Nicaragua, Showing What Socialists Do To A Country! (Day 13)
Nicaragua was a disappointment... A very poor country racked with internal problems. Our guide was wonderful but the trip was pretty dismal. Nicaragua is a representative democratic republic and the largest nation in Central America. It is also the least densely populated with a demographic similar in size to its smaller neighbors. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and by Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of the country, while the Caribbean Sea lies to the east.
Falling within the tropics, Nicaragua sits 11 degrees north of the Equator, in the Northern Hemisphere.The country's name is derived from Nicarao, the name of the Nahuatl-speaking tribe which inhabited the shores of Lago de Nicaragua before the Spanish conquest of the Americas, and the Spanish word Agua, meaning water, due to the presence of the large lakes Lago de Nicaragua (Cocibolca) and Lago de Managua (Xolotlán), as well as lagoons and rivers in the region.
At the time of the Spanish conquest, Nicaragua was the name given to the narrow strip of land between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean. Chief Nicarao ruled over the land when the first conquerors arrived. The term was eventually applied, by extension, to the Nicarao or Niquirano groups that inhabited that region.The Nicarao tribe migrated to the area from northern regions after the fall of Teotihuacán, on the advice of their religious leaders. According to tradition, they were to travel south until they encountered a lake with two volcanoes rising out of the waters, and so they stopped when they reached Ometepe, the largest fresh-water volcanic island in the world.
Pictures We Limited As The Poverty Was Rampant
We Did Not Venture Into The City Based Upon Advice From The Cruise Line
The Boiling Mud Pots "Adventure"
We took a bus trip to see the "boiling mud pots" but it turned out to be a location where a steam vent from a local volcano sent fumes through some clay and it was a stinking mess! What was more troubling was that people lived in run down homes adjacent to the mess. It was full of kids and malnourished animals... We were happy to leave and the weather assisted us... It started raining like mad so we jumped on the bus and left!
The clouds opened up and it poured cats and dogs for the next hour+. We protected the camera but otherwise was soaked to the bone. Not all that bad since the temperature was still in the 90's! So much for the touted "bubbling mud pots"!
The Rain Forced A Change In Plan.... Off To The Cathedral
Back To The Ship And Civilization
It was good to leave and be on the way to Guatemala. It was sad to see so many people living in such poverty but on the positive side they did not seem to mind... They were smiling!
