Impressions of Nicaragua
Really? Nowhere else to go in Central America than Nicaragua?….. Well, yes, of course! But Nicaragua is most certainly a highlight for exploration in the region. No spectacular Maya sites, no major art cities of colonial times, agreed. But kayaking between two perfectly conic volcanoes on Ometepe island, strolling along the dusty streets of brightly painted one story houses in colonial Granada and León, overlooking blue lagoons from the top of a fuming volcano at Masaya and observing caimans on the rain forest shores of the Río San Juán marking the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica: these, and the exchange with friendly and welcoming people, are the precious rewards of travelling through Nicaragua; these are the things one keeps in memory.
Before visiting the place of your choice:
Upstream of Bartola is the Reserva Indio Maíz, a remarkable biosphere of rain forest straddling the territories of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Swampy dead-end creeks, caymans lying around on the muddy shores, frogs and cormorants. And - not to be forgotten - ... a boats man who really knows how to navigate his lancha past the rocks, sudden rapids, driftwood and tree trunks washed away by the wild water.
