Dispatches from the Field & Project Summaries
Central America Expedition 2010: Day 16 – Leaving Nicaragua
March 31, 2010
As I’ve mentioned a few times already, you have to be prepared for early mornings as a member of a Green Living Project expedition. On no day was this more true than the day we left Nicaragua. We were picked up at our hotel in Managua at 3 a.m. for the roughly eight-hour journey by car back to San José, Costa Rica, where I would be leaving the expedition due to another commitment that required me to fly back to the States a few days early. The guys, on the other hand, were headed to Panama, where they would visit two more projects before returning to the States. They had a 1:10 p.m. flight to catch from San José’s Pavas Airport to Bocas del Toro, in the islands off Panama’s northwest coast.
With plenty of room in the van to stretch out, we snoozed in the early-morning darkness all the way to the border. As it turned out, we needn’t have left quite so early. We arrived at the crossing at 5 a.m., but the border didn’t actually open until 6. Now wide awake and with time to kill, Ryan and Rob set off to explore with a videocamera. Soon afterward I spotted someone who looked a lot like Rob pedaling toward the van on a rickety bicycle cart like those used by produce vendors. As he approached I realized it really was Rob. He had borrowed a bicycle cart and was now entertaining himself – and quite a few bystanders – by cycling unsteadily down the road calling, “Lettuce! Tomatoes! Carrots!”
Shortly after 6:00 the border opened, and as some of the first travelers in line we completed our documentation procedures on both sides without hassle. We sped down the road to Liberia, where we had to change vans and drivers, and then on toward San José. As the morning went on – and particularly as we began to climb the winding road into the Central Highlands – traffic became more and more of an issue. Knowing the guys were supposed to be at Pavas Airport at noon to check in, we watched the clock anxiously as the traffic slowed to a crawl behind a line of buses and semi-trailer trucks. With no way to pass, there was little our driver could do.
We finally arrived at the airport around 12:40 p.m. to find all the other passengers already on board the Nature Air flight and the airline staff wondering whether Rob, John, and Ryan were going to turn up. Fortunately the guys and their luggage were able to get on the plane, and off they went to a new country and new adventures. I went to an airport hotel for the afternoon and flew out early the next morning, sorry to miss the Panama portion of the expedition but inspired by all the great projects we had visited in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
Central America Expedition 2010: Day 15 – Potters for Peace, Nicaragua
March 31, 2010
After an overnight at a comfortable small hotel in Managua called La Posada de Don Pantaleón, we set off at the crack of dawn in the Potters for Peace truck with Robert and Alvaro, headed for the small community of Ducuale Grande in northern Nicaragua, a four- to five-hour drive from Managua. Rob and Ryan lounged on a mattress in the bed of the truck while John and I opted to ride with inside the truck. The Nicaraguan sun was strong, and I had no desire to look like a tomato when we arrived at our destination.
We stopped for breakfast at a truck stop, then continued up the highway past varying landscapes, from dry plains to green cotton fields to a range of low mountains. We arrived at Ducuale Grande in mid-morning and spent the next five or six hours there filming the work of the potters.
Potters for Peace has been working with artisan potters in Nicaragua since the late 1980s. For 20 years the heart and soul of the organization was Ron Rivera, a potter and humanitarian dedicated to making a difference in the lives of the world’s poor. Sadly, Ron died in 2008 after contracting a particularly virulent form of malaria during a trip to set up a filter factory in Nigeria. Robert and his wife Beverly, the chairperson of PFP’s board of directors, now live full-time in Nicaragua and are dedicated to continuing Ron’s work. The Ducuale Grande cooperative is one of several organizations that PFP supports through technical and marketing assistance, as well as the facilitation of interchanges that help potters learn from each other and widen their view in order to further develop their work.
Vilma Guevara, the coordinator of the Ducuale Grande cooperative, told us that the group was established in 1990 when a group of women got together with the goal of improving their pottery techniques in order to better their lives. The community had a tradition of working with clay that had been passed down from generation to generation. From outside teachers the women learned a pottery technique that originated in Peru, which they have adapted to their own designs and traditions. When we arrived the women were busy painting designs in mud on bowls, pots, vases, and other items. The pots are then fired with the mud still on them. After they cool, the mud is washed off, leaving the patterns in lighter colors on the clay.
After a full day with the women of the cooperative, we headed back to Managua in the late afternoon, stopping for a very late lunch at an organic café just outside Estelí. As we left the café, the light sprinkle that had begun as we left Ducuale Grande turned into a heavy downpour. Poor Ryan and Rob, still riding in the back of the truck, got completely soaked. With the camera gear inside the cab, there was no room for two more people. Even after the rain stopped Rob and Ryan rode most of the way back stoically standing in the bed of the truck, braced against the cab, drying in the wind and avoiding the sodden mattress that had been their seat. It was after 9 p.m. when we finally reached Managua, where we stopped by a supermarket before saying goodbye to Robert and Alvaro and then tumbling into bed as soon as possible, knowing we had only a few hours to sleep before setting off on the long journey back to Costa Rica early the following morning.
Central America Expedition 2010: Day 14, part 2 – Potters for Peace, Nicaragua
March 31, 2010
Aft
er our visit to Candelaria with AsoFenix we arrived in Managua slightly behind schedule but ready to dive right into our final project in Nicaragua: Potters for Peace (PFP). After transferring our gear from the AsoFenix van to the PFP truck, we set off again together with PFP Nicaragua Country Director Robert Pillers and his son-in-law, Project Director Alvaro Aburto. They drove us to a factory on the outskirts of Managua where Potters for Peace is manufacturing ceramic water filters as an effective way to bring clean drinking water to people who otherwise are unable to obtain or afford it.
Made from porous clay with a coating of silver, the simple and inexpensive filters remove 99.98 percent of bacteria, parasites, and turbidity and have been praised by both the U.S. Center for Disease Control and the United Nations for their effectiveness in providing potable water at the household level. During our visit to the factory, Robert and Juan Carlos Guevara, the production manager, walked us through the process of making the filters, which involves mixing finely milled clay with sawdust and water, pressing the mixture into a mold, drying it, and then firing it in a kiln. The firing burns away the sawdust, leaving miniscule pores for the water to flow through. After firing the filters are soaked and a quality-control test is conducted to measure the flow rate. The final step is to apply a thin coating of silver to kill any bacteria that get through the pores in the filter itself. In keeping with PFP’s mission of bringing clean drinking water to as many people as possible, the entire process is open-source technology, available on the organization’s website.
Potters for Peace was originally established in the mid-1980s to help artisan potters in Nicaragua improve their technology, skills, and marketing in order to make a better living. The devastation caused in Nicaragua by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 prompted the organization to began producing ceramic water filters to address the lack of clean drinking water. PFP no longer operates filter-making facilities directly but continues to provide training in order to enable others to establish factories around the world. So far PFP has facilitated the establishment of 33 filter-making facilities in 25 countries.
“Every 15 seconds a child dies because of the lack of potable water,” Robert told us, adding that what keeps him motivated is seeing “a child who would have been sick, who would have suffered, who would have missed days of school, now have a chance at a normal life.” Once again, as with AsoFenix, our visit to the Aquafiltros factory with Potters for Peace reinforced the importance of simple things such as clean water that it’s all too easy to take for granted.
Central America Expedition 2010: Day 14 – AsoFenix, Nicaragua
March 30, 2010
After a night in a basic hostel in the town of San José de los Remates – where mosquitos feasted on several members of our team – we set off back down the road to Teustepe, stopping once again for breakfast at the café in the park (most of us opted to pass on the salty cheese this time) before continuing on to Candelaria. The road to Candelaria was in the process of being paved – but only in sections, as each municipality was responsible for its own paving. No asphalt here, either – workers were laying stone bricks piece by piece, lining them up to create a smooth surface. The paving efforts ended long before we reached our destination, however, and it seemed unlikely that Candelaria would see any road improvement anytime soon.
When we finally arrived it seemed as though most of the community was waiting to greet us. We made quite a parade as we walked the short distance from the road to the solar panels that power the pump AsoFenix has installed to bring potable water to the community. While Rob and Ryan filmed the pump John and I headed up the hill with a local resident named Apolonio to scout out interview locations near the storage tank from which the water is piped to the homes of Candelaria’s 42 families.
Once the rest of the group had joined us we filmed an interview with project technician David Soza on top of the tank, followed by an interview with Nidia González Jarquín, the coordinator of the community committee that oversees the project. Nidia explained how difficult it was to get water before the AsoFenix project was installed. Candelaria residents had to walk half a kilometer just to get drinking water; to wash clothes they had to walk for at least an hour. Before the solar-powered potable water system, she told us, “There was a lot of sickness, flu and diarrhea, vomiting. Since we’ve had the project people aren’t sick as much.”
Another committee member, María Feliz González, whom we interviewed later at her house, added that before the project there was no water to bathe her children. It was difficult to send the children to school if they couldn’t bathe, she explained, but without a well of her own getting water involved carrying a heavy barrel for two kilometers. “Now life is more relaxing for mothers,” María explained. “We have more time with our kids, it’s easier to prepare food, and we don’t need to go far to get water in the middle of the night.” As a follow-up to the water project, AsoFenix has helped María’s family install a biodigestor to burn organic waste for fuel, which means she no longer has to trek to the mountains for firewood. They’ve also helped her set up a cement washboard station for her laundry; the greywater goes to water the agricultural fields. This is just one example of AsoFenix’s belief that is is not enough to just come into a community with a renewable energy project and then leave. Instead, the organization follows up with subsidiary projects to address other quality-of-life issues and maintains a close connection with the communities in which it works. Long-term volunteers Sarah and Seth Hays spend much of their time visiting the various communities and talking to residents to understand their needs and evaluate existing projects.
For our team, however, our time with AsoFenix was coming to an end. We left Candelaria and once again made the trip to Teustepe. By this time we felt like regulars at the café in the park, where we had a quick lunch before setting off for Managua, where we were expected that same afternoon at our final Nicaraguan project, Potters for Peace.
Central America Expedition 2010: Day 13, part 2 – AsoFenix, Nicaragua
March 30, 2010
Our visit to the small community of Malacatoya continued as we hiked down the track from Irma Martín’s house to where our van was waiting. From there we drove back up the rutted road to the house of Orlando Castellón, whose wife had prepared a lunch of rice, beans, chicken, and potato for us. We had planned to interview Orlando, but as a community leader he was needed at church – it was a Sunday – so instead Jaime recommended we interview one of the other members of the village committee, Cruz Torres Burgo, who is also trained as a technician for the AsoFenix turbine project.
Like Irma, Cruz talked about the difference electricity has made to his family. The air quality in their home has improved with the elimination of gas lighting, and the children no longer have to study by candlelight. The family has even been able to buy a blender and a small refrigerator, allowing them to waste less food and even to give the kids some treats, such as ice cream. On his small organic coffee farm, Cruz now saves a lot of time and money depulping the coffee using an electric motor. “Before I had to depulp the coffee by hand,” he explained. “It took all day. I was coming home late at night, sometimes as late as 10 p.m. Now it takes a half an hour to depulp the coffee with an electric motor.” He is also able to sharpen tools using an electric grinder, rather than by hand.
We wrapped up our day in Malacatoya with an interview with Jaime Muñoz about AsoFenix and its mission. Carefully avoiding cow patties, we chose a scenic spot in a field with a view of the hills behind, but just as we began filming, the wind suddenly picked up dramatically. Still, Jaime’s words rose above the howling wind and the flapping of the light reflectors as he spoke about AsoFenix’s work to improve the lives of rural Nicaraguans. “The biggest challenge is to improve the lives of people and families in rural areas,” Jaime said. “In rural communities, 60 percent of the population does not have access to safe water or enough water. The majority of the rural population also does not have access to electricity. This impedes development for families and also impedes economic production.” AsoFenix seeks not just to provide energy but to reduce poverty and improve health, education, environmental quality, and community organization. As Jaime said, “Our goal goes beyond just energy to larger issues.”
Judging by what we saw in Malacatoya, even a small project can make a big difference.
Central America Expedition 2010: Day 13 – AsoFenix, Nicaragua
March 29, 2010
We rose bright and early for our trip into rural Nicaragua with AsoFenix. Seth and Sarah Hays, volunteers on a three-year assignment with AsoFenix through the Mennonite Central Committee, picked us up at the AsoFenix office together with the organization’s founder and director Jaime Muñoz, and off we went into the countryside northeast of Managua. After about an hour and a half we stopped for a breakfast of eggs, rice, beans, tortillas, and extremely salty cheese at a café in the central park of Teustepe, the town where Seth and Sarah live. As we were eating Jaime explained how AsoFenix grew out of his realization that there was a need to develop renewable energy in the Nicaraguan countryside and practically apply the results of academic research to local communities. From this initial goal has come a broader focus of helping rural families improve their quality of life through renewable energy and associated projects to address other issues.
AsoFenix’s first project was a solar-powered pumping system that brings potable water to the community of Candelaria, which we would be visiting the following day. First, however, we were headed to Malacatoya, another rural community where AsoFenix had set up a hydropower turbine to generate electricity for families who previously had had none. Another couple of hours past Teustepe we parked at the base of a dirt track that led up a hill and past some of the houses of the far-flung community.
Together with Pablo Bravo, a local resident trained as a technician for the turbine, and Orlando Castellón, the coordinator of the local committee which oversees the project, we trekked up the hill, though the fields, and down some very steep and rocky paths, before finally crossing a river to the small building that housed the turbine. Pablo and Jaime explained how the turbine works: water enters and fills the small cups on the wheel; the weight of the water in the cups spins the wheel, generating electricity. The turbine generates approximately nine kilowatts per day, which is more than enough to supply the 29 households of the community with electricity. The electricity is mostly used for lighting homes, although some of it is used on coffee plantations.
On our way back to the van we stopped in at Pablo’s house, where we interviewed his wife, Irma Martín. She told us that life is much better now that she has electricity. Before, she couldn’t work except during daylight hours, and her house was always full of smoke from burning gas. Now, she said, it’s much easier to keep her home clean. Also, her children are now able to do their homework at night. Before electricity, they had to use a candle and couldn’t both study at the same time. Nicaragua is the second-poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, after Haiti, and hearing Irma speak about the difference electricity has made in her life was a profound reminder of the importance of things those of us from wealthier countries take for granted.
Central America Expedition 2010: Day 12 – Rainforest Alliance, Nicaragua
March 29, 2010
Our second day in Granada began with a boat tour with Oro Travel, a tour company owned by Pascal Picot, who also owns a small hotel called La Casona de los Estrada. A Frenchman who has lived in Central America for two decades, Pascal is working with Rainforest Alliance to enhance the sustainability of both of his operations.
Pascal picked us up at our hotel and brought us to the launch area on the shores of Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America, for a trip among the Isletas de Granada, a collection of more than 350 islands that is a refuge for many resident and migratory bird species. It’s also under threat of development – it seemed as though almost every islet that wasn’t already inhabited had a Land For Sale sign on it. Still, it was a lovely trip, and the development doesn’t yet seem to be having extreme impacts on wildlife. We saw ospreys, kingfishers, egrets, and numerous other bird species as we motored along the waterways surrounding the islands.
Seeking a quiet spot with good light and
an appealing backdrop, we set up for our interview with Pascal at the end of a dock next to a bar on one of the islands. Apart from the owners, the bar was completely deserted when we arrived, but it didn’t stay that way. As we attempted to film the interview, one interruption after another broke the peace. If it wasn’t a boatload of tourists arriving for a drink it was a baby crying or a chainsaw buzzing. Only with many takes and a good deal of patience did we finally manage to get what we needed.
“We can’t forget that tourism has countless indirect effects that can’t be measured,” Pascal told us, noting that tourism impacts everyone from agricultural producers to beer brewers to tax collectors. “The role of the local tour operator is very important. We are in a position to choose and prioritize suppliers that are operating according to best practices.” In addition to selecting local suppliers that operate sustainably, Oro Travel is working with the Nicaraguan National Chamber of Tourism on a variety of conservation projects, including efforts to control construction in the Isletas and establish the area as a natural reserve. Oro Travel is also involved in various educational projects with the Esperanza School in Las Isletas.
After the interview we headed back to Granada to visit Pascal’s hotel, La Casona de los Estrada, the smallest of the properties we visited, with just six rooms. The building is a former private home that preserves a colonial character and many original features. Pascal has sought to create an environmental consciousness among his employees which they can then transmit to their guests. Efforts include reducing water and energy usage through small actions that make a difference. Pascal also noted that the Casona’s employees are all Nicaraguan (half of them women), and the suppliers, whenever possible, are from Granada.
That afternoon we wrapped up some final filming in Granada, and then it was time to set off for our next project, AsoFenix, which delivers alternative energy solutions to rural communities. Seth Hays, an American working with AsoFenix, picked us up in Granada and drove us back to Managua, where we dined on pupusas (El Salvadoran stuffed tortillas) before settling in for the night in the dorm room at the AsoFenix office.
Central America Expedition 2010: Day 11, part 2 – Rainforest Alliance, Nicaragua
March 26, 2010
On our first day in Granada, Ryan joined a group of Dutch tourists to film their city tour with Oro Travel, while the rest of us set off to interview people at the various hotels that are working with Rainforest Alliance. Since we were staying at the Patio del Malinche, we started there. Set around two small courtyards, the charming 15-room hotel is run by a Spanish couple, Ramón Cirera and Lidia Teixidor, who abandoned their jobs in the insurance industry back home six years ago and came to Nicaragua seeking a change of pace.
Ramón told us that he sees sustainability as a question of respect – not only for the environment but for the country of Nicaragua as a whole. “I believe sustainability in a hotel is intangible,” he said. “Clients notice when a hotel is consistent and tries to do things well. Clients notice that it’s a hotel with soul.” Signs throughout the Patio del Malinche urge guests to reduce water and energy usage, and recycling bins are placed in all guestrooms. The hotel uses local suppliers for virtually all its needs, and employs 14 local residents who have been with the hotel since its opening. This sense of community is an important part of the Patio del Malinche’s appeal. “One of the great satisfactions of this project has been believing that we are part of something that is beginning,” Ramón told us. “In Spain we felt as though we were in a wheel that kept spinning but with no results. Here we are part of something that is being born, something that is useful in the future of Nicaragua.” Lidia is also involved in supporting local artisans by coordinating a local printmaking workshop program and providing a space at the hotel for a women’s handicrafts cooperative to sell its wares.
From the Patio del Malinche we headed a few blocks away to La Gran Francia, a hotel and restaurant located in two colonial houses on either side of the street. The original building is said to date back to 1524, shortly after the founding of Granada. In addition to restoring and maintaining the historic hotel building, La Gran Francia owners and staff work to educate the community about protecting Granada’s natural resources and colonial heritage. Water control measures are in place to avoid waste, and guests are asked to recycle and reduce unnecessary water and energy use. The hotel has also made a large donation to a program that offers free reconstructive surgery for children born with cleft palates and other facial deformities. In addition to being the right thing to do, General Manager Grisele Camille explained, sustainability is just good business. “We have to keep Granada to attract the clients to come back to us,” she said. Grisele herself originally hails from Santa Clara, Cuba, but spent 20 years working at a large international hotel chain in the Seychelles. She left that job and moved to Nicaragua because she wanted to work in a place with heart, where she and her children could reconnect with their Latin roots. “We Latin people have a different way of feeling, and I want my kids to feel it,” she said. “In Granada, you feel it. It’s a very special feeling.”
Our final hotel visit of the day was to the Hotel Plaza Colón, located on the main square of Granada. We were eager to film our interview with General Manager María Isabel Cantón on one of the enormous front balconies overlooking the square, with Granada’s distinctive mustard-yellow cathedral as a backdrop. Unfortunately, we soon realized that the constant traffic on the street below made this idea impossible, so we opted for one of the peaceful interior courtyards instead.
María Isabel told us that corporate social responsibility is very important at the Plaza Colón. The hotel is working with a local school on a variety of projects including facilities improvement, environmental education, recycling, cleaning days, and field trips. One of María Isabel’s pet projects aims to combat one of Granada’s biggest societal problems: the large number of young children who drop out of school and wind up living on the streets, begging and sniffing glue. Rather than giving money to street kids, which only feeds the problem, guests at the Plaza Colón are encouraged to purchase a “Plaza Colón backpack” filled with school supplies that will be donated to a local school, thereby creating a type of financial support and social incentive to keep kids in school.
Another initiative that the Plaza Colón is developing involves helping to clean up Granada’s streets by collecting the manure from the horses who draw the old-fashioned carriages that ply the city’s historic core. The manure will be sold to local farmers as an organic fertilizer. “Doing things sustainably is the only way to do things long-term, but in Nicaragua it’s difficult, because you really have to convince people,” María Isabel told us. Still, she added, “I think Granada is in a very good position because we don’t have the Marriott, Holiday Inn, the big chain hotels like elsewhere in Latin America. Granada right now has the opportunity to start with sustainable tourism on the right foot.”
Central America Expedition 2010: Day 11 – Rainforest Alliance, Nicaragua
March 26, 2010
A
fter so many projects in rural and wilderness areas, our first Nicaragua project, in the city of Granada, made for quite a change. We had had a brief introduction to Rainforest Alliance’s Sustainable Tourism Program at the start of the expedition, when we stopped by the main office in San José for a few quick interviews before heading out of town with Ríos Tropicales. That was when we first met Jessica Webb, who had now come to Granada to facilitate our filming over the next couple of days.
The Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Tourism Program provides training, technical assistance, and marketing support for sustainable tourism and hospitality businesses as part of its broader effort to transform the global tourism industry into one that benefits the planet and local communities. In Granada, Rainforest Alliance currently works with five businesses: four hotels (Hotel Patio del Malinche, La Gran Francia, Hotel Plaza Colón, and La Casona de los Estrada) and a tour operator (Oro Travel). The businesses involved in the RA program have adopted a range of sustainability measures including recycling and energy conservation. They employ a high percentage of women, pay salaries that are significantly higher than Nicaragua’s minimum wage, and work with predominantly local employees and suppliers to ensure that the economic benefits of tourism stay within the community. In addition, all of the businesses are involved in local conservation and community projects.
During our visit to the San José office we interviewed Ronald Sanabria, Vice President of Sustainable Tourism. Over the incessant noise of parrots in the trees overhead and the constant passing of trucks on the road outside, Ronald laid out Rainforest Alliance’s vision of sustainable tourism. “We really see sustainable tourism as a set of principles that are applicable no matter what type of tourism you do. It’s not a niche market but a way of doing business, ” he said. “Sometimes it gets confused with ecotourism or nature tourism, but we have seen great examples of urban settings where sustainable tourism is being practiced.”
Now, 10 days after that interview, we were finally about to see some of those success stories for ourselves….
Central America Expedition 2010: Day 10, part 2 – Traveling to Nicaragua
March 25, 2010
After barely making our flight from Palmar Sur we soared back north along Costa Rica’s west coast, passing directly over La Cusinga and the bay of Uvita, followed by endless palm tree plantations (the palm oil is sold as cooking oil). We touched down briefly at the landing strip in Quepos before continuing on to San José’s Pavas Airport, a place we had come to know well by this time. We had never seen it quite like this, however – with driving rain so strong it was coming down sideways, forcing us to hold the airline-issued umbrellas as shields while we waited for permission to make the short walk across the tarmac to the terminal building.
Once inside, we found that the rain was wreaking havoc with Nature Air’s scheduling. With such small planes, all flights were grounded until the weather improved – including our connection to Liberia. We hung around Pavas for an extra hour before finally being allowed to take off. When we finally arrived in Liberia, it took a little while to find our driver, who had gone to have a meal while waiting for our delayed flight. By coincidence, our late arrival did have one benefit – as we exited the terminal we spotted Bibi Santidrián and Tera Dornfeld, two of the researchers from Leatherback Trust, waiting in the arrivals area to pick up co-founder Dr. Frank Paladino. Our brief reunion was like a meeting of old friends.
From Liberia it was a five-hour drive to our next destination, the lovely colonial city of Granada, Nicaragua, where we would be visiting several businesses participating in Rainforest Alliance’s sustainable tourism program. Our driver kindly stopped at a supermarket in Liberia so that we could pick up some food for the road. While we were shopping he discovered a new problem – the vehicle documents needed to cross the border were missing. It took various phone calls and a trip back to the car company’s office near the airport to track them down. Finally – a good two and a half hours late, if not more, by this time – we were on our way.
The border crossing involved standing in lines for passport stamps on both the Costa Rican and the Nicaraguan sides, but otherwise it was uneventful. Darkness fell as we sped up the Nicaraguan highway, past the countless fruitstands lining the roadside. Around 8 p.m. we finally arrived at the Hotel Patio del Malinche in downtown Granada, where Jessica Webb, communications coordinator for the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Tourism Program, was starting to wonder what had happened to us. By the time we had finished dinner at a the restaurant El Tercer Ojo, one of Jessica’s Granada favorites, our travel-weary bodies were more than ready for bed. Fortunately the courtyard rooms at our hotel were both comfortable and quiet.