I take home a quick but good impression of Nicaragua. I’ve literally just cruised through, but it seems to be the kind of place I’d like to come back some day.
The idea of staying around for a few days instead of going directly from Honduras to Costa Rica was reinforced by the first few sights after the Honduras-Nicaragua border.
The northwest of Nicaragua is mostly flat, but volcanoes pop up like mushrooms in the cultivated landscape. This is the most volcanic region of Central America after all…
And it results very different from the volcanic region of Guatemala, where the volcanoes are set in the context of wider mountainous systems – here it’s all flat and then, pop, a volcano.
And there is Lake Nicaragua, which rivals Lake Atitlán (Guatemala) in beauty. The volcanic scenery may not be as immediately impressive, but it’s there, and the lake is huge – feeling like a sea, not a lake.
I spent a couple of days in the island of Ometepe, in the middle of the lake. It’s formed by two extinct volcanoes, one in each side of the island, brought together by a small isthmus.
The island is a nice laid back place, and worth the 4h boat ride from Granada, and then the 1h boat ride back to the nearest lake shore, in San Jorge. Even if the island was too mountainous for me to explore too much of it by bicycle (what was I thinking when I rented it - man, THE ROADS ARE SO UNBELIEAVEBLY BAD!!), I managed to find plenty of opportunities for hiking and beach time at the lake, so I was kept entertained.
But well, back to my generic (and quick…) impression of Nicaragua, there is another thing which seems to me remarkable about this country: its people. No, I’ll save you from the typical cliché of how friendly and welcoming they are. It’s not about that – the women are beautiful. The mixture of indigenous blood (not Mayan, by the way!), Spanish (and other Europeans) and African (slaves brought to the Caribbean coast by the British) worked just too well.
The rule that the closer to the equator the more beautiful the people seems to be confirmed. (later on, further data points in Costa Rica seem to strengthen the conclusion)
Oh! And there is poverty too. Statistically speaking, Nicaragua is the safest country where to travel in Central America. But I saw and was addressed by more bums and homeless here in 3 or 4 days than during the rest of the trip.
For instance, I was having dinner at a local street food stall in Granada, when I notice a teenager seating in the floor behind me, staring the all time. I eat alert; relaxed, but alert. At the end of my meal he comes over and asks if he can take the leftovers with him. Sure! I wouldn’t have eaten so much of the fried banana at the end of the plate if I knew it – I was making an effort anyway…
I never had something like that happen to me during all my time in Guatemala.
But it’s rather ok - I’m closer to the equator, right?
Lake Nicaragua
Volcano in Ometepe - always covered in clouds...
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Riding the bumpy road to... (how does the music go?)
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