Nicaragua

Recently, I got the opportunity to finally meet Costa Rica's north neighbor, Nicaragua. In Costa Rica's culture, there is a well known rivality or I could  even say conflict between Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans. It goes from xenophobic bad taste jokes from both sides to political territory conflicts. Beyond these, as a Costa Rican and  citizen of the world, it was a joy to be in Nicaragua to experience its sights, history and culture.

This trip got me to think about the differences of being a traveler and a tourist. I went as a tourist and hopefully and I'll come back again as a traveler. Both approaches have its advantages & disadvantages however it is to one to decide which one suits better your style or possibility. On this occasion, the possibility I had available was to be a tourist with planned and scheduled visits.

What I like the most? How cheap it is to eat and drink there in comparison with Costa Rica's expensive life style. I could buy my favorite beer which happens to be one of Nicaraguans well-known products, a Toña  for $1 which is 500 colones. Here it costs from 800 to 1500 colones to buy it from a supermarket and it is hardly sold in bars. Food in general was also very cheap, but it will all depend on the place you go.

Our Trip in Nicaragua began at Peñas Blanca where after an hour or so from migratory paperwork, we were finally off to go to our first stop, San Juan del Sur.

After a nice traditional breakfast which consisted of pinto (rice and beans),eggs, sweet plantain and juice,we went walking around the town which has a bohemian calm feeling. We also began to experience something that I was not used to, people hovering over me offering products to sell, I got seduced and both three Ocarinas which are musical whistles shaped in beautiful colored birds.

In the map below, it is possible to follow our route which went from San Juan del Sur to Montelimar where we stayed one night at an all inclusive hotel, it was comfortable and pleasant however I still felt like in Costa Rica. It was until we finally got to the capital, Managua, that I felt I was discovering a new country and a different way to live and think. From Managua, we left to Granada where we stayed for the rest of the trip, visited Masaya and finished our trip boating at Las Isletas, these in a 4 days planned tour.

Seeing a city from a bus window, is a watch-from-far-experience that certainly does not get you to experience a truthful feeling of what a place is like. However, I can say that there is a strong presence from the political party on the govern right now which is the Sadinismo. From what I saw Sadinismo has a strong reliability on its founder Sandino as a way to portrait its political and transcendent value to Nicaragua's history and future?

Granada is a beautiful colonial town which has emerged as a tourist destination during the last 10 years. There are beautiful treasures that can be found as a memory of its legendary past when the Spaniards decided to bring a piece of Spain to the Nicaraguan rain forest. The location was decided there because it  was  a strategic port at lake Nicaragua that through the river San Juan connected to the Atlantic Ocean.

From Granada, it is easy to move to Masaya which is 30 minutes or so away. Nicaragua has several volcanoes one of them which is currently active is Masaya's Volcano which is in Nicaragua's biggest national park.

During the trip, we visited very nice restaurants, the one I liked the most was Rancho Viejo where all the group had the chance to taste different Nicaraguan dishes; for instance, I ordered Nica Nachos which satisfied my appetite very well. I usually do not wear insect repellent however it is a must when you are travelling specially if you are going to be visiting outdoor places.

On our last day, we visited Las Isletas in Granada, and it  got me to compare the mental imagine I had from Granada and the real image of what was in front of me. I certainly did not expect to see that many children asking for money  or to be harassed by street vendors, and I was hopping to see the same that I expect to see from Costa Ricans, people loving their country and being proud of it; throwing garbage to the street is something that happens in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and all over the world, and it is a big concern for me since it tells a lot about what a person convictions are and how conscious towards the world he/she is.

I wish to come back to Nicaragua to  visit Ometepe which is an island located in lake Nicaragua, I had never seen a lake that big, it looked like if it were an ocean.  I loved my visit to Nicaragua, I can  now have a better grasp from where Nicaraguans are coming from and how they might perceive Costa Rican's culture. I wish to come back to learn more.