Poor Nicaragua

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Geo: 12.4379, -86.878

Nicaragua, in the middle of Central America, looks on the surface like Guatemala with flat low plains given over to agriculture rising up to highlands composed of lines of volcanoes with some of the largest lakes in Central America. Unfortunately because the country has been ravaged by many wars and corrupt government it is obviously much poorer than Guatemala. There were a lot more people living in the small shacks with very little decent housing to be seen. Perhaps it is different in the capital, Managua, but that was too far away to get to.In 1524 the Spanish Conquistadors founded the city of Leon on the edge of Lake Managua. The nearby volcano erupted in the 1600s and covered the town in volcanic ash rather like Pompeii. So the town moved away from the volcano and New Leon was built. We strolled through the ruins of Old Leon which is a UNESCO heritage site. Very little has been excavated and the ruins which can be seen are not as yet very interesting. There is a long way to go but of course there is no money to do it. Our very talkative guide took us on a nice walk through it pointing out all the different trees and showed us the view of the volcano by the lake. The original indigenous people always built their cities by volcanoes and lakes as both were gods to them. After the walk we went to New Leon for lunch in a converted convent, a lovely building ,now a hotel with lovely garden. Then we had another stroll through the town to the main square, where children in costume danced and there were many peddlers and market stalls.The square is dominated by the Cathedral which is a beautiful white building built in 1747 in a style to withstand the earthquakes. Inside is a chapel with a Black Christ figure. You can also climb many stairs up to the roof of the cathedral and walk all around it. From here there are good views of the city and the surroundings are blindingly white in the sun. We had an interesting over view of the politics of the country from our guide. They really need to get their house in order before we ever think of visiting again.

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