Nicaragua Part I

My good friend, J (no, not that J, a different J) invited me to visit Nicaragua with her. J's family hails from there and she visits frequently. I'd never been to Central America and had always wanted to go so I was excited to join her. Little did I know that Nicaragua would mean active volcanoes, fantastic food, and a fiery bull running through the streets. Such fun!

Arriving

I flew to Managua, the capital city, by way of San Salvador* and arrived late at night. Flying into Managua at night, the most obvious feature was the presence of hundreds of neon trees lining the city's boulevards. I thought they looked nice and inviting but I later found out that they were a little bit controversial. Apparently they were a pet project of the president's wife,** but in a country where electricity is unstable and frequently goes out, it was seen as wasteful.

J's cousin was nice enough to come pick me up from the airport and we made our way to Diriamba, where J's family resides. Managua was foggy at night and its winding roads meant the 25 mile trip to Diriamba took a couple of hours. Though Diriamba is a relatively small town, we were there during a weeklong feast day celebration and so there were often big crowds of people, particularly at night. My friend J was just leaving a music concert and we grabbed some late night dinner from a restaurant with an outdoor grill and patio.

Not a great picture but a good summary of what I ate in Nicaragua: grilled meat, plaintains, beans, and rice.

Volcanoes

The next day we went volcano hopping. We started at Mombacho, a volcano which I was told was dormant only to find when we got to the top of it that no one actually knows whether it is active or dormant since steam comes out of the top. We walked around the perimeter of the crater and saw some fantastic views of the surrounding area.

Next up was the active Masaya. You can drive to the top and peer over the edge at the bubbling lava.

A great place to destroy an evil ring.

The Beach and Public Transportation

Even though it was the dead of winter, the temperature in Nicaragua was in the 70s. Since the weather was so nice, we decided to spend a day at the beach at a place called La Boquita. To get to the beach, we took public transportation, which is a little bit different from the public transportation I've used in other countries. For one thing, the vehicles consist of minivans and donated school buses. And the vehicles do not have set times or stops. Instead, they leave when they are completely full (and when I say "completely full" I mean every seat is taken, people are standing in the spaces between the seats, and in the case of the minivan, people are holding onto the door and hanging out of the vehicle) and stop wherever people ask them to stop along the route. Because the vehicles are so packed with people, you get to know your fellow riders very well. For most of the ride to La Boquita, I had a man's sweaty armpit in my face. Fortunately, it wasn't a long trip.

A picture of us taking public transportation.

Seafood stew at the beach: lobster, crab, shrimp, raw turtle eggs, and some type of fish, with a side of plaintains and rice.

What we didn't realize when we took public transportation was that it stopped running at around 5pm. Since we didn't leave the beach until 7pm, we were in a bit of a pickle. Fortunately for us, a large cattle truck had stopped by the beach to get some provisions and the driver was willing to take us back to Diriamba. We waited the half hour or so it took the driver and the workers who were with him to finish their refreshments and then we all piled into the back. The workers sat atop the truck but we chose to sit inside the truck bed (I think that's what it's called). At one end was a hammock which one of the workers slept in while we drove. Since the truck bed was comprised of wooden slats, we were able to see the stars above us while we rode. Perhaps not the safest method of transportation, but it was a beautiful clear night.

A picture of us taking a very different type of public transportation.

*Tip: When you fly to Managua by way of San Salvador, you will not need to go through any additional customs/immigration/security. However, when you fly back to the US by way of San Salvador, you will. So make sure you're not carrying on any big liquids (like, for example, a big bottle of flor de caña) with you when you're flying back.

** The president's wife, Rosario Murillo, is a fascinating woman. Among other things, some Nicaraguans believe she is a witch.