Who let the dogs out?

Today a dog bit me on the leg.  The morning started as usual - Shane got up sometime in the 5´s and it was Drew´s turn to stay in while Logan got his extra hour of beauty sleep.  After playing in the lobby of our hostel and drinking a couple of cups of on-the-house coffee, I went out for a stroll with Shane on my back.  We are in Granada - a picture perfect colonial city.  It was a beautiful walk: we went through the central square and I admired the colourful buildings while Shane excitedly pointed at horses.  We wandered down a pub/cafe district and watched people prepare and clean their storefronts.  Then we followed the tree-lined boulevard to Lago de Nicaragua, the 9th largest lake in the Americas.  This lake is the only one in the world with freshwater sharks, and is lined with volcanoes.  Many locals were out doing their morning exercise along the lakefront.  Feeling safe and secure in this very friendly country, I was reflecting and reminiscing of our time in Taiwan - as we do in tropical countries.

On our way back up the boulevard, I decided to walk on the other side of the street for a better view of the centuries-old church pictured here.  I saw a couple of men sitting on their front step with a little red dog.  Thinking nothing of it, and being in such a great mood, I gave them a "buenos dias" and walked past, between them and the dog.  Then it happened.  The dog let out a high-pitched yelp and bit the back of my calf!  I was so shocked I couldn´t really react except to say "What did your dog just DO?".  The owner rushed his dog into the gated house and said to me (in English), "Can I help you?".  I had no response except to make a mental note of where I was and while muttering several expletives I rushed back to our hostel, my leg throbbing.  It is amazing how a split second can change your mood, and perhaps almost change your entire trip.  I had no more good mornings for anyone.  I got back and told Drew what had happened.  Logan was quite concerned.  I washed and dressed the wound and we discussed what to do.  The receptionist at our hostel said it is uncommon to get the police involved in an incident like this, to just go talk to the owner.  Armed with the Spanish phrases for dog bite and rabies vaccination we headed back to the house.  Boys were both in baby backpacks just in case yappy red dog was on the loose again.  After asking a couple of guys in the vicinity of the incident where the red dog lived, who obviously had heard about what happened, we found the house.  The man was apologetic and reassured us that the dog was vaccinated.  He mentioned it was unusual of his dog to bite.  We were so relieved we headed back to our hostel not caring about our plans or getting to the next destination.  We noticed a poster advertising a $6 day trip to a hostel on a nearby volcanic crater lake that opened yesterday.  With 15 minutes to departure time, we quickly packed our daypacks and signed up for the shuttle bus. 

What a great decision.  The 30-minute busride took us to a scenic guest house right on Lake Popoyo.  We had one of our most relaxing days yet. It felt like cottage country in July.  We would have stayed the night if we had our act together and packed up our things earlier.  The water was warm and clear and actually a little salty, which made floating around quite easy.  Logan and Drew headed out for a kayak while Shane napped in his tent on the patio.  There were only 4 other people there besides us and all they did was read. 

Nothing else happened for the rest of the day....and that was good.