Our planned departure from Leon was little delayed due to a couple of pounding headaches from the previous night's exploits and also as we were enjoying some good chat with the Aussie guys we had hung out with in Leon. We prolonged as long as we could for the inevitable date with the chicken bus but we could wait no more as we wanted to arrive in Granada before dark.

There are unfortunately no direct busses from Leon to Granada and so we were lucky enough to run into a couple of German lads who found a mini bus heading to Managua which was en route and so we jumped on board and relished in the fact that we were not on a chicken bus. That was not long lived though, as we arrived into Managua we were hearded onto a chicken bus and were off on our merry way. It wasn't too bad at first but then came the bus stops and then that little old American school bus painted in pretty colours was packed like a tin of sardines. Kate was unlucky enough to have a hefty woman resting her head on her arm whilst she was pushed backward from the weight of 100 bodies and the start/stop of the bus and no foot space to correct her balance. It wasn't far from a mosh pit at a music festival. And then they found space for another 5 people!

Happy to arrive in Granada and check into a beautifully tranquil hostel with hammocks everywhere and a swimming pool, we ridded ourselves of our luggage and wandered out to check out Nicaragua's most famous city.

Although it was dark already we could already feel the good vibes from the city and its collonial architecture. We wandered the Parque Central and grabbed a bite to eat. Tired from the combination of hangovers, travelling and walking the city we called it a night.

Bright and early the next morning we were out again and got a better look at the city with the daylight and for the first time saw all the colours everywhere you looked. The buildings were all painted different bright colours, the churches and even the local's clothes! We climbed the bell tower of two different cathedrals for beautiful panoramic views of the city and Lake Nicaragua in the distance. After a nice lunch in a garden cafe we walked down to the lake which was not as pretty as it looked from atop the bell towers but still great to see nonetheless. With sore feet and stinging for showers we headed back to the hostel for a short rest.

Ready to go again we headed back out to find some dinner where we enjoyed a couple glasses of wine and watched buskers on the street. Afterwards we found a bar dedicated to John Lennon on the corner of a street appropriately named Penny Lane, where we continued with a couple more vinos and an amazing live jazz band to finish off our two night stay in Granada.