Managua - the understated capital of Nicaragua

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For some reason we were a little wary of going to Managua. Most people seemed to leave it off their agenda in Nicaragua and there is usually a very good reason for that. Maybe it's a safety concern from a hopefully bygone era of unsettled times in the country, or maybe it's because people think there is nothing to do in the city. Well, we are pleased we made the effort although more than the two nights we had may have been pushing it a bit for entertaining ourselves.

The journey from León began with a taxi to the bus station where we were faced with an enormous queue for the minibuses to the capital and constant hassle from taxi drivers looking for a fare. We were not prepared to pay $60 for what we could do on the bus for around $2 each. Once we eventually got on a minibus we had to pay an extra $2 for our bags to occupy a seat as there was no roof rack on our one! We've done this before in other countries and the bags invariably get moved onto the floor in the aisle to make way for another fare paying passenger. To our surprise our bags occupied their seat for the entire journey this time! The reason for the delays and queues was a road traffic accident involving three lorries. As we passed it, things didn't look good, especially for the driver in the middle truck. A 1.5 hour journey became 2.5 hours but at least we got safely to the bus station and then easily found a taxi to take us to our hotel.

Hotel Mozonte seemed to be located in the middle of quite a posh housing estate a few kilometres from the lake in Managua. On arrival it seemed that we were not expected, despite the receptionist having a printed version of our confirmation in front of her. Check-in was at 1300 and she wouldn't entertain the idea of beginning the process even a minute earlier! The problem appeared to be that payment had not been taken from the credit card, despite the fact that it should have been an automatic process. We were quite happy to make the payment so we don't know what all the fuss was about. 35 minutes of grunts and zero explanations, we were finally handed a room key. It's a decent enough hotel for a few days and not too expensive with a nice pool for cooling off in with the hope that the loudmouthed North American sat by the side would eventually shut up. I'm not sure he ever did! Breakfast was a different matter. It was a buffet with plenty of fruit on display, plus the usual Nicaraguan affair of rice and beans, fruit juice and coffee. The problem was that although it was a buffet, it wasn't self-service and you had to queue for everything. Most of the time there was a single member of staff serving an ever growing line of disgruntled guests. We eventually helped ourselves to coffee and juice, but there was no way of avoiding being served for food. Luckily we were in no rush.

The afternoon of our arrival saw us walk (Was that dangerous? It didn't seem so to us!) through the housing estate to the central Hugo Chavez roundabout. The late Venezuelan president was a firm friend of Nicaragua with similar ideals but it still seemed strange to see his figure looming large in such a prominent location. Nearby we climbed the hill of heroes where information boards once again gave the story of the revolution and the formation of modern Nicaragua. At the top was the tomb of the unknown soldier but strangely without an eternal flame where we would have expected to see one. The soldier guarding it (I say that loosely. He was propped up against the wall trying to stay awake and in control of his weapon!) told us we could only go to the top of the first set of stairs. I'm not sure what would have happened had we dared to take a step beyond that limit!! From there we had to pay $1 each to climb to the top of the hill where a giant outline of Sandino stands amongst a few flags. There's also a tank from the revolution but other than the views over Managua in every direction, there's honestly not a lot to see. The views are spectacular though. To the north you can see all the way down the boulevard to the Lake Managua and beyond its waters you can see the volcanoes on the other side. To the south you can see the lake formed in the caldera of an extinct volcano and watch the vultures swoop by. Look carefully and you can also see the new cathedral with its many domes.

The next day we went to see Chavez again and made our way down towards the lake. We found a few interesting statues and murals along the way. The unknown indigenous soldier holding his AK47 rifle in the air was quite impressive! Over the road from him is the belltower of peace and we even got to hear the bells ringing. From there we climbed up onto a gleaming white ultra-modern bridge which gave us a stunning view of the Palacio Nacional. The palace was closed but nearby the dance school had an interesting display of cultural photos free for us to see. From there we walked around the palace to see the old cathedral which was ruined in the 1972 earthquake. It seems a strange decision to have left this one to crumble whilst building a brand new one on the other side of the city. Parque Central is opposite and in there we saw the modern day socialist youth marching, singing and chanting as they paid homage to one of the martyrs of the revolution. It was quite something to see.

A short and easy walk down the boulevard took us to the lakeside Malecon which is lined with brightly coloured giant tree sculptures amongst which hides a golden statue of Simon Bolivar, the original revolutionary leader of Latin America. On the way we tried to blag our way into the National Theatre, named after Ruben Dario, but despite phone calls from the surprisingly friendly and helpful lady on the ticket desk, we were unable to find someone to show us around. Our plan had been to have a look in the local park where a disused aircraft can be seen and also a model village of what Managua looked like before the 1972 earthquake. To our astonishment it didn't open until the afternoon and so they missed out on our $2 each. Instead we walked the opposite way and found ourselves paying to enter the Salvador Allende port. In there you can dine in one of the many restaurants, take a boat trip on the lake (if it hadn't been too windy for the boats to go out!) and walk along the long promenade to the very end. It seemed endless but we did eventually get as far as we could for a refreshing hibiscus juice. The views are great and we would imagine at the weekend it is heaving with people. We had the opposite. It was like a ghost town!

Back at the hotel it seemed that most guests do not venture out at night. That's never stopped us before and we found a great place for local (well, Salvadorian) food. We were the only gringos in Pupusas Salvadoreñas Cuscatleco. On the first night we had grilled meat but on the second night we had eaten lunch (at the nearby shopping centre) and just snacked on pupsas. These delightful treats are like a hand crafted flatbread stuffed with your choice of beef, chicken, cheese or vegetables. If you find yourself in Managua, we highly recommend venturing out and finding this friendly place to eat and/or drink.

Uber doesn't exist in Nicaragua but Managua has it's own version - Ray. We used it to get back from the lakeside and then we thought we had booked a taxi to take us all the way to Granada until there was a knock at the door half an hour before our arranged departure, interrupting Russ's viewing of a Brighton game! It was our driver who said he couldn't take us for the agreed price as we had clicked on local taxis not "interurban" taxis. Why did the app, and the driver, accept it then?! We cancelled that ride and when we were ready we got another "Ray" to the bus station. Russ jokingly said that's where we were going unless he fancied taking us to Granada for 1000 Cordobas (about €25). To our surprise he agreed so we travelled in comfort all the way to our next destination.

Don't leave Managua off your Nicaragua agenda. There's definitely enough to keep everyone interested for a couple of days. We didn't go out far at night, but those trees by the lake are all lit up in the evening so perhaps we should have got "Ray" to take us out for a look.

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