When we finally visited Nicaragua we were on a mission: We wanted to explore the diverse landscape, immerse ourselves in its culture, and identify places we might call home. That was an ambitious goal given that Nicaragua is 50,337 square miles in size, or roughly as big as Alabama. Because it is so large, it has a variety of different regions and we wanted to explore them all and see if we felt a connection.
From the cooler coffee-growing mountains to the undeveloped Caribbean coast... From the busy urban cities to the small villages... From the hotter northern coastal regions to the more moderate south. Nicaragua is actually quite diverse. Although its population is nearly 7 million people, most of them live in the western side of the country, narrowing our search by a third or more.
Our exploration began in Managua where we encountered the typical ambiance of a large city – a mix of urban grunge and unpleasant odors. While it's a great place to visit, we knew it is not where we want to live. There are people everywhere, and because Central America is an outdoor culture, you actually see them, much like walking through Chinatown in NYC. The traffic in Managua is chaotic although it paled in comparison to our own major urban centers like New York, Atlanta, Dallas, Washington DC, or Chicago. Time to move on.
Fun fact: There was an historic dispute between Leon and Granada over which city was oldest (both cities were founded in 1524) and thus which should rightfully be the nation's capital. That dispute resulted in the ultimate selection of Managua as the nation's capital.
Leon, the oldest city in Nicaragua was our next stop. We loved its well-preserved five hundred year old colonial buildings, crafted from adobe bricks and topped with tile roofs. The streets, though narrow and jammed with cars, taxis, buses, motorcycles, bicycles, motorcycle and bicycle taxis and the occasional horse-drawn wagon, somehow added to the city's charm. We were struck with the city's youthfulness. Being the home of many private schools and universities, Leon's average age is only 24 years old.
Georgios Mitropulos owns and operates the Hellenika Hotel in Leon, Nicaragua.
In Leon, we met a local hotel owner, Georgios Mitropulos (pictured above), and eventually hired him to be our personal tour-guide. We spent the next week traveling, with Georgios driving and showing us around all the major cities (and some of the smaller ones) exploring most of Nicaragua. We visited beaches, Lake Nicaragua (the largest lake in Central America), and even two active volcanos.
Our week-long journey led us through Las Peñitas, Masachapa, Masatepe, Catarina, Granada, Ometepe, Rivas, and San Juan Del Sur. Each locale had its own unique charm, from the colonial grandeur of Granada and Leon to the distinctive appeal of the smaller towns and villages.
You may have to click on the photo to see the pig under the panga boat.
I particularly liked the tiny fishing village of Masachapa, but as it turned out, a pig tied to a panga was a deal breaker for Mary (see photo above). A few days later and little further south we found another fishing village – San Juan Del Sur – but this one had no tethered livestock.
It was in San Juan Del Sur where we felt an undeniable connection, realizing we had discovered our new part-time home, "Casa Salud".