where the streets have no name

So, the following are the daily sights of a stroll through the streets of granada.

Women with giant baskets on their head out of which they are vending fruit, bunuelos, or tortillas to make enough money to feed their children.

Horse drawn carts pulled by skinny horses, transporting anything and everything. (they still use horses down here...) It's pretty crazy to see taxis and busses whizzing past ancient wagons. It's like two centuries are colliding.

Herds of cattle. The other day our bus had to stop in the middle of the road because there was a head of cattle crossing. It's somehow also ok to let your horse or cow wander about the city. Sometimes it feels like there's more stray horses than dogs. The stray horses are pretty hysterical, and not something i was expecting to see. (They're probably not really stray... but their owners let them wonder around.)

Get wrenching poverty. There are so many homeless children, and adults. And it's not as easy to pull an American and tell yourself you don't need to be concerned with them because they could get a job and help if they wanted... they can't here.( I don't think it's that easy in the states either... but that's a separate rant...)
It's sobering to look into someone's eyes and see absolutely no hope there.
When we walk past the cathedral at night, the porch is lined with the homeless sleeping... and there's no sort of social program or soup kitchen for them to go to. They're alone.

Beggars... mostly children.

Men and women vending the pottery they make. (pottery is really big down here... and beautiful.)

Kids sniffing baby jars of glue. It's the cheapest drug down here, and mostly used by teenagers.

Genuinely happy people. Despite everything, Nicaraguans are pretty joyous people. One of the national slogans is 'dance until the end.'