Monday, November 16

These trees are the brainchild of the wife of the president, Daniel Ortega. They’re certainly garish and not much less garish during the daytime when they’re not lit. But I think they’re fun and colorful. These photos were taken through the windshield, which doesn’t do them justice. We had a wonderful wonderful weekend, one of the best of my life. Daniel is always in a good mood when he gets to drive a car. We checked into the InterContinental after some haggling online about the rate, which had gone up from $99/night to $176. I got them down to $119 which included the $40 incredible breakfast. My favorite buffet. I did leave there 10 pounds of bacon heavier. We went to the movies to see the 007 film. I bring a hoodie to Nicaragua only for the chilly plane rides but I took it into the movie theatre an it was so cold, Daniel and I were huddled beneath it. Didn’t James Bond have a sense of humor in the early days? Daniel Craig can jump off roofs but he’s so boring. There must be a better Bond out there. I had no idea what the story was about or if indeed there was a story that made sense but give me popcorn and I don’t care what the movie is. And then we went to lunch across the street at McDonalds. I never eat meat here but McDonalds is the same wherever you go. I can rely on my double cheeseburgers and my fries. A taste of home.I’d read about the ribs at Jimmy “three fingers” and we never try to go because it’s in a sketchy neighborhood and we usually don’t have a car. The host greeted us at the door with the news that Jimmy was in New York so there were no ribs. I guess his ribs are a bigger secret than Mrs. Fields chocolate chip cookies’ recipe. No Jimmy, no ribs. We settled on easier-to-obtain recipes like quesadillas. The rum and cokes were rum and pepsi. Let me tell you…not remotely the same. Then we smoked a joint and lounged around the hotel pool in the balmy night air with our piña coladas. We tried to include the palm trees and the candles and lighting and pool in the photos but it was too dark, but it’s stunning at night. The beds and pillows and duvet of the Intercontinental are heavenly dreams. In the morning after my bacon pig-out, we had more piña coladas on the cabana pool lounge, swam, went to the gym to pretend work off some of the calories, and checked out. Perfect 2 days. And my hair was straight for the first time in 2 months. I’d washed it right before leaving Granada, was in an air-conditioned car, air-conditioned mall, air-conditioned movie, etc. I didn’t even dread looking in the mirror. Next time I’m going back to a Brazilian Blowout. My natural curls are no match for Granada’s humidity. On CNN yesterday, where they show on-screen temperatures from around the world, Nicaragua was the hottest.