On February the 2^nd Onno Oostveen and Marcel Zuidhof left on behalf of the ‘Hotel con Corazon Foundation” for Nicaragua where they will start a Hotel, a ‘Hotel with a Heart’. The profits from the hotel will be used to increase the number of children attending school in Granada. We need your involvement to accomplish this goal.

The project has two main goals: on the one hand child development and on the other hand stimulate economic activity. We decided it had to be a self supporting project in order to limit the dependency on donor monies, especially in the long term.

Winter ’05/’06 they paid a three-week visit to Nicaragua to get an impression of the local needs. After a few weeks they gained clear insight in what is generally seen as one of the major problems of the lasting poverty in Nicaragua: many children do not go to school.

During the visit, they also looked for a way to generate financing in a sustainable manner. In the foundation’s opinion this means that the money should be earned locally by locals, without enduring financial support from the outside. Through several examples that they have seen during the visit it became clear that the tourist industry offers numerous opportunities, as this sector is in early stages of development but growing very fast.

Soon a plan took shape, through which The foundation will be able to stimulate the education of children via tourism; At the end of 2006 Onno and Marcel left their jobs. They will start a hotel in Granada, which’ profits will be used to sponsor the school costs of children, whilst at the same time the hotel will offer internships and part-time jobs for the children and/or their parents.

All this cannot be achieved without your help.

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Read about Granada, Nicaragua if you want to learn Spanish

Tripadvisor – Granada, Nicaragua

Department housing a beautiful colonial city offering a wide variety of cultural, ecological, and adventurous activities.

Population: approx. 191,000 people
Location: central Pacific side, northwest of Lake Nicaragua (Lake Cocibolca)
Attractions: architecture, Lake Nicaragua, watersports, Mombacho Volcano, culture, islets

The department of Granada is home to the oldest city of Nicaragua. This city, also called Granada, features many colonial buildings and is in close proximity of two other main attractions in this department: Lake Nicaragua, an enormous freshwater lake that houses hundreds of small islets, and the Mombacho Volcano, an imposing volcano that has a lot to offer.

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Granada city was founded between Xalteva, and the Cocibolba or the Great Nicaragua Lake, by the Spanish conqueror Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba in the 1524 year, creating one of the colonial settlements more ancient of the American Continent.

By the time, the dirianes, were living a group of chorotegas in Xalteva, an Indian race of warriors and artists, they had a lot of knowledge about Astronomy, Botany and Medicine, they were a territory of a cacique and also there was a merchant social class. The indigenous province ha the name of Nequecheri.

As it says: the Nicaraguan historian Jorge Eduardo Arellano, from historical beginnings of Granada, it distinguishes by the elements fusion in the construction of the city and this one as a strategic base of the future explorations of the drain or San Juan River. These discoveries conduced to establish fluvial route to the Atlantic that sealed the historical and geographic destiny of Granada, giving to it a harbour quality which never lose. It has been part of its splendor and tragedy. The poet and journalist from Nicaragua, Pablo Antonio Cuadra calls to Granada siren-city, because one part it is the urban in firm land and the other half opened to the Great Lake or Sweet Sea as it was baptized by Gil Gonzales Davila, one of the first Spanish explorers in 1523.

During the colonial period, Granada was one of the most important commercial harbours in Central America, as the same time start the construction of the city, directed by the urban architectural tradition of the Spanish of the great plaza and the powers.
In the sixties, at the beginning of the XVII century, the commercial culmination makes Granada an important city. The twin city of Granada, Leon of Nicaragua was destroyed in the year of 1610 by an eruption of the Momotombo volcano, and because of this Granada Became more important, also the tobacco and cacao plantations were growing the cattle farms. The Granada Commerce was with Cartagena, Guatemala, San Salvador, Panama and Perù.

The commerce increase by the route of the lake and the San Juan river, the Spain rivaltries with England, Holland and France made of Granada a victim of the least three attacks of pirates that destroyed completely the city. In June 29 1665, Jean David, pirate of Jamaica, plunders the city without resistence.
In 1670, the pirate Gallardillo, that really was an Indian who was serving the Emglish men, he attacks Granada, mocking the Spanish defense.

To protect Nicaraga’s town, the colonial authorities build te Immaculata Concepcion fortress on the San Juan river in the year 1675. So that the incursion of piracy ara warned and also from English that wantes to become the owner of the route.

The french pirat William Dampier pillage and sat on fire the city on April 8 in 1685. The earthquakes in 1633, raised the San Juan river trench n some place of this course, so much that the communications of Granada with the Atlantic was impossible. In 1751 Luis Diez Navarro, designed La Polvora fort at the east entrance of the city In 1789, builds the fortress n the lake coast and the San Pablo fort in one of the little island.

At the beginning of the XIX century the city of Granada has a regular commerce with the Antille. It exeriments short periods of culmination, between periodical armed movments, first against the spanish empire (1812) and the mexican in 1823.

The political movements in favor of the indipendence were soffocated by the authorities of the colony. Then, where the creoles that dispute the power in the new state, take the people to the civil war from 1824 and 1828.

In 1854 there was a civis war and the city is besieged by the people from Leon, the site lasted almost nine months. Granada was liberated by Fruo Chamorro. Beetween 1854 and 1857, the people of Nicaragua , confronted a civil war that loaded to a national war with terrible consequences, so much that the nationalist contracted north American soldiers, to stuggle in favor of the liberals, the ones that came to fight were called freebootors, because they came in the same way as the pirates and corsairs.

In November 1856, the filibustier (a foreign militar or soldier) Henningsen set in fire the city, causing enormus ruins to the buldings of the time, the Walker’s host in their retrat, left a label with the famous “here was Granada”. After the national war, in Granada city starts the recostructions stage and it’s used as political capital settlement until 1893, when il looses its political egemony becouse a liberal revolution headed by the general Josè Santos Zelaya. During the period of te called thirty year of the consevatives governement the infrastructure advantages compensating at commercial levels, they were all modern and made by the conservatives. Granadfa distinguished as a conservative city hasbeen protagonist of political struggles between conservatives and liberals, in a political conflict, thet produced the Historical Parallels for the conquest power.

It may not be the first English workshop, but it is the first that we will talk about. Yesterday, teachers of Nicaragua Mia Spanish School had an English workshop. Jacob, one of our student for Spanish language, shared with us his English language. We learned about English alphabet and the basic differences with the Spansih alphabet, present tense and basic phrases.

FOLKLORE NICARGUENSE NICARAGUA MIA DE TINO LOPEZ GUERRA BALLET FOLKLORICO NICRAGUENSE

I wholeheartedly recommend five days at the Nicaragua Mia Spanish School. Your efficient & personalised teaching has certainly remotivated me. Additionally, your Charming patience make it easy to continue to make progress at home when reading your writings, you guys rock!.

The stay at Nicaragua mia was most helpful in focusing my efforts on key areas for improvement. The teaching methods were well adapted to my requirements and the teachers were excellent. It was very pleasant to be in a family home rather than in a school environment. This enhanced the learning experience