Nicaragua- the 3rd best destination in the world?
Well its great to be somewhere that isn´t over run with Gringo´s and Nicaragua is that place. According to the lonely planet this is the 3rd best destination in the world. The country is only just recovering from a civil war and it certainly has an edge to it, that the other countries did not have. Leon is a former capital and is home to the liberal party. The city was surrounded by very colourful political murals showing the social and political history of the country. After spending a day in Leon we moved to another former capital, Granada, home of the conservative party. It was because of the political instability of these two cities, both fighting for the right to be the true capital, that Nicaragua decided to build another capital, one that wasn´t home to any political party. Manangua was built, was proclaimed capital and since them most trouble has died down. Granada is a beautiful city, full of colonial architecture, situated on the shores of Lake Nicaragua. The Lake is huge, almost a small ocean. It is the 10th largest freshwater lake in the world. 
The lake formed as a result of a volcano, 20 000 years ago and is still surrounded by volcanoes. The lake is also home to 365 islands created by the errupting rocks and debris. These islands range from being large enough to fit a village on, to small enough just to have one house on. Alot of Nicaragua´s wealthiest citizens own a private island on the lake complete with their own summer houses. I took a boat trip within these islands and wished I could own one. One island has been turned into a monkey sanctuary, so I was treated to a view of spider and howler monkeys close up. After a couple of relaxation days in Granada, we moved to La Flors. This is a turtle reserve on a beach. The beach is on the pacific coast, so I experienced swimming in the pacific for the first time here. We set up camp on the beach - it was so beautiful and at half 11 carrying red lights (as to not scare off any turtles with white light) we headed off to find the turtles. We were in luck. The turtles are in hatching season. Not only did we see turtles going for their midnight swim but we also got to see a fair number of eggs. Turtles and turtles eggs are considered a delicacy by some (and are also believed to improve male performance). As a result the turtles are now close to extinction. This turtle reserve is one of the first in Nicaragua and was heavily protected by armed guards. It was a magical way to end our visit to Nicaragua - a truely surprising country.
Well its great to be somewhere that isn´t over run with Gringo´s and Nicaragua is that place. According to the lonely planet this is the 3rd best destination in the world. The country is only just recovering from a civil war and it certainly has an edge to it, that the other countries did not have. Leon is a former capital and is home to the liberal party. The city was surrounded by very colourful political murals showing the social and political history of the country. After spending a day in Leon we moved to another former capital, Granada, home of the conservative party. It was because of the political instability of these two cities, both fighting for the right to be the true capital, that Nicaragua decided to build another capital, one that wasn´t home to any political party. Manangua was built, was proclaimed capital and since them most trouble has died down. Granada is a beautiful city, full of colonial architecture, situated on the shores of Lake Nicaragua. The Lake is huge, almost a small ocean. It is the 10th largest freshwater lake in the world. 
The lake formed as a result of a volcano, 20 000 years ago and is still surrounded by volcanoes. The lake is also home to 365 islands created by the errupting rocks and debris. These islands range from being large enough to fit a village on, to small enough just to have one house on. Alot of Nicaragua´s wealthiest citizens own a private island on the lake complete with their own summer houses. I took a boat trip within these islands and wished I could own one. One island has been turned into a monkey sanctuary, so I was treated to a view of spider and howler monkeys close up. After a couple of relaxation days in Granada, we moved to La Flors. This is a turtle reserve on a beach. The beach is on the pacific coast, so I experienced swimming in the pacific for the first time here. We set up camp on the beach - it was so beautiful and at half 11 carrying red lights (as to not scare off any turtles with white light) we headed off to find the turtles. We were in luck. The turtles are in hatching season. Not only did we see turtles going for their midnight swim but we also got to see a fair number of eggs. Turtles and turtles eggs are considered a delicacy by some (and are also believed to improve male performance). As a result the turtles are now close to extinction. This turtle reserve is one of the first in Nicaragua and was heavily protected by armed guards. It was a magical way to end our visit to Nicaragua - a truely surprising country.
2 comments:
Zoe,
your narative is excepitionally good, my image of Nicaragua is intrinsically differant to your excellent description, i love hearing about countrys from a travellers view point rather than some political/news angle.
take care much love Paul :)
Hi Zoe
Sorry, I haven't left a post for a while. I have been on leave for a week and it has been wonderful to catch up on where you have been since I last checked your blog.
Glad to hear that you are still having a fab time and haven't had any more close encounters in water (or elsewhere).
Take care
Debs
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