A smoothie and a smile

Often I find the best life experiences are the simple one's. For me they are unlikely to happen up a volcano/ down a cave/ off piste. After a morning cruising the beautiful ' las istelas' islands on lake Nicaragua ( central america's biggest lake), seeing lots more spider monkeys and drinking beer at 10am it dawned on me this is our last afternoon in Granada. Bugger.

With that in mind we had to go back to the place that had made us smile the most. On our first day here we'd admired the views from the run down but beautiful Iglesia de la Merced - and wandered into a hammock workshop. It turned out to be not just any hammock workshop - but a wonderful not for profit organisation called Tio Antonio. They provide opportunities for some high risk disadvantaged Nicaraguans - and all of the boys we met in there were lovely. Happily Philippa bought a beautiful handmade hammock and then we saw a beautiful cafe at the side of the building. This cafe ' Cafe de la somisas - smiles cafe' is run by deaf and mute young people. They have sign language painted on the Walls, the menu's are set up so you can point to your order, and there are areas on your table where you can let the staff know what you want. For example where the toilets are, or if you can have the bill. Our waiter that first day had the most amazing smile I have ever seen in my life. A joyful smile - with happiness filling his eyes. We ordered, loved our drinks, paid and left feeling really damn happy to have found the cafe, and to have been served by Nicaragua's most beautiful soul. So on our last day we had to go back didn't we? Our Chico was there, we ordered the same thing.

I'm going to miss him tomorrow

I urge anyone reading this - please visit this cafe, buy a hammock, spend some money. It will be worth it

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Smiles cafe - Calle Real Xalteva - in between the Iglesia de la Merced and Parque central.

www.tioantonio.org/eng/eng_index.html