There are two things that come to my mind as soon as I start writing this: the people of Managua, and the weather. The “nicas” as they call themselves, are among the nicest people in Latinamerica. They’re very friendly, kind and have no issue starting a random conversation with you, unlike, hum, let’s see, angelenos (yes, I’m still bitter about that).
Their friendly nature only compares to the hot weather. I’ve been in the Capricorn tropic a few times, in the jungles of Argentina called “yungas” and it’s hot and humid, but nothing like this. I’ve never seen air conditioning condensating as soon as it goes out and converting into fog, almost like a fog machine.
Food is also great. They have a lot of nice food like nacatamal, vigoron, fritanga and so on but I was only able to try the fritanga. Dishes are not only delicious but they’re usually big enough to satisfy the hunger of a huge viking.
Masaya
I visited the town of Masaya, where there’s a lovely crafts market where they sell everything from little pieces made of bronze based on pre-columbian art to hammocks to cacao. There was a square with a church that had a particular majestic atmosphere and there were performing traditional dances in a bandstand, it was beautiful.
Caterina
The main attraction in this small town is the view of the Apoyo lagoon, which is actually the caldera of a extinct volcano. We bought a “turrón”, a ball made of wheat and syrup and it was so delicious it was gone before we realized we had to take a photo of it.
Granada
Finally, Granada is one of the most ancient towns founded by Spain in Latinamerica, in 1524, and the first town ever founded in mainland. It’s fascinating, with a rich spanish architecture heritage, colorful small houses and shops and a few churches also of hispanic design. It has a the only lake in the world with sharks but it was very late and the only animal we found was a horse in the lake shore.
Nicaragua is a lovely country and there are a lot of incredible places like visiting the Masaya volcano or the myriad of small islands in the Granada lake. So by all means, you should make a room for Nicaragua in your travel agenda.
