Sights of Nicaragua

Nicaragua is beautiful. I mean, I love the mountains at home and the falling snow, but there's not much I can compare to the flowers and landscape of Nicaragua. On Wednesday, we visited Laguna de Tiscapa and Lago Managua. Finally getting out of the house was very refreshing and even just driving through the town provided a great glimpse of the culture and city of Managua. 

Laguna de Tiscapa is a small lake inside a crater located in downtown Managua. From the top of the crater, you can look down at the entire city and see the different districts. There is also a small museum about the Nicaraguan Revolution and a giant statue referred to as "Sandino's Shadow." 

Laguna de Tiscapa

 

 

 It's still obvious in the the country that there is a conflict of interest between groups of people, but so far, the most socialism I've seen is only in the billboards and the graffiti.

Our other site for the day was the expansive Lago de Mangua that stretches all the was across the north end of the city. Both Laguna de Tiscapa and Lake Managua are much to polluted to swim in, so we just enjoyed the landscape. We took a beautiful walk along the coast and down a pier, but being the middle of the week, the area was pretty dead and we soon made our way back home. 

  

The most interesting part of the boardwalk was actually the disparity between the land and just inside the government-funded park and the literal dumps that lay on the other side of the fence. Everywhere we go in Nicaragua it is obvious that the rich and poor are separated by more than fences. 

 

Our latest adventure was a trip to the Laguna de Apoyo, another beautiful crater lake, and this time we could swim! Nicaragua has the the most nature reserves Central America and this seemed to be the closest and easiest to get to for our first trip. Five ISEP students, including myself, made our way to the bus station for our first experience of public transportation that would take us out of town. We navigated our way downtown, took a bus to the entrance of the crater and then grabbed a taxi to take us down into the crater itself. The entire drive was full of foreign sights and sounds, but the most breathtaking was our first glimpse of the lake. Surrounded by every shade of green, was a beautiful escape from the noise and commotion of the city. 

 

The pictures can't begin to tell how beautiful it was, but I'm sure they'll do better than my descriptions. We arrived at the Paradiso hostel and immediately headed for the water. The hostel was more than we could have hoped for, with a large patio, hammocks, kayaks, a dock and lakeside food and drinks. Jessica and I were the only two to stay the night, but it was well worth the stars and sunrise the next morning. We also took a walk through the area in the evening and shared a great dinner of, as always, gallopinto (rice and beans), eggs, tortillas and cheese. Nicaragua also has two popular local beers, La Victoria Frost, and El Toña. Everyone picks a favorite and whether it was the location or the taste, I settled on the Toña that night. 

It was beautiful to sit in peace and read and pray during our time there. I felt very refreshed and reassured that my time in Nicaragua is important. I'm learning to trust that God has plans for me here and plans to use the experiences and skills gained for His future work. 

We returned to Mangua on Sunday afternoon and spent our evening playing soccer and preparing to start school. I felt very blessed to have accomplished something and I'm still thankful for Jessica and her willingness to explore with me. Hopefully, our next nature stop will be the ocean!

 

- Maggie Frazier