Blogs from Nicaragua, Central America Caribbean - page 2

My travel this year is starting with time in Nicaragua to meet with an organization that has been in existence for over 50 years. CEPAD (Council of Protestant Churches of Nicaragua) was started just after the earthquake of 1972 that took place in the capital; Managua. Upwards of 10,000 people were killed, 20,000 injured and 300,000 left homeless when the capital was brought to the ground. With financial support from The Presbyterian Church of America, Dr. Gustavo Paragon started CEPAD just 5 days after the disaster. A few years later the organization transitioned to development work which now includes sustainable agriculture and gardening and newly economic development of women among many things. Their goal is to work with the 'last mile' villages that other organizations do not reach. For example, one village they currently work in ... read more

After Granada, I had decided to visit the Corn Islands in the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. The Corn Islands are about 70KM away from mainland Nicaragua and consist of two islands - Big Corn (10 Sq KM area) and Little Corn (2 Sq KM area). My plan was to stay in Little Corn only as it's more rustic and basic. The journey from mainland Nicaragua to Corn Island can be done via a long bus and very long ferry or by a flight from Managua. Given the time involved, I decided to take the flight from Managua to Big Corn and then the ferry to Little Corn. Corn Islands are well known for diving, snorkeling and the Caribbean vibe. These islands used to be under British control, so English is easily spoken and understood. Little Corn, ... read more

After Ometepe, I traveled to Granada, an old Colonia city known for its cobbled streets and colorful buildings. Granada came into being in the early 1500s as an economic and cultural hub (built by the Spanish and considered a sister city of Antigua in Guatemala). It was almost burnt to the ground later on but later revived itself to become the place it is today. I spent time exploring the Colonia history and the buildings around, ate almost every day at a place run by deaf people and made friends with people in the hostel. I also visited Laguna De Apoyo, a volcanic lake which was extremely peaceful and calm. But the most interesting experience was visiting Masaya Volcano National Park. It's one of the rare places on earth where you can see lava flowing in ... read more

The last post left me at San Rafael del Norte, the beginning of the coffee region. We had been meaning to go to the Somoto Canyon for some time and we were finally on our way. We stopped over in Estelí for lunch and a cafe similar to one we would find back home ; with a server from Miami and a chocolate cake tasting like one we would have made from the box mix, we enjoyed a taste of home. Then got to the bus station with a ride from a Nicaraguan-American we had met in the cafe. He said he hoped we would find our place one day. He had just moved to Esteli from California. As we were waiting for the bus, we saw a foreigner, like us, who caught our eye and ... read more

After an unsuccessful attempt at getting a ride from San Juan de Nicaragua to Bluefields by boat, we grudgingly got on a 5 AM Express (and vastly more comfortable) boat back to San Carlos (on the good advice of Freddy, the shark fin guy from Managua). Of course the military searched our bags thoroughly as we were getting on, drinking our sweet instant coffee from a styrofoam cup. We had a quick stop over in El Castillo where we confirmed with a nice coffee shop owner (originally from California) that there still is no boat to Bluefields, and also got some to go grub. At San Carlos, we hopped right on a bus to Juilgalpa. The city has a terrible bypass road, with loud, fast-moving traffic and litter lining the gutters. However there was still much ... read more