"el pais de lagos y volcanes" Nicaragua by Malecka

For those who have known me for a while, it wouldn’t be a surprise to find out that, basically, one of my dreams came true this summer 2007, when I had a chance to cross the ocean, again, and touch the soil of one Latin American country. While I am certainly hoping that it won’t be the last time (more than sure that it won’t be), I have to say that I love this very first experience.
I got to know a part of Nicaragua... a jewel in Central America. A country of astonishingly beautiful nature, breath-taking landscapes and vegetation, delicious fruits and flavours.

I see now that in my pages about Turkey, at the very beginning, I have shared some ... suggestions about the “approach” one should have in order to enjoy the visit. I hate sounding patronizing, of course, but I will dispense the same advice in this case as well.
If you are going to be cranky about the “power cuts”, the “water supply shortages”, the roads, etc... then don’t bother going to a “third world country” and just stick to the “highly organized” resorts that offer a “five star comfort” in... for instance, Costa Brava.

...
Nicaragua has seen some bad, bad times. This is not a political website and therefore I will try to restrain myself from making political comments, although it is quite difficult, cause, let’s face it, a lot of things could be much better in Central America were it not for the northern neighbour and its well intended foreign policy. Okay, I'm shutting up now.

Nicaragua is a country of jaw-dropping contrasts. The poverty I saw there cannot be seen in most of Europe. At least not at that level. And the differences between the rich and the poor are... heartbreaking. To me, that is.
On the other hand, it is a country where visitors (specifically those coming from a well-developed, centered-around-work-and-earning-money country) could learn a thing or two (or more) about leisure, taking time, enjoying the simplest of beauties in life.

cocoa beans

Just like the pages I did about Turkey, I decided to write some very general tips about Nicaragua (food, people, transport, etc.) and then develop some more specific pages about the places I have visited (Managua, Leon, San Juan del Sur), but within the "things to do" section, rather than start completely new pages.

• Pros:the people, the food, the nature, the coast
• Cons:the poverty, the inequality between the people