's 20th birthday.

To bring more luggage would cost more ($20 each way) and make me look more like a tourist during my travels in Nicaragua.

I suppose if I really felt the need to have additional luggage I'd spend the money on it but, generally speaking (unless on a cruise), I really only wear one or two outfits most of the time anyway. So, this time around I have simplified my life.

Back toward the end of August I visited my daughter in NYC. I was traveling the day of the hurricane. Both my inital flight and my transfer flight had been cancelled. I knew arriving to NYC within a timely manner could be an issue. In fact, I knew it could take days.

Sophie and I wear the same size. My solution was to pack books instead of clothes. So, that is what I did. It ended up working out perfectly. So I thought I would try it again on this trip, albeit with the clothes and without the books this time around.

I am wearing jeans, a belt, tennis shoes, socks and a basic sleeveless black top. I carried on a raincoat with a sweat jacket within for warmth... and hurricane season. In my back are 10 decks of flashcards, a laptop + cord, phone + cord, camera + cord, wallet, make-up case, two pair of reading glasses + cases, a 6'x3' grey cotton scarf, thin black socks, flip flops, a floor length black skirt, black leggings, a long sleeve dark grey basic cotton top and a bag for all the cords and my passport.

Unfortunately, I forgot the sliced roast beef and provolone I had purchased to eat before catching the flight and am now completely starved as a result without a morsel in the hostel (Managua Backpacker's Inn) to eat. Ahh, I just ran into a sweet Polish girl with pasta who has mugged at 8am the other morning while walking from the other hostel to this one. I am now eating pasta with a content tummy surrounded by ants. She met a man who didn't pay an extra dollar to keep his luggage with him. It was all stolen. I guess he was really traveling light after that! I think I will sleep in my clothes and use my small bag as a teddy bear in hopes of not losing anything.

Allergies and Local Honey

Twice a year Sophie has her seasonal cough. It's a deep, rough cough that always gets me plenty worried and always leads her to say in her sweet little voice, 'Mom, it's just my seasonal cough'.

Well, we're full into allergy season as we watch the pollen float freely though the air and reports on my mail serve claim this allergy season may be worse than most... yet, neither the kid nor I are having issues. Strange, right?

I recently read that local honey can make you less susceptible to allergies. Both Sophie and I have been having a ton of honey over the past few weeks or so. It seems most likely that our allergies have taken a back seat as a result of the large doses of local honey we've been eating. Sophie actually has no cough at all. Very strange for this time of year.

This past week, between the two of us without trying we've managed to polish off a 5 lb jug of local honey. We don't use other kinds of sweeteners (ie. cane sugar, agave, raw sugar or any of those other really bad substitutes).

Honey is great in coffee and tea, on pancakes, cereal, toast, etc.

Just thought I'd put it out there.

My Birthday & My Kid with Jodie Foster's Beaver

During last night's Q&A at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Jodie Foster was asked how an unknown writer could get someone like Foster to look at her script. Foster's new film, The Beaver, was written by a 1st time unknown writer which was sent to Foster by her agent and which had been listed as one of the top 100 unknown (or unmade? something like that...) scripts. In short, Foster said, if something is good it'll rise. That perhaps she was a little naive in this area but she believed that talent can prevail.

It's like I tell Sophie, there is always room for people who are good at what they do! Don't worry about the competition. If you're good, you're good and there is always room for people who are good at what they do!

Foster said that casting, funding and making an independent feature film is difficult even for an 'A Lister' like herself. As a director she is just so pleased that she has made it that it doesn't really matter to her if people go to see it. She said that every second on the screen she wanted there and she is very satisfied with the end result.

Foster is beautiful, talented, vulnerable. wears her life, soul and heart on her sleeve and considers her work to be therapy.

Foster enjoys making 'delicate' films. She has been offered big movies to direct but is quite content making small films. She finds some people easy to both direct and act with while with some other actors it becomes a more arguous process.

When I used to envision what motherhood would be like I could never see past the toddler years. But if anyone would have told me that I would spend my 44th birthday at the Film Society of Lincoln Center with my 19 year old daughter for an 'Evening with Jodie Foster' I would have approved. It was an ideal evening which soothed my soul and positively influenced, inspired and invigorated my child.

As far as the the title of Jodie Foster's new film. She loves it, loves saying it and loves joking about it. She seems to keep everything in perspective and to be a woman who has learned from both what she has done in her life as well as what life has dealt her and given to her. Basically, she's a woman of substance and character who seems to live beyond her fears to achieve the dreams that she can imagine and we are all blessed to experience.

I remember when I was a kid and Tom Sawyer came on TV. There was this strong, opinionated, fearless girl taking on Tom. She was my idle. I'll never forget how cool Becky was. To know Becky is the Coppertone Girl, the totally cool daughter in Freaky Fridayl and the woman who made last night's The Beaver and so many more in between simply puts a smile on my face! Always her own girl. Now her own woman. Strong headed. Graceful. Always the professional and simply a wonderful role model for those who follow. There is a certain sense of happiness and comfort with this knowledge. Some people trying know their actions matter and live their life accordingly. We need more people like this in the industry because what we program and create is what we share with the world.

Does Black Friday Shopping Mean Savings?

I like to shop. I'm thrifty and frugal. Therefore, I like decent prices.

You'd think Black Friday would be a great time to get great deals. But maybe that's not the case when we take a closer look.

Yesterday I was at the Premium Outlet Mall in Orlando. Sophie and I were there in early October as well when we went to Disney to celebrate her birthday and visit Mickey's Not-So-Scary!

We bought Sophie a Donna Karen New York black wool peacoat on sale and half off! The full price was $375. We felt $187.50 for a classic coat that she should get years of wear out of was reasonable.

Yesterday, I revisited DKNY because Miss Sophie had somehow lost the belt to the coat and I was trying to see if it was possible to replace it before her spring trip to NYC.

Low and behold! The very same coat was no longer on sale. Instead, it was back to the original price of $375.00. My guess is come Black Friday the prices will be marked back down (hopefully) to were they were when we bought the jacket over a month ago.

It seems Black Friday is more of a sales gimmick to deceive buyers into making purchases that were actually just as low or lower just months earlier.

Thank goodness we shop in October for Christmas. It seems like retailers are playing Scrooge to customers.

My guess is that mid-December will be a cheaper time to shop than Black Friday.

I understand the retailers point of view (but as a consumer, I care about my point of view and my wallet only!) It's supply and demand. Why make things super cheap on the busiest sales day of the year? No one shops in October. Lower prices then. Everyone shops the day after Thanksgiving. Pretend to lower prices then.