Trying to be as silent as a mouse, I crawl off my bunk bed and attempt to climb down the ladder. Feeling around with my feet in the dark, I step on the first rung of the ladder only to find my bunk mate's towel. Taking the next step I find the toes of my bunk mate's foot which shifts away in their sleep.
Successfully making it to the ground in the dark, I find my way out of the doorway and to the bathroom down the corridor. Peering around on my late night walk, night owls sit and quietly chat to each other. Others, are merely glowing silhouettes as their faces stare deep into the screens of their handheld devices. Silently making it back onto my bunk, I lay on my back and listen to the ceiling fans. From years of never being turned off, the bearings have worn thin which emit the sounds and rhythms of an old train leaving the station. These are the sounds I fall asleep too.
Chet, Karen, and I are staying at a hostel in Granada Nicaragua called Oasis, and by daylight, it's a whole different world. Stepping off the colorful, colonial streets of Granada, most wouldn't even know of the world behind the iron gates. Like Diagon Alley, it's hidden from everyone's realm except those who travel.
Opening the iron gates, the busy street dissipates behind as the chess tiled floor opens up to deck chairs, hammocks, and high open ceilings with colonial archways. Sitting in the chairs are people of all ages from all over the world. Germany, Britain Africa, Australia, New Zealand, USA, and Canada to name a few countries. The walls are covered in murals - some abstract, some spray painted, some realistic. Different doors open up to different rooms. Many of them are dorms with ten beds such as where I sleep. It's more of a multi storied hotel with a hostel setting.
Walking back out onto the street, the iron door closes with a clang and a snap of the latch. With no sign hanging above the door, it blends in with the buildings around it once again closing it off to everyone but those who know it's whereabouts.
Since my last post on Ometepe, I have a few more photos from to add. Also included are some photos from the Granada area.
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