Nicaragua was colonised by the Spanish and has the old
\ncolonial buildings and cobbled streets to show; it has the
\noldest cathedral in Central America, and Granada is reputed
\nto be the oldest city on the western hemisphere. Nicaragua
\nhas also had more than its share of destruction through
\nearthquakes and revolutions. Managua, the capital was hit
\nparticularly hard by the 1972 earthquake which pretty much
\nwiped out what was the centre of town.<\/p>\n
This tour takes in the “best” of Nicaragua
\nin 10 days. It is not a big country so everything is within
\neasy reach and there is a reasonable bus system. Everyone
\nseems to agree that Ometepe Island is the highlight of
\nNicaragua, followed by Granada. No one much seems to like
\nManagua, saying it is a bit dodgy. You could do most of
\nthis itinerary as day trips from Managua, but the Beetle
\nrecommends that you get out of Managua – not such a
\ngreat place – and stay over in different places.<\/p>\n
Day 1:<\/b> fly into Managua. Managua, the capital of
\nNicaragua is on the southern shore of Lake Managua. Settle
\ninto your hotel\/hostel and explore. Managua itself is a bit
\nof a sad city. Despite the new building boom, it is not
\nhard to see that the centre is still astonishingly
\ndevastated from the 1972 earthquake, so it a curious place
\nas there is no real centre any more, it is spread all over,
\nwherever funding allows new building. The Intercom hotel is
\nsomething of a landmark, it is built in the shape of one of
\nthe old Mayan pyramids, some consider this as the centre –
\nit was the only building that survived the 1972 earthquake.
\nThe lake is brown and has waves and looks like the sea, but
\nit is dirty and not nice. Things to see include the Plaza
\nde la República, the newly renovated cathedral which is now
\na museum, the Peace Park where you can see the giant
\nlighthouse, and the tank and thousands of guns mummified in
\nspray-on concrete. Near the cathedral is the grave of
\nCarlos Fonseca, the founder of the Sandinistas, the Palcio
\nNacional, and the new Casa Presedencial. There are several
\nmuseums, including a Museum of the Revolution. There are
\nsome places to swim, in the lagunas that are volcanic
\ncrater lakes. People tend not to stay in Managua, they
\nusually head straight out to Granada – note Granada not
\nLeon. There is a good bus network though, so getting around
\nis easy. If you have time, take a morning bus to the Laguna
\nde Xiloá, a crater lake that is a popular swimming spot
\nabout 20km north west of Managua and have a swim. Return to
\nManagua.<\/p>\n
Day 2:<\/b> do a day trip to Leon. Take the bus to
\nLeon, north of Managua and not far. Leon allegedly has
\nCentral America's oldest cathedral that took over 200
\nyears to rebuild. It has some large paintings of the 12
\nStations of the Cross and also houses the tomb of Rubén
\nDarío, the poet. There are monuments to the revolution and
\nSandanista murals all over Leon. Leon is smaller than
\nGranada and will not take more than a half day to look
\naround, have some lunch and return to Managua. You can
\nwander the streets and admire the colonial churches and the
\nwhitewashed adobe buildings with red roofs. There’s
\nplenty of info about the 1978-79 revolution too for those
\ninterested in some of Nicaragua’s past. If you find,
\nlike the Beetle, that there is not a lot to keep you in
\nLeon, then take the bus back to Managua and then on to
\nGranada.<\/p>\n
Day 3:<\/b> Take a bus from Managua to El Trapiche,
\n17km southeast of Managua. El Trapiche is a place where
\nlarge outdoor pools have been formed by near by natural
\nsprings. It is quite pretty as there are gardens and
\nrestaurants. Have lunch and have a splash. You may meet
\nsome tourists here! From here, continue to another 5kms
\nsoutheast to the Massaya Volcano Nat Park. It is only 23kms
\nsouth east of Managua and also 20 mins drive from Granada.
\nThe volcano is still active and you can see (and smell!)
\nthe steam coming out of it. There are some hot springs, the
\nusual sort of volcano stuff. There's also a big market
\nat Massaya where you can buy hammocks etc. When you have
\nhad a look around, take the bus to Granada and overnight
\nthere.<\/p>\n
Day 4:<\/b> Granada is only around 45kms away from
\nManagua. It lies at the base of the Mombacho volcano and is
\non Lake Nicaragua so it has a constant cool breeze. Granada
\nhas cobbled streets and you will see lots of Spanish style
\ncolonial architecture, the cathedral, the Colon Park and
\nMombacho. It took the Beetle less than a day to visit and
\nexplore Granada, although she did not go on the lake. Some
\nsay that Granada is the oldest city in the western
\nhemisphere. If you are a bird watcher, there are over 350
\nvolcanic islands in Lake Managua. The islands that people
\nvisit are called Las Islets de Nicaragua where you can see
\nnesting cormorants etc. You can go kayaking here if that is
\nyour thing.<\/p>\n
Day 5:<\/b> take a trip out onto Lake Nicaragua and
\nvisit some of the islands. San Pablo has a small fortress
\nbuilt by the Spaniards to protect against British pirates
\nin the 18th century, Isla Zapatera is a national park and
\nhas some old stone statues. Isla del Muerto also has tombs
\nand rock carvings to see.<\/p>\n
Day 6 and 7:<\/b> From Granada take the bus to San
\nJorge, near Rivas it’s about 4 hours by bus and take
\nthe ferry out to visit Ometepe Island, the largest
\nfreshwater island in the world (complete with fresh water
\nsharks!) Ometepe is the highlight for most people visiting
\nNicaragua. Once there, you can lie around on the beaches or
\nif you are feeling slightly more energetic, you can climb
\nup Volcano Maderas. Take the bus from San Jorge to San Juan
\ndel Sur on the Pacific coast.<\/p>\n
Day 8, 9,10:<\/b> laze on the beach at San Juan del
\nSur. Day 10 take the bus back up to Managua to fly back
\nhome.<\/p>\n
Alternative: there is a five-hour boat trip down the Río
\nEscondido to Bluefields, on the Caribbean coast. Most
\ntravellers reckon that this is not worth it and the Beetle
\nhas not seen many good reports about Bluefields….but,
\nthe Corn Islands in the Caribbean just off Bluefields are
\nworth the trip. To get there, the best way is to fly from
\nManagua – around $100 return. Little Corn Island in
\nparticular gets some rave reviews for sunning and
\nswimming.<\/p>\n
Nicaragua was colonised by the Spanish and has the old colonial buildings and cobbled streets to show; it has the oldest cathedral in Central America, and Granada is reputed to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"css_class_manager_body_classes":"","css_class_manager_use_in_post_loop":false},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[53],"class_list":["post-1137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archive","category-main-article","tag-may-2003"],"yoast_head":"\n