Background: The Pacific Coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
February 28th 2008Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua » Masaya Perched on a hill outside Masaya, Nicaragua, with a stunning view of the town and volcano-riddled countryside, is an abandoned stone fortress called Coyotepe. Itīs construction dates back more than 1 ... [full story]
December 16th 2007Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua » Masaya Hola Muchachos,
It was rather nice of Antigua to give us a proper send off: a bit of a fiesta at the Burning of the Devil festival (call me naive, but I reckon as the guy spends most of his time in ... 5 photos[full story]
November 3rd 2007Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua » Masaya We took a day trip to Masaya from Granada. The bus terminal at Masaya was the muddiest we had seen so far and the market the most disgusting. But we were here for the Old Market - Mercado Viejo. This ... 11 photos[full story]
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