Navigating Nicaragua

Hello!

Tom and I recently visited Nicaragua, Central America. This country fascinated me during the 1980s when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in nearby Guatemala. Before the 1979 Sandinista Revolution, Nicaragua had been ruled by the Somoza family (dictatorship) for 50 years. In the 1980s the Sandinistas were redistributing land to peasants (without land deeds) and promising an egalitarian society. The Sandinistas may have meant well but they haven't been very successful as Nicaragua is reported to be the 2nd poorest nation in the western hemisphere behind Haiti.
What has changed, though, is that Nicaragua is a safe place to travel. I think it is as safe as Costa Rica, maybe safer because their drivers are not crazy like in CR. Knowing Spanish is a must.
Thus, we were lured by Nica's intriguing history, good coffee and beef, and landscapes of volcanoes, mountains, and beaches.

This picture is of a boy who passed us on the stairs in Matagalpa. Matagalpa is famous for coffee, chocolate, and beef.  We were making the 2 mile walk to the Castillo de Cacao, a chocolate factory on the outskirts of town.

This small scale, low tech factory of 3 female workers pushed out 5 or 6 different kinds of chocolate  bars which are sold all over the country. Long an advocate of hand-washing and clean working surfaces, I was a bit troubled by our up close and personal visit to the factory floor.

Our digs in Matagalpa included all the local coffee we could drink, French-press style.

Here is a ripe coffee fruit with the white beans removed. The beans are then dried before roasting. The coffee harvest takes place in November. After picking, the beans are laid out on huge concrete slabs to dry during the day, and are covered with tarps at night to keep out moisture.

Nativity display in Matagalpa's central park.









Below is a typical Nicaraguan breakfast of gallo pinto (black beans and rice), scrambled eggs, local white cheese, and tortilla. Fresh fruit, too.

We traveled to Selva Negra (Black Forest) outside of Matagalpa for some hiking. This virgin cloud forest reserve is home to nesting quetzals (no, we didn't see any), orchids, shaded coffee plants, and ficus trees. We are standing next to a ficus giant - these resemble redwood trees in size.  The reason for the "Black Forest" name is because the area was settled by Germans back in the late 1800s.

This pro-government sign congratulates Daniel Ortega (who is in his 3rd presidential term thanks to changes to the constitution permitting a 3rd term). The sign says: Good government, Daniel! Christianity, Socialism, and Solidarity! And get this, as if right out of The House of Cards, his wife Rosario made a successful run as his VP  mate in the 2016 election! Lastly, Daniel's stepdaughter has accused him of sexual abuse but they simply ran her out of the country and called her a liar.

Here is a coffee production facility where the beans have been covered with tarps at the end of the day.  We saw these all over the mountain regions.

Here is a brightly colored modest home along the highway.

Common highway scene along the Central America Route 1.

Rice production along the countryside.

Momotombo Volcano. We drove through the Maribos chain which is the epicenter of one of the most active volcanic regions on earth. Notice the corn in the foreground.








Here is Telica Volcano, also active.

Leon, Nicaragua. This university town boasts a lively history of the Sandinista Revolution, close proximity to volcanoes and pacific beaches, and the Basilica de la Asuncion which is the largest cathedral in Central America and a UNESCO heritage site. Um, this photo is NOT of the cathedral, but it was of equal popularity!

Street vendors, Leon

Our rental car was a Suzuki "Swift." Tom dubbed it "Not so Swift."  Tom managed to stay out of the way of the police on this trip.  We read that the police can stop people for any reason and confiscate their driver's licenses so he minded his Ps and Qs.

This man gave Tom's Redwing boots a great shine for about $1.  In Nicaragua, even though they offer little regard towards the US government, guess what currency is most widely accepted and even encouraged? The US dollar!

Here is the Basilica de la Asuncion, the UNESCO site. The photo is taken from the Historical Museum of the Revolution on the opposite side of the central park.

Here is our tour guide Carlos. He is walking us across the roof of the beat up museum building.

He is showing his his government ID card.











Below is the sunset along the Pacific coast in San Juan del Sur. This part of the country is very popular with surfers.

I ordered up some fresh fish from the ocean, only I think they had to go out and catch it after I placed my order because it took about 90 minutes for it to appear!  I ordered it fried thanks to the server's recommendation!

And I ate every bite!

This was the route to the Playa Hermosa or Beautiful Beach. This place was out of reach for most Nicaraguans, costing $10 per person for a day pass.  We had to ford streams like this 16 times to get to the beach.

Here is a sea turtle!

Playa Hermosa.  If you click on this picture you'll see a stretch of mountains from the center to the right side. Those mountains are Costa Rica!  We were probably 50 miles from the border.

Howler Monkey

Managua. Managua, the capital of the country, is a shambles. No one seems to want to invest or visit there, which was exactly why I wanted to see it. We walked from our comfortable hotel through the heart of the city to the lakefront. These brightly colored steel Trees of Life are the brainchild of Nicaragua's VP and Daniel Ortega's wife, Rosario. These 134 trees strewn about the city cost over $3 million to build back in 2013, and cost $1 million annually for their nightly illumination. I told the front desk clerk at the Crowne Plaza how pretty I thought the trees were when we landed into Managua.  He said that people either loved them or hated them.  I could sense by his tone that he hated them.  Perhaps there could have been better uses of the money?

There is a pedestrian walkway in the city depicting the history of the country.

Here is the one place where I almost got us in trouble with the military.  Do you see the silhouette of the man in the background wearing a wide-brimmed hat?  He is Augusto Cesar Sandino, a leftist revolutionary figure from the early 1900s. I wanted to visit this tourist site but the young army soldier strapped with an M-16 told us "No, it is closed." I told him I didn't believe him because there were people walking around behind him making it look like the place was open.  Tom could sense by the tone of my voice that things weren't going well. He quickly reminded me that these are not people to mess with.  Sigh.  Visiting that site was the one thing I wanted to do in Managua and I couldn't!  We returned the next day to the same answer and additional explanation that it was closed for maintenance.

We went from 90+ degrees in Nicaragua to -21 on our drives both to and from O'Hare Airport! See the temperature at the top center of the picture. 

Happy New Year from Leon, Nicaragua!  The Nicaraguan people we met were most welcoming and friendly. We enjoyed the food and Nicaraguan beer. Nicaragua's volcanoes, mountains, and beaches were breathtaking.  It's also nice to come home!