This title is not just a reference to one the greatest films ever made, but just about sums up my last few days in Nicaragua.
After the first couple of days in Managua, I decided to rent a car and head outside of the capital. I called up some of rental places to see if they had automatic transmissions. The majority of cars driven in Central America are stickshift, back in the US its the exact opposite. After my seventh try, I finally found a rental place that had one.
I taxied over to the airport, signed all the necessary papers, and was shuttled over to the lot. What a piece of crap! The price for the vehicle was $32 a day, everything included. At first sight, my initial reaction was...WTF?! This looks like a driver´s ed car!! The type of car they teach high school students to maneuver around orange cones. All that was missing was an emergency brake on the floor of the passenger´s seat, and the driver´s ed teacher.
It was an ugly white Nissan Sentra, with missing hubcaps. The rental agent assured me it was a model of the year. My rebuttal was......the year
1992? The other issue with it was that all four tires were donuts. Maybe a little dangerous, but, when in Rome.....
I took off for Leon, which was the original capital of Nicaragua in the 19th century. My brother´s wife is originally from there, so I natually wanted to check it out. The drive out there was extremely long, and whenever I stopped at gas stations to ask how much longer, they would always reply ¨30 minutes¨. The road was very unpleasant, and reminded me of the settings for the Road Runner cartoon. Completely damaged and without any barricades to prevent you from falling off a cliff, I quickly got used to it. The gorgeous scenery along the way redeemed all that had transpired previously.
I arrived at Leon, and was very pleased with the town. There are colonial cathedrals everywhere, some well maintained, and others that could use a restoration. I finally figured out that all towns in Central America have a central plaza, with a cathedral directly behind it. I was anxious to get out of town, and only spent about four hours, as the sun was becoming unbearable by the minute. On my way out
of Leon, I stopped by their Teatro Nacional. The guard at the front told me that I would have to get permission if I wanted to photograph the inside of it.
He lead me towards their main offices, and the theater staff were more than helpful. I was escorted around by Felipe, one of the coordinators of events. The theater has a lot more volume than one would think from looking at the façade. We went inside one of the lighting control rooms, and he turned on all the lights of the main hall. I was very impressed with the acoustics, as the shutter of my camera could be heard loud and clear.
I left the theater very satisfied with my photos, and swiftly skipped town knowing that I had to reach the capital before sun down. The road back is not very forgiving in the light of day, let alone at night.
Nicaragua's Flag
Map of Nicaragua